An 18 Week Sabbatical

zico10

Monday 11th June

Recovery Run - 8 Miles

12.89km in 1:05:26, 5:05/km

Totals;
Time: 1:05 - Distance: 12.89km


Tuesday 12th June

9 Miles

13.91km in 59:54, 4:18/km

Totals;
Time: 1:00 - Distance: 13.91km


Wednesday 13th June

10.5 Miles w. 8 x 10" hill sprints

16.96km in 1:12:39, 4:17/km

I ran from the NAC to Waterville Park and it was there I did the hill sprints. The hill I was using for the repeats had a bend, which was annoying, but it was the best incline I could find. I walked back down the bendy "hill" as recovery and once I'd all the sprints out of the way, I settled into holding a consistent pace.
Totals;
Time: 1:13 - Distance: 16.96km


Thursday 14th June
a.m.
7 Miles

11.27km @ 4:11/km average

I did this on the treadmill and the time passed surprisingly quickly, which is seldom the case when I find myself running indoors. The run was supposed to done in the evening and I should have ran 9 miles now, but I wasn't concerned enough by this deviation to forgo an extra 15 minutes in bed.
Totals;
Time: 0:47 - Distance: 11.27km

p.m.
9 Miles

14.71km in 1:02:47, 4:16/km

I started off on the road, but detoured into the NSC to do the bulk of the distance on the cross country route. The first mile was recorded as being particularly slower than the rest, but I suspect GPS error accounts for a good bit of the discrepancy.
Totals;
Time: 1:03 - Distance: 14.71km


Friday 15th June

10 Miles w. 5 Miles pick-up(At least it was supposed to be 5 miles pick-up, but I did them as 5 miles progression (a not too subtle difference), which I later discovered was a mistake.

16.11km in 1:09:55, 4:20/km
Times and paces for 5 miles progression; 1) 6:52, 4:16/km, 2) 6:36, 4:06/km, 3) 6:15, 3:53/km, 4) 6:02, 3:45/km, 5) 5:42, 3:33/km,

I was pleased with this run, until I found out it wasn't what I supposed to be doing. Still, I suppose there was some benefit to it, and this far out from DCM, messing things up in the manner I did is hardly going to make any difference.
Totals;
Time: 1:10 - Distance: 16.11km


Saturday 16th June

9 Miles

14.49km in 1:01:58, 4:17/km

Totals;
Time: 1:02 - Distance: 14.49km


Sunday 17th June

15 Miles Easy

24.15km in 1:50:27, 4:34/km

As the tag line for this run was "easy", I focussed on keeping things easy. My mile splits were consistent over the entire run and I'm pleased with the pace my easy effort returned. Hopefully I'll start to see an increase in pace for the same energy cost over the next couple of months.
Totals;
Time: 1:51 - Distance: 24.15km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 9:11 - 124.91km
Cross training : 0:00
S & C: 0:00

zico10

AuldManKing wrote: »

Looking fwd to this and seeing how Magness compares to Pfitz for you.

It'll be interesting, but if things work out for me, I think it's going to be hard to draw direct comparisons between the two plans. There's a lot more mileage in the Magness plan (so much, that I don't intend running the prescribed amount each week) than there was in the P & D plan I was following. I could have progressed to a higher mileage plan in 'Advanced Marathoning', but I wanted a change. The change alone has me more enthused about the training and I am very confident of setting a PB in Dublin. Should it happen though, it won't be just on account of switching plans. The training for Rotterdam has given me a much better base than I had at the start of December. My tattoo is finally finished and I'm going to be able to swim regularly once more. Without it impacting on running, I'm going to get the benefits of the aerobic conditioning that will come with swimming. And there a few more reasons I'll elaborate upon between now and October.

Keeks

zico10 wrote: »

It'll be interesting, but if things work out for me, I think it's going to be hard to draw direct comparisons between the two plans. There's a lot more mileage in the Magness plan (so much, that I don't intend running the prescribed amount each week) than there was in the P & D plan I was following. I could have progressed to a higher mileage plan in 'Advanced Marathoning', but I wanted a change. The change alone has me more enthused about the training and I am very confident of setting a PB in Dublin. Should it happen though, it won't be just on account of switching plans. The training for Rotterdam has given me a much better base than I had at the start of December. My tattoo is finally finished and I'm going to be able to swim regularly once more. Without it impacting on running, I'm going to get the benefits of the aerobic conditioning that will come with swimming. And there a few more reasons I'll elaborate upon between now and October.

Not like you to be so positive :P
wheres the real Zico?

zico10

Keeks wrote: »

Not like you to be so positive :P
wheres the real Zico?

I'm a teacher and I'm just at the start of two months holidays. That's probably all it is.

zico10

Monday 18th June

Recovery Run - 8 Miles

9.66km in 51:51, 5:22/km

Totals;
Time: 0:52 - Distance: 9.66km


Tuesday 19th June

Intervals - 12 x 200m at 3K pace down to 1 Mile pace

14.04km in 1:01:58
Efforts;
1) 0.21km in 37.7", 2.57/km, max = 2.40/km,
2) 0.21km in 37.9", 2.59/km, max = 2.22/km,
3) 0.21km in 36.4", 2.51/km, max = 2.40/km,
4) 0.21km in 36.5", 2.51/km, max = 2.39/km,
5) 0.21km in 37.5", 2.58/km, max = 2.31/km,
6) 0.21km in 36.5", 2.54/km, max = 2.32/km,
7) 0.21km in 37.1", 2.56/km, max = 2.48/km,
8) 0.20km in 36.8", 3.02/km, max = 2.41/km,
9) 0.21km in 37.0", 2.58/km, max = 2.44/km,
10) 0.21km in 37.3", 3.02/km, max = 2.43/km,
11) 0.21km in 36.4", 2.55/km, max = 2.25/km,
12) 0.21km in 37.4", 2.58/km, max = 2.45/km

I drove to Dunboyne AC to use the track for this session. This was mostly out of a fear of not being able to hit the desired paces somewhere else. I'm always dubious of the readings GPS gives me when running on a track, but I'll list them nonetheless. I ran all the efforts and the subsequent recoveries in an anti-clockwise direction around the track and made sure the wind was mostly with me for the hard work. I kept the effort steady for the first 150m of each rep and pushed it on for the final 50m. I was probably working too hard during the final few metres if truth be told, but I thought there was a benefit to what I was doing, so I persisted with my approach.
Totals;
Time: 1:02 - Distance: 14.04km


Wednesday 20th June
a.m.
9 Miles

14.49km in 1:02:36, 4:19/km

I haven't been great of late for doing early morning runs of any significant length, so while there was nothing spectacular about this, it felt good to get 9 miles in breakfast.
Totals;
Time: 1:03 - Distance: 14.49km

p.m.
5 Miles

8.05km in 33:58, 4:13/km

Totals;
Time: 0:34 - Distance: 8.05km


Thursday 21st June

6 Miles easy w. 8 x 10" sprints

9.72km in 47:54, 4:56/km

I was out for a few pints last night and was in no real mood to run today. Proceedings got underway with a very slow first mile of 8:52. Then without breaking any records, I gradually got faster. I was supposed to be doing hill sprints, but as I said above, my mood was low and I scrapped them. Come the end of the 6 miles, I started to feel guilty and thought including eight short sprints over the final mile would be a satisfactory compromise.
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 9.72km


Friday 22nd June

7 Miles easy

11.27km at 4:48/km

Done on a treadmill
Totals;
Time: 0:55 - Distance: 11.27km


Saturday 23rd June

2 Miles easy
This was just to shake out the legs in preparation for a race this evening and I didn't bother wearing a watch for it.
Totals;
Time: 0:16 - Distance: 3.22km


Dunshaughlin 10k
Warm up

3km with some strides

Race

10.05km in 34:48, 3:28/km

Due to poor positioning, I got off to a slow start. This turned out to be just as well though, as it forced me into running conservatively for the opening few minutes. I think this would be a sensible strategy for me in most circumstances, but particularly tonight considering how inadequately prepared I was for the race.
I held a steady pace for the opening 5km and as got to half way in 17:26. I finished in 34:48, which is probably the first time I've ever finished a race with a negative split. And with the bulk of the elevation gain coming in the second half of the race, negative splitting here was even more pleasing.
Lest anyone accuse me of being too cheerful though, I just need to finish by saying it was only an okay race for me. I'd like to think I can get my 10k time under 34 minutes between now and October and until that happens, I won't be happy.

Cool down

3km easy

Totals;
Time: 1:05 - Distance: 16.05km


Sunday 24th June

16 Miles w. 8 x 45" surges

25.75km in 1:52:00, 4:21/km

I started the surges after I'd completed 6 miles, ran 3 minutes steady between each surge and had all eight done by mile 10. I felt strong enough during them considering the race last night.
Totals;
Time: 1:52 - Distance: 25.75km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 8:59 - 112.25km
Cross training : 0:52
S & C: 0:00

zico10

Monday 25th June
8 Miles Recovery

12.88km in 1:04:36, 5:01/km

Totals;
Time: 1:05 - Distance: 12.88km


Tuesday 26th June
a.m.
7 Miles

11.27km in 48:59, 4:21/km

I wasn’t looking at my pace, but this was a bit slower than I would have expected. It hardly matters though, and it was simply about getting the first run of a double run day done.
Totals;
Time: 0:49 - Distance: 11.27km

p.m.
9 Miles

14.49km in 1:01:54, 4:16/km

Totals;
Time: 1:02 - Distance: 14.49km


Wednesday 27th June
9 Miles w. 20 minutes at LT

13.35km in 56:04 + 1 mile cool down
Efforts;
1) 2.83km in 10:02, 3:33/km,
2) 2.80km in 10:00, 3:35/km

If I had been sticking strictly to the plan, I would have run 20 minutes unbroken at threshold, but I think there is a bit of leeway in the program for when one’s not having the best of days, which was the case this evening. I’d been anticipating failure all day, so in some ways failing to hit my hoped-for pace of :30/km was self-fulfilling. I was determined to run to feel though and if that didn’t yield sub 3:30/km pace, then so be it. I wasn’t going to go over the edge just to be able to say I’d succeeded in running fast. When I saw I was off pace approaching the first 10 minutes at LT, I decided to take a break and ran easy for 3 minutes and started running the opposite directions around the Park’s Playing Fields. I thought this would be enough to ensure I ran the second half on pace, but this isn’t what happened, and it was rather disappointing to see I was even slower for this portion.
On the plus side, I wasn’t bunched at the end of the run, which is often the effect threshold runs have on me.
Totals;
Time: 1:03 - Distance: 14.49km


Thursday 28th June
4 Miles

6.44km in 27:16, 4:14/km

This single short run is all I did today, even though there was 10-mile run in the plan as well. The volume is ramping up and I don’t want to take the risk of overdoing things, so one run was enough.
Totals;
Time: 0:27 - Distance: 6.44km


Friday 29th June
Intervals - 8 sets of {400m @ 3K pace, 200m recovery, 200m at 3K pace, 200m recovery}

11.37km in 54:45, 5:05/km
Efforts;
1) 400m in 71.1", 2:58/km,
2) 200m in 38.2", 3:11/km,
3) 400m in 74.2", 3:06/km,
4) 200m in 37.7", 3:09/km,
5) 400m in 74.5", 3:07/km,
6) 200m in 37.7", 3:09/km,
7) 400m in 75.0", 3:07/km,
8) 200m in 40.1", 3:21/km,
9) 400m in 74.6", 3:07/km,
10) 200m in 38.5", 3:12/km,
11) 400m in 74.4", 3:06/km,
12) 200m in 38.0", 3:10/km,
13) 400m in 76.7", 3:12/km,
14) 200m in 38.4", 3:12/km,
15) 400m in 73.8", 3:05/km,
16) 200m in 38.4", 3:12/km

I ran the 400s with the wind at my back and all the 200s were into the wind, so this explains the faster pace I held for the longer reps. I’d sought advice off Krusty before doing this session and he stressed that the important thing was to sufficiently recover for the efforts, so as I could hold a similar pace for them all. I had been jogging the 200m recoveries up until the midway point. However, when I saw how slow I was for the eighth rep, I decided to start walking the recoveries. This helped and although there were a few mediocre splits afterwards, I never came near the worryingly slow pace I held for number 8. I’d been out with my staff last night and got a short night’s sleep, so on reflection, thing could have gone a lot worse.
Totals;
Time: 0:55 - Distance: 11.37km


Saturday 30th June
16 Miles

25.75km in 1:48:16, 4:12/km

I drove to Kilkee to spectate at a triathlon down there (and for a night out). When the race was over, it was time to go out for my own run. I was meant to do two runs of 8 miles each today, but this would have negatively impacted on my plans for a good night out, so I stuck the two runs together and found myself running 16 miles in very warm weather. I’d no fuel or drink, but I could have done with something given the conditions. Stuck in the middle of The Loop Head Peninsula, there was nothing to be done for it though and I just had to soldier on until I got back to my accommodation and glorious H20 in Kilkee.
Totals;
Time: 1:48 - Distance: 25.75km


Sunday 1st July
17 Miles easy

25.37km in 2:22:17, 5:12/km

I was still down in Kilkee and decided to take the instructions to run “easy” very seriously. There were plenty of hills in today’s run and I backed off even more when the road rose. The slow pace I was running became almost painful long before the end, but I couldn’t muster the enthusiasm to push any harder and the whole run turned into one long plod.
Totals;
Time: 2:22 - Distance: 27.37km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 9:31 – 124.53km
Cross training: 0:00
S & C: 0:00

zico10

Monday 2nd July
8 Miles Recovery

12.88km in 1:07:34, 5:14/km

Totals;
Time: 1:08 - Distance: 12.88km


Tuesday 3rd July
a.m.
6 Miles

9.67km in 39:48, 4:07/km

Totals;
Time: 0:40 - Distance: 11.27km

p.m.
6 Miles

9.67km in 41:24, 4:17/km

Totals;
Time: 0:41 - Distance: 9.67km


Wednesday 4th July
8 Miles w. 6 x {400m just faster than LT/1,200m steady}

13.18km in 53:37
Work;
1) 400m @ 3:14/km & 1,200m @ 3:51/km,
2) 400m @ 3:14/km & 1,200m @ 3:47/km,
3) 400m @ 3:19/km & 1,200m @ 3:50/km,
4) 400m @ 3:20/km & 1,200m @ 3:46/km,
5) 400m @ 3:27/km & 1,200m @ 3:53/km,
6) 400m @ 3:20/km & 1,200m @ 3:42/km

Although I was happy with the paces I held for the 6 miles of work, it was hard to fight to urge to fall into recovery mode after the opening 400m of each 1-mile rep. It wasn’t overly difficult to get things back on track, but I decelerated way too much each time. The heat really got to me today and I took a long walk after the efforts were completed, before beginning a final cool down jog.
Totals;
Time: 0:54 - Distance: 13.18km


Thursday 5th July
a.m.
9 Miles

14.49km in 1:02:02, 4:18/km

Totals;
Time: 1:02 - Distance: 14.49km

p.m.
7 Miles

11.27km in 47:16, 4:12/km

Totals;
Time: 0:47 - Distance: 11.27km


Friday 6th July
8 Miles - Hilly Run

12.88km in 55:16, 4:17/km

This was supposed to be a “Strength Endurance Hill Circuit”, but I didn’t know what that meant at the time. Still, I was running, and running is always good. And now that I know what a “Strength Endurance Hill Circuit” is, I won’t make the same mistake again.
Totals;
Time: 0:55 - Distance: 11.37km


Saturday 7th July
18 Miles easy

25.75km in 1:48:16, 4:12/km

This was the longest run I’ve done since Rotterdam and I felt fine throughout; cause for optimism I hope.
Totals;
Time: 1:48 - Distance: 25.75km


Sunday 8th July
Day off running – I’ve an aquathlon planned for tomorrow, and I've had to rejig my training the few days either side of the race to accommodate it. I should have been doing my long run today and was due a day off tomorrow, but as I’ll be racing tomorrow, I felt it would be wise to take the day off today. The race will throw a few other things out of kilter next week, but I’ll deal with them as they arise.



Weekly Totals;
Running: 8:21 – 113.02km
Cross training: 1:21
S & C: 0:50

zico10

Monday 9th July
a.m.
2 Miles w. 6 x 10” accelerations

3.33km at 4:04/km

This was just a short run with some strides ahead of a race tonight.
Totals;
Time: 0:14 - Distance: 3.33km

p.m.
Race
Howth Aquathlon

7.12km in 25:30, 3:35/km

Considering I’ve done SFA swimming of late, I had an okay swim and exited the water reasonably high up the field. By the time I reached the first marshal out on the run course, I was told I was in 5th place. I certainly would have taken this before the race started and I figured based on how multi-sport races usually fare for me, I had a good chance of making up a few more places before the finish.
The run was a two-lap affair and I was able to ascertain who was ahead of me before we were joined by slower swimmers starting their runs as we were on our second lap. I’d moved into second place by this point, but the guy in first had a good gap on me and there was no way I was going to catch him. I was still feeling fresh and the prospects of finishing with the fastest run split kept up the motivation to keep pushing. I duly finished in second, and happily, the fastest kilometre split I managed was the very last one. This is seldom the case for me and I’m taking this as a sign that I paced things smartly. It probably doesn’t matter too much in a race as short as tonight’s, but my pacing is something I think is essential I improve upon before DCM, and the more times I get it right, the better.
Cool down

2km jog - untimed

Totals;
Time: 0:38 - Distance: 9.12km


Tuesday 10th July
9 Miles

14.49km in 1:02:15, 4:18/km

I wasn’t sure what to do today as the race last night threw things out of kilter. All throughout this run, I thought I’d have to do a 7-mile run later in the evening, but when I got home and studied the program a bit more, I reckoned I’d be able to get things back in sync by leaving out a second run for the day.
Totals;
Time: 1:02 - Distance: 14.49km


Wednesday 11th July
a.m.
9 Miles

14.50km in 1:01:41, 4:15/km

Totals;
Time: 1:02 - Distance: 14.50km

p.m.
7 Miles

11.27km in 48:17, 4:17/km

Just a second mundane run ticked off for the day.
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.27km


Thursday 12th July
a.m.
8 Miles

12.88km in 54:43, 4:15/km

Totals;
Time: 0:55 - Distance: 12.88km

p.m.
7 Miles

11.27km in 48:13, 4:17/km

Just like yesterday’s runs, there’s not much to be said about either of today’s jaunts. Dublin 15 is not the most inspiring place to run and I can only hope the monotony of what I’m doing pays off on October 28th.
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.27km


Friday 13th July
10 Miles w. 2 x 12:30 @ LT

16.41km in 1:08:39
Efforts;
1) 3.61km in 12:30, 3:28/km,
2) 3.73km in 12:30, 3:21/km

This worked out a lot better for me than my previous attempt at an LT run when I could only average 3:34/km for two 10-minute stints. I ran the LT sections around The Polo Grounds, the first one in an anticlockwise direction and the second 12:30 spell in a clockwise direction. I’m not sure if the change in direction had any bearing on the increased pace I could hold for the second effort, but one thing that definitely impacted was deciding to take off my top and running shirtless. Even if the heat is proving a nuisance (as it was today), this is not something I usually do. This is mostly because I feel like a plonker running around naked from the waist up, but if such a simple thing helps me run quicker, I think I could deal with these issues.
Totals;
Time: 0:54 - Distance: 13.18km


Saturday 14th July
a.m.
8 Miles

12.88km in 55:04, 4:17/km

Totals;
Time: 0:55 - Distance: 12.88km

p.m.
8 Miles

12.88km in 55:04, 4:16/km

Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.27km


Sunday 15th July
10 Miles w. 4 miles progression

16.41km in 1:08:39
4 Mile progression;
Mile 1) 1.61km in 6:15, 3:53/km,
Mile 2) 1.61km in 6:06, 3:47/km,
Mile 3) 1.61km in 5:59, 3:43/km,
Mile 4) 1.61km in 5:46, 3:35/km

I was targeting :58/km, :52/km, :46/km and :40/km respectively for each of the 4 miles progression. I was comfortably able to increase the pace each time, so today’s run can be chalked down as a success. The real test though will be if I can still run a 5:46 mile after having already ran 25 of them come October 28th.
Totals;
Time: 1:33 - Distance: 22.53km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 9:57 – 141.56km
Cross training: 2:58
S & C: 0:00

cgooner

Great log and thanks for sharing, do you find it annoying using both kms and miles?! Training for dcm aswell so great to watch your progress and the different training plan.

Best of luck.

zico10

cgooner wrote: »

Great log and thanks for sharing, do you find it annoying using both kms and miles?!

I found it annoying trying to figure out why a book with "Science" in the title would refer to anything in miles, but once I got over that, things were fine.
Being serious though, it doesn't really affect anything for me. As the book gives the distance for each run in miles, I list them with the same heading. And I've my Garmin set to autolap every mile, but this is just to keep track of how far into each run I am. The watch still displays the pace in kilometres per minute and it will be the same for the marathon itself.

Kurt.Godel

Cutting through the chaff , some serious aquathon swimming from you lately, much better than when you've been training hard in the water. Maybe all you needed was to chill and relax before the swims? (Think that advice is copyright from interested). In any case, nice to have that in the bank for when you return to Tri... and back to the main program; great to see the running going to plan for DCM.

zico10

Monday 16th July
8 Miles recovery

12.88km in 1:06:58, 5:12/km

Totals;
Time: 1:06 - Distance: 12.88km


Tuesday 17th July
Strength Endurance Hill Circuit

22.54km in 1:43:01

I ran to The Phoenix Park for this, where I used The Khyber Pass for the hill circuit. It took a bit longer to get to the bottom of the Khyber than I thought it would, so I did the hill circuit of {10 squat jumps, 25” steady, 10” skipping, 40” steady, 10 hops, 35” steady, 10 ankle flips, 35” steady, 10 bounds & 10” sprint} x 4, later into my run than I’d planned. The length of time it took me to reach my chosen hill was one problem. Another was that The Khyber levelled out before I finished the circuit and the bounds and final 10 seconds sprinting were done on what was essentially flat terrain. This was annoying, but I got 90% of the circuit done going uphill and this was certainly better than the last attempt I made at a Strength Endurance Hill Circuit.
I wasn’t sure of the overall distance I’d do setting out and I was thinking 10 miles might do it. Like I said, it took longer than expected before I started the hill circuit and I had 13km covered by the time I was finished the circuit. I could have made it back home clocking 12 miles, but once the circuit was out of the way, my enthusiasm had grown and I took a longer route home to give me a total of 14 miles.
Totals;
Time: 1:43 - Distance: 22.54km


Wednesday 18th July
a.m.
7 Miles

11.27km in 50:27, 4:29/km

I didn’t think this was the best thing to be doing on the morning of a race day, but I wanted to stick with the plan as much as possible. So as a 7-mile run was scheduled for the morning, a 7-mile run is what it was.
Totals;
Time: 0:50 - Distance: 11.27km

p.m.
Race
Bray Aquathlon
After the aquathlon last week, I realised how much I miss the buzz of racing. As there was another aquathlon close by tonight, I made a last-minute decision to go along.
Warm-up

2.04km w/2 x 20” strides in 10:14, 5:01/km

Race

4.61km in 16:08, 3:29/km

For the time I’ve been investing in it of late, I’d another reasonable swim. Once the run started, my plan was to start conservatively, hoping that would save my legs for the b*tch of a climb up Bray Head Cliff Walk we had to take on twice. The last time I did this race a few years ago, and although I remember the hill being a pain, it was tougher than I remember. It felt even tougher the second time tonight, but according to my Garmin, I got up it quicker on the second lap. I was making up ground on those ahead and I was in 4th place coming down the hill on the last lap. There was about 1km to go, but 3rd was in striking distance and with a bit of a push, I reckoned I would catch him before the finish. There was strong motivation to run hard, but this is often the case and I don’t always have the energy to do anything about it. This wasn’t the case tonight and I moved into 3rd place with just under 600m to go. I could see the guy in 2nd ahead of me, but I ran out of road and he finished 9 seconds ahead of me. It would have been nice to have caught him, but I’d podiumed and was happy with my lot.
Cool down

2km jog - untimed

Totals;
Time: 0:37 - Distance: 10.65km


Thursday 19th July
10 Miles

16.11km in 1:06:25, 4:07/km

Considering the race last night, I was happy with my pace for this run.
Totals;
Time: 1:06 - Distance: 16.11km


Friday 20th July
8 Miles

12.88km in 55:08, 4:17/km

I was in Clonakilty for a few dayss and after a day of sightseeing, I went out for a run. Part of me was thinking it might be a good idea to do a few miles at threshold, but when I realised how hilly it was down here, I thought ‘F*ck that!’ I’d worked hard enough for the guts of 5km on Wednesday and I told myself that would be enough for one week.
Totals;
Time: 0:55 - Distance: 12.88km


Saturday 21st July
20 Miles Easy

32.19km in 2:35:54, 4:50/km

I usually do my long runs on a Sunday, but I was still in Clonakilty and figured 20 easy miles down there would be less of a bore than 20 miles on overly familiar roads elsewhere. I was determined to keep the effort easy, so when any steep hills presented themselves, of which there were quite a few, I backed off and got up them without too much strain.
Totals;
Time: 2:35 - Distance: 32.19km


Sunday 22nd July
a.m.
10 Miles

16.10km in 1:07:25, 4:11/km

I’d two runs to do today and planned on running them as two 8 milers when. But once that marker drew near on this run, I decided an extra mile wouldn’t kill me. I took a similar decision when I got to 9 miles, but 10 was where I called a halt to proceedings, leaving me with only 6 miles to run in the evening.
Totals;
Time: 1:07 - Distance: 16.10km

p.m.
6 Miles

9.67km in 41:17, 4:16/km

I wasn’t really feeling it during this run and was glad I hadn’t an extra 2 miles to do. My pace was a bit down on the morning’s run, but I was just glad to get it done.
Totals;
Time: 0:41 - Distance: 9.67km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 10:41 – 144.29km I think this might be the greatest distance I ever ran in one week and I’m still holding up, thankfully.
Cross training: 0:52
S & C: 0:00

zico10

Kurt.Godel wrote: »

Cutting through the chaff , some serious aquathon swimming from you lately, much better than when you've been training hard in the water. Maybe all you needed was to chill and relax before the swims? (Think that advice is copyright from interested). In any case, nice to have that in the bank for when you return to Tri... and back to the main program; great to see the running going to plan for DCM.

I'm not sure we should be talking about this here, but seeing as you ask; calling it "serious" swimming would be taking things a bit far. I exited the water in both races a lot further up than I usually do, but I think that has as much to do with the strength of the fields than anything else. The very fact I podiumed both days should tell you that. My swim in Bray might look alright in comparison to yours, but then you had an off day and I don't want to read too much into it. It would be useful if I could find a few more swimmers I could draw comparisons with, but it would be a PITA trawling through results to find them.

But they weren't terrible swims and hopefully that means I'll be able to take up where I left off when I get back to triathlon, which is actually much sooner, and with a much tougher reintroduction, than I had planned. I'll be doing The Lost Sheep on 1st September. The swim training I'll manage, but not sure how I'm going to find any time to cycle between now and then. For the next month, I intend to stick as closely as possible with the Magness plan. So I might find myself down in Kenmare trying to bluff the cycle based on a combination on what I've done in previous years and record run mileage.

zico10

I was supposed to run a 15-20km race on 5th August, but I couldn’t find anything on that date. The closest suitable race I could find was a low key 10-Mile race in Ballynonty, Tipperary on 29th July. To accommodate racing a week earlier than I should have been, I had to swap week 8 with week 9.

Monday 23rd July
10 Miles Recovery

16.10km in 1:27:02, 5:24/km

Totals;
Time: 1:27 - Distance: 16.10km


Tuesday 24th July
a.m.
9 Miles

14.49km in 59:27, 4:06/km

Totals;
Time: 0:59 - Distance: 14.49km

p.m.
9 Miles

14.49km in 59:04, 4:05/km

This felt like a decent run and that enjoyable feeling that I was just gliding along was present at times. This morning’s run was the highest pace I’ve held for these bog standard runs in quite some time, so even if it is only by 1 second per kilometre, to go quicker again this evening bolsters the confidence.
Totals;
Time: 0:59 - Distance: 14.49km


Wednesday 25th July
Intervals - 3 sets of {800m @ 5K pace, 40” recovery, 400m at 5K pace, ,[/B] 40” recovery, 800m at 5K pace}, 3 minutes easy between sets

13.92km in 58:57
Intervals;
1) 810m in 2:35, 3:11/km,
2) 400m in 1:18, 3:15/km,
3) 800m in 2:37, 3:16/km,
4) 800m in 2:35, 3:13/km,
5) 400m in 1:19, 3:18/km,
6) 800m in 2:42, 3:22/km,
7) 800m in 2:39, 3:19/km,
8) 400m in 1:17, 3:13/km,
9) 800m in 2:42, 3:22/km

The intervals were all done in an anti-clockwise direction around The Playing Fields in The Park. I hoped/expected to run all the intervals quicker than 3:20/km. The first set was done without too much strain. But by the final 800m rep in the second set, holding the pace was taking more out of me than a 5k effort should. It was hard to accept not hitting my desired for pace and I decided to keep fighting it. Whether this was a wise move, I’m not sure, but I was happy to finish the combined 6 kilometres of work with an average pace of 3:17/km.
Totals;
Time: 0:59 - Distance: 13.92km


Thursday 26th July
a.m.
7 Miles

11.27km in 47:39, 4:14/km

Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.27km

p.m.
7 Miles

11.27km in 48:09, 4:16/km

Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.27km



Friday 27th July
8 Miles w. 8 x 10” hill sprints

12.89km in 55:43

Outside of the hill sprints and recoveries, I held an average pace of 4:13/km for the run, which was perfectly acceptable.
Totals;
Time: 0:56 - Distance: 12.89km


Saturday 28th July
6 Miles Easy

9.66km in 47:32, 4:55/km

The first mile was desperately slow (9:20). It then registered that this was meant to be an easy run, not a recovery. I picked things up a bit and ran the remaining 5 miles at a more appropriate pace.
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 9.66km


Sunday 29th July
Warm-up

2.5km w. some strides

Race
Ballynonty 10 Mile

16.10km in 57:27, 3:34/km
Mile splits; 1) 5:28, 3:24/km, 2) 5:22, 3:20/km, 3) 5:40, 3:31/km, 4) 5:42, 3:33/km, 5) 5:53, 3:40/km, 6) 5:49, 3:37/km, 7) 5:48, 3:36/km, 8) 5:50, 3:38/km, 9) 5:54, 3:40/km, 10) 5:56, 3:42/km

I was very disappointed with my time today. There’s no other way to put it. The only previous 10-mile races I can remember running are Trim in 2016 and again in 2017. I ran 57:10 and 56:10 respectively. I thought training was going well and I felt certain I was in better shape right now than I was for either of those races. To be so far off 3:29/km pace I ran on my way to the PB, is rather humbling.
The most obvious thing to point out would be that I started too fast, but I still don’t think that was the case. Bettering my opening split in the second mile was a sign that I’d started sensibly, and from here I thought I’d be able to hold sub 3:30/km pace until the end. That never happened, and it left me deflated for a few days afterwards.
It was a disappointing end to the week; a week that I thought was building up to me being in with a great chance of PB-ing. I didn’t even come close and I knew the game was up before I even reached the halfway point. I can think of a few reasons that could go someway to explaining my subpar performance, but I think just forgetting about the result and moving on is probably the best course of action. That’s what I’ve chosen to do and hopefully there’ll be more positive indicators in the next race I do.

Cool down

2.5km easy

Totals;
Time: 1:25 - Distance: 21.00km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 9:09 – 125.09km
Cross training: 1:33
S & C: 2:20 I went back to a Bikram Yoga class for the first time in a long time. There’s money at stake if I don’t attend the classes on a regular basis, so it should become a more frequent part of my training.

Kurt.Godel

zico10 wrote: »

calling it "serious" swimming would be taking things a bit far.

There's "serious swimming" which may or may not be a different thing to "serious aquathon swimming" but seriously whatever you're doing now is working; exiting the water high enough to run yourself into podium isn't something that happened in previous years so take the time to celebrate that achievement as you continue with your marathon goal.

You seem to have "overachieved" your swim abilities without the 10K+ swim weeks you used to do, but no doubt all that previous water training contributed as training in the bank. Swim talk might not be specific to this running/athletics forum, but training wise I think many could learn from your approach... you were often frustrated by lack of swim progress but put in lots and lots of swim training over the past few years, and that (perhaps coupled with a more relaxed approach to the water?) must have stood to you recently.

zico10

Monday 30th July
Nothing; The plan gave me the choice of “off or short recovery”. I spent the day wallowing in self-pity over yesterday’s race, and in keeping with this, I opted for “off”.


Tuesday 31st July
a.m.
11 Miles w. 10 x 10” hill sprints

17.72km in 1:21:27

I’d no fixed idea of the overall distance I’d do starting out. I figured somewhere between 10 and 12 miles would be appropriate, so I settled on 11. I used a gentler slope than I’ve been using up until now for the hill sprints and I took much longer recoveries as well, which were taking 2:15 or thereabouts. I really tried to work for the sprints and whatever I was doing seemed to work, as I got faster the more I did.
Totals;
Time: 1:21 - Distance: 17.72km

p.m.
9 Miles

14.49km in 59:04, 4:05/km

Totals;
Time: 0:59 - Distance: 14.49km


Wednesday 1st August
a.m.
8 Miles

12.88km in 53:02, 4:07/km

Totals;
Time: 0:53 - Distance: 12.88km

p.m.
8 Miles

12.88km in 54:44, 4:15/km

Totals;
Time: 0:55 - Distance: 12.88km


Thursday 2nd August
11 Miles w. 30 minutes split LT

18.57km in 1:17:23
Efforts;
1) 3.50km in 12:01, 3:26/km,
2) 2.89km in 10:02, 3:28/km,
3) 2.35km in 8:01, 3:25/km

My pace for the LT sections was where I wanted it to be, but they took more out of me than I would have liked. Ideally, I have broken the 30 minutes into two 15-minute blocks, but 10 minutes into the first effort, I decided a more prudent approach would be to take two recoveries instead of one. It was too late to split the 30 minutes into even blocks at that point and struggling to think of a smarter way of breaking up the half hour of work, I came up the above splits.
I was running on grass, which I’m hoping goes some way to explaining how hard I was finding it to hold speed.
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.27km


Friday 3rd August
a.m.
9 Miles

14.49km in 1:00:31, 4:11/km

Heavy legs; still feeling the effects of yesterday’s tempo run.
Totals;
Time: 1:01 - Distance: 14.49km

p.m.
6 Miles

9.66km at 4:11/km

Just for a change to running outside, I did this on a treadmill.
Totals;
Time: 0:41 - Distance: 9.66km


Saturday 4th August
a.m.
9 Miles

14.49km in 1:00:16, 4:10/km

Totals;
Time: 1:00 - Distance: 14.49km

p.m.
9 Miles

14.49km in 1:01:08, 4:13/km

Totals;
Time: 1:01 - Distance: 14.49km


Sunday 5th August
18 Miles w. 8 miles as 800m LT/800m MP

20.81km in 1:24:00
Efforts;
1) 800m in 2:47, 3:28/km & 2) 800m in 2:55, 3:39/km,
3) 800m in 2:46, 3:27/km & 4) 800m in 2:55, 3:38/km,
5) 800m in 2:46, 3:27/km & 6) 800m in 2:55, 3:38/km,
7) 800m in 2:45, 3:25/km & 8) 800m in 2:55, 3:38/km,
9) 800m in 2:45, 3:26/km & 10) 800m in 2:57, 3:40/km,
11) 800m in 2:43, 3:23/km & 12) 800m in 2:57, 3:41/km,
13) 800m in 2:47, 3:28/km & 14) 800m in 2:56, 3:40/km,
15) 800m in 2:43, 3:24/km & 16) 800m in 2:50, 3:32/km

I was in The Phoenix Park for this and ran the 800m efforts up and down Chesterfield Avenue ad nauseum. My watch was set to auto lap every 800m and this also served as a signal to turn around and begin the next 800m of work. Part of Chesterfield Avenue was closed to traffic, which I thought would make it ideal for what I had to do. But I lost momentum every 800m, so I tried to be smart and made sure the turns were performed during the slightly slower MP efforts. So I only executed the U-turns after the 800m at LT was over and about 760m into the block at MP. This meant I was getting 60m closer to the end of the closed section of road at the end of each second effort and I was going to run out of road if I kept going. When I finished above 3:40/km for the sixth stint at MP, I stopped my watch and took a short walking break. It set a bad precedent and I took another short break before finishing the work. It was cheating, but I’ve convinced myself I wouldn’t have had to resort to this if I didn’t have sixteen about-turns to perform. It also solved the problem of the ever-shortening stretch of closed road I had to run on.
Totals;
Time: 1:24 - Distance: 20.81km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 9:09 – 125.09km
Cross training: 1:33
S & C: 2:20

zico10

I was meant to do a 35-minute split LT run on Wednesday, but I still haven’t had my annual fix of multi-sport racing and had entered the final race in the Wicklow Tri Aquathon Series on the same day. Consequently, doing the LT run that morning didn’t make a lot of sense. The solution I came up with was to do the aquathon, and then show up with my game-face once more for my local Parkrun on Saturday morning. I also had a social engagement on Thursday involving a good bit of drink, that was inevitably going to ensure Friday would be a write-off. All these things meant the training for week 10 in the plan had to be tinkered quite a bit.

Monday 6th August
8 Miles Recovery

12.89km in 1:12:22, 5:37/km

I had been swimming in Dun Laoghaire immediately prior to this. I had spent a good bit longer in the water than I had planned, or I am used to of late. It left me feeling a little nauseous and it was with some reluctance I started this run. The sea air and the change of scenery helped me get through it though.
Totals;
Time: 1:12 - Distance: 12.89km


Tuesday 7th August
a.m.
9 Miles

14.49km in 1:00:31, 4:15/km

Totals;
Time: 1:01 - Distance: 14.49km

p.m.
9 Miles

14.49km in 1:02:05, 4:17/km

Totals;
Time: 1:02 - Distance: 14.49km


Wednesday 8th August
a.m.
5 Miles Easy

8.05km at 4:57/km

Totals;
Time: 0:40 - Distance: 8.05km

p.m.
Race
Bray Aquathlon
Warm-up

2km easy w/2 x 20” strides, untimed

Race

4.62km in 16:23, 3:33/km

Out of the three aquathlons I’ve done recently, I’d the poorest swim of the lot today (normal service resumes, Kurt) and I exited the water a good bit down on the leaders. I didn’t run as fast as the last time I was here and finished in 5th. Unlike last time, when I picked up a reward for making the podium, I drove home with nothing to show for my efforts. Bizarrely, Strava still gave me some CRs for the run. I can’t figure how that happened, but at least it’s something to take from the night.
Cool down

2km jog - untimed

Totals;
Time: 0:36 - Distance: 8.62km


Thursday 9th August
16 Miles

25.67km in 1:49:26, 4:15/km

Depending on how I adapted the week’s training, I should have been doing one of two double run days today. Day 1 was 10 miles/8 miles, day 2 was 9 mile/7 miles. Whatever day I opted for, I was going to combine the distances and do it as one single run. Mostly because it would take less time, I went with the day 2 combo. I felt under pressure to get the run done and I would have thought the effort I was expending would have yielded a faster pace. Not for the first time this week, as you’ll see later, I’ll blame the race last night.
Totals;
Time: 1:49 - Distance: 25.67km


Friday 10th August
9 Miles (almost) Recovery

14.10km in 1:14:34, 5:17/km

This was just a late evening jog to pick up my car that I’d parked at a friend’s house yesterday. I started slowly and gradually got less slow as the miles ticked by.
Totals;
Time: 1:15 - Distance: 14.10km


Saturday 11th August
a.m.
Race/LT Run
Porterstown Parkrun

5.11km in 17:25, 3:24/km
Kilometre Splits; 1) 3:26, 2) 3:33, 3) 3:20, 4) 3:19, 5) 3:23

My expectations were low going into this, and even though it wasn’t a “race” as such, I was still hoping for a better performance. There were a few mitigating factors that I hope could go some way to explaining things. More than anything, the training I’ve been doing all week wasn’t designed with a weekend race in mind. Nor was racing Wednesday evening, binge drinking on Thursday, and nursing a hangover all day Friday the ideal lead-in either. Then just to compound it all, I didn’t do any sort of warm up.
At the end of the day, this wasn’t a target race. I didn’t approach it with the seriousness I would a normal race. If I regard it as merely being the second half of the 35-minute LT run I was to do for the week, then it was a success. I got close to half of this done with my 16:23 run, at 3:34/km pace, at Wednesday’s aquathlon. I realise I wasn’t meant to take sixty hours recovery before doing the second half of the LT stuff, but I ran sub :30/km pace for 17 minutes-odd today. That’s close enough to 35 minutes to keep me happy and my average pace for the two runs combined comes in at 3:29/km. I’m taking some solace from that, however sad that might seem.

Cool-down

1.50km easy, untimed

Totals;
Time: 0:25 - Distance: 6.51km

p.m.
9 Miles w. 8 Miles Steady

14.49km in 56:40,
Splits for 8 miles steady; 1) 6:15, 3:53/km, 2) 6:12, 3:51/km, 3) 6:10, 3:50/km, 4) 6:08, 3:49/km, 5) 6:02, 3:49/km, 6) 5:59, 3:43/km, 7) 5:55, 3:41/km, 8) 5:58, 3:42/km

Even though the steady pace called for wasn’t too hectic, after some hard running in the morning, I wasn’t sure how my legs would respond to once again being asked to work for the second time today. I was pleasantly surprised with how well they held up. I was hoping for <4:00/km pace for the steady miles and after a half mile warm-up, the pace came easy to me. Without increasing the effort, I was touching my MP come the end of the 8 miles. Positive signs; I hope.
Totals;
Time: 0:57 - Distance: 14.49km


Sunday 12th August
18 Miles w. 10 x 60” surges

29.97km in 2:03:33, 4:07/km

This felt like a long, long run and while I was never struggling with the pace, I was annoyed at the effort it was taking. My plan for the 60-second surges was to go from MP, to HMP, to 10k pace to 5k pace every 15 seconds. I’m not sure how well I managed this, and I’d say anybody looking at me might simply have thought I was running fast for 45 seconds, then finishing off with a 15-second sprint.
Totals;
Time: 2:04 - Distance: 29.97km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 9:09 – 125.09km
Cross training: 1:51
S & C: 1:30

Wubble Wubble

zico10 wrote: »

Saturday 11th August
a.m.
Race/LT Run
Porterstown Parkrun

5.11km in 17:25, 3:24/km
Kilometre Splits; 1) 3:26, 2) 3:33, 3) 3:20, 4) 3:19, 5) 3:23

My expectations were low going into this, and even though it wasn’t a “race” as such, I was still hoping for a better performance. There were a few mitigating factors that I hope could go some way to explaining things. More than anything, the training I’ve been doing all week wasn’t designed with a weekend race in mind. Nor was racing Wednesday evening, binge drinking on Thursday, and nursing a hangover all day Friday the ideal lead-in either. Then just to compound it all, I didn’t do any sort of warm up.
At the end of the day, this wasn’t a target race. I didn’t approach it with the seriousness I would a normal race. If I regard it as merely being the second half of the 35-minute LT run I was to do for the week, then it was a success. I got close to half of this done with my 16:23 run, at 3:34/km pace, at Wednesday’s aquathlon. I realise I wasn’t meant to take sixty hours recovery before doing the second half of the LT stuff, but I ran sub :30/km pace for 17 minutes-odd today. That’s close enough to 35 minutes to keep me happy and my average pace for the two runs combined comes in at 3:29/km. I’m taking some solace from that, however sad that might seem.

Cool-down

1.50km easy, untimed

Totals;
Time: 0:25 - Distance: 6.51km


Weekly Totals;
Running: 9:09 – 125.09km
Cross training: 1:51
S & C: 1:30

Thought that was you alright. It would definitely have been more to your benefit if there was anyone to push you along. Luck of the draw when you go to Porterstown I'm afraid - it's not that often we get two or more runners of your standard out together.

Kurt.Godel

zico10 wrote:

Out of the three aquathlons I’ve done recently, I’d the poorest swim of the lot today (normal service resumes, Kurt) and I exited the water a good bit down on the leaders.

Of all the rotten luck I was on holidays the one day you have a bad swim. Crying into my pina colada now.

zico10

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Thought that was you alright. It would definitely have been more to your benefit if there was anyone to push you along. Luck of the draw when you go to Porterstown I'm afraid - it's not that often we get two or more runners of your standard out together.

Hi, were we talking to each other after the race?

If I had been looking for a faster 5k, it would have been better to have somebody to run with, but the way things were I think I was better off just running by myself. The laps got progressively quicker. It's nearly always the opposite when I'm racing. Had I someone to chase in Porterstown, I think it would have been a case of me starting too fast and then damage limitation until the end.

Wubble Wubble

zico10 wrote: »

Hi, were we talking to each other after the race?

If I had been looking for a faster 5k, it would have been better to have somebody to run with, but the way things were I think I was better off just running by myself. The laps got progressively quicker. It's nearly always the opposite when I'm racing. Had I someone to chase in Porterstown, I think it would have been a case of me starting too fast and then damage limitation until the end.

Afraid not. I'm a regular at Porterstown, so I've put a huge amount of names to faces at this stage, even though there's loads I haven't met. I was a marshal for one of your more recent runs. On Saturday I did a mile cooldown on the MSB grass track; I think you were gone when I'd finished all that. That progression has to be a positive sign when running on your own. Next time I see you there I'll introduce myself.

zico10

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

That progression has to be a positive sign when running on your own.

I should have warmed up, is what I took from it.

zico10

I’ve two races coming up over the next two weekends. The later one is a half-ironman in Kenmare, this includes a half marathon, which the Magness plan has scheduled for 25th August. Initially, I was just going to use the half marathon in the triathlon as the training race. I’ve done the race times and if I could finish with my best run ever down there, then I’d regard it as a successful race. But then it’s going to be preceded by an 83km hilly cycle I haven’t been training for and failing to hit a respectable might not necessarily give the clearest indication of what sort of form I’m in vis-à-vis my running. Bearing all that in mind, I decided to find a straight half marathon to run on the weekend it fell in my program. Conveniently, Tullamore Half Marathon falls on the 25th and there were still some entries available when I decided the half marathon in the half-ironman just wouldn’t cut it. I’ll still go down to Kenmare the weekend, but it will be as much for the fun of it and as anything else.

Monday 13th August
8 Miles Recovery

12.88km in 1:08:14, 5:18/km

Totals;
Time: 1:08 - Distance: 12.88km


Tuesday 14th August
a.m.
10 Miles

16.10km in 1:06:40, 4:08/km

Totals;
Time: 1:07 - Distance: 16.10km

p.m.
8 Miles

12.88km in 54:26, 4:14/km

Totals;
Time: 0:54 - Distance: 12.88km


Wednesday 15th August
15’ LT, 2 x 3’ uphill (5k effort), 2 x 5’ uphill (10k effort)

17.35km in 1:18:37

I drove to Howth, hoping I’d find suitable off-road trails on The Ben of Howth for the 10k and 5k efforts; I failed abysmally. Anyway, after running the 15 minutes at LT out on the roads, I passed through a gate and began what was was meant to the first of two 5-minute efforts. I’d no idea where I was going and the path I was on took into me into some trees and became more and more overgrown the further into the trees I went. What started with nettles stinging my shins, ended with me getting stuck in a thick bush. I couldn’t get through at any sort of fast pace and even should I push through, I didn’t think anything would be different on the far side. As I had close enough to 3 minutes on the clock, I decided to swap around the 5-minute and 3-minute efforts and do the shorter ones first. Even apart from that, I still feel like I made a balls of the session. I thought I knew Howth better than I did and while there were some lung bursting moments in the “uphill” efforts, I was going downhill for parts of them and I was getting recovery I shouldn’t have been. I just got on with things, but I won’t be coming back here in future for a similar session.
Totals;
Time: 1:19 - Distance: 17.35km


Thursday 16th August
a.m.
9 Miles

14.63km in 58:53, 4:02/km

Totals;
Time: 0:59 - Distance: 14.63km

p.m.
8 Miles

12.88km in 53:26, 4:09/km

I’d some business to do in Lucan and as I was out that direction, I did this run in St. Catherine’s; somewhere I can’t remember running since 2016.
Totals;
Time: 0:53 - Distance: 12.88km


Friday 17th August
a.m.
10 Miles

16.10km in 1:08:59, 4:17/km

Totals;
Time: 1:09 - Distance: 16.10km

p.m.
5 Miles

8.05km in 53:26, 4:09/km

Totals;
Time: 0:53 - Distance: 8.05km


Saturday 18th August
5 Miles Easy, 9 Miles as 800m slightly slower than LT/800m MP, 1 Mile Cool-down

24.01km in 1:37:02
Splits;
Warm-up: 8km in 37:02, 4:38/km
Work:
1) 800m in 2:55, 3:38/km/800m in 2:54, 3:38/km,
2) 800m in 2:50, 3:33/km/800m in 2:54, 3:37/km,
3) 800m in 2:52, 3:35/km/800m in 2:53, 3:37/km,
4) 800m in 2:54, 3:37/km/800m in 2:54, 3:37/km,
5) 800m in 2:48, 3:30/km/800m in 2:54, 3:38/km,
6) 800m in 2:51, 3:33/km/800m in 2:52, 3:35/km,
7) 800m in 2:54, 3:38/km/800m in 2:54, 3:37/km,
8) 800m in 2:51, 3:34/km/800m in 2:53, 3:36/km,
9) 800m in 2:46, 3:28/km/800m in 2:52, 3:34/km
Totals & Averages} 7.2km in 25:41, 3:34/km/7.2km in 26:00, 3:37/km
Cool-down: 1.61km in 8:21, 5:11/km

I knew this run was going to be challenging and I didn’t want anything unexpected cropping up in the middle of it. With The Phoenix Park taken over with preparations for the Pope’s visit, I didn’t want to risk going there and finding out I might not be able to run where it pleased me to run. The run I did on Thursday evening was in part a scouting mission to see would St. Catherine’s Park be a suitable substitute. It more than passed the test and I went back there again for this run. There was a bit more elevation in today’s run than I was hoping for, but c’est la vie. And although reviewing the data doesn’t back this up, I felt circumstances, be it wind, gradient, or sharp turns, were always conspiring against me during the harder 800m portions of the work. It’s hard to know how to feel about the run. The 800-metres at slightly slower than LT were slightly too slow, and the 800-metres at MP were probably slightly too fast. There isn’t much difference between the two paces and I found it hard to switch from one to the other.
Totals;
Time: 1:37 - Distance: 24.01km


Sunday 19th August
a.m.
9 Miles

14.49km in 59:56, 4:08/km

Had I been following the plan to the letter, I would have had two 7-mile runs to do today. But the half-marathon next weekend is coming a day earlier than planned, and with some work to do in the runs during race week, I want to get them all done when they’re supposed to be done. This means moving everything back 24 hours, so I’ll have to forgo my usual recovery Monday run. With all that considered, I decided I’d do the recovery run this evening and tagged on an extra 2 miles to the morning 7-mile run I should have been doing.
Totals;
Time: 1:00 - Distance: 14.49km

p.m.
8 Miles Recovery

12.88km in 1:08:14, 5:18/km

Totals;
Time: 1:08 - Distance: 12.88km


Weekly Totals;
Running: 11:45 – 162.25km My first 100-mile week ever
Cross training: 0:00
S & C: 5:00

rodneyr1981

Very impressive running today. Assuming that's a pb?

zico10

rodneyr1981 wrote: »

Very impressive running today. Assuming that's a pb?

Thanks, it's a PB by 1:21. The last half marathon PB I would have claimed was from a full marathon, so it's nice to have a legitimate one. Happy with how it went. Only problem now is I have to knock a few seconds off my LT pace the next time it's called for in training.

zico10

Monday 20th August
10 Miles w. 2 Miles MP, 1 Mile LT + 6 x 10” Hill sprints

16.41km in 1:11:39
Work; LT) 3.22km in 11.02, 3:26/km, 10K) 1.61km in 5:18, 3.17/km

I began the 1-mile at 10k pace immediately after finishing the 2 miles at LT. Having not taken any recovery, I was happy with the pace I held for that mile. It’s hard to know if I would be able to run a full 10km at that pace, but I wasn’t anywhere near redlining and the effort seemed about right.
Totals;
Time: 1:17 - Distance: 16.41km


Tuesday 21st August
a.m.
7 Miles

11.27km in 48:39, 4:19/km

My pace was up and down throughout this run. I felt tired and empty, which won’t cut it for Saturday’s race. Maybe I should have expected this though, as the hard running I did both last Saturday and again yesterday were closer together than planned.
Totals;
Time: 0:49 - Distance: 11.27km

p.m.
7 Miles

11.28km in 47:50, 4:15/km

I felt a little more fluid than I did this morning and my pace was much more consistent.
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.28km


Wednesday 22nd August
a.m.
8 Miles w. 6 x 30” surges

12.89km in 51:07, 3:58/km

I was happy with how this went. The surges worked out well and once I got the legs turning over, I was able to hold a respectable pace for the 3 minutes recovery I did between them.
Totals;
Time: 0:51 - Distance: 12.89km

p.m.
6 Miles Easy

9.66km in 44:34, 4:38/km

My pace was remarkably consistent for this, which is always pleasing, even if it was only an easy run
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.28km


Thursday 23rd August
a.m.
6 Miles

9.66km in 39:04, 4:03/km

90% of this was done in Waterville Park and consisted of loops and loops of the same 700m circuit again and again. There was a bit of a drag on one side of the circuit, so the elevation gain added up over the run. Without going for it, several kilometres were coming in quicker than 4:00. While that’s still a long way off my hoped-for marathon pace, I’m taking it as a sure sign that I’m getting fitter and faster.
Totals;
Time: 0:39 - Distance: 9.66km

p.m.
4 Miles

6.44km at 13.7km/hr, 4:20/km

After the morning runs of yesterday and today, I didn’t feel I needed to prove anything to myself and I wanted to run these 4 miles towards the slower end of the pace range I deem acceptable for these “General Distance Runs”. The best way of guaranteeing this would happen, would be to use a treadmill, so that’s what I did.
Totals;
Time: 0:28 - Distance: 6.44km


Friday 24th August
6 Miles Easy

9.66km in 45:34, 4:43/km

Totals;
Time: 0:46 - Distance: 9.66km


Saturday 25th August
20 minutes w. 1’ steady, 1’ @ MP, 1’ @ LT

4.14km in 20:02
1 Minute Efforts; 1) 0.54km in 2:00, 3:41/km, 2) 0.32km in 1:00, 3:09/km

An early morning leg loosener 4 hours before my race
Totals;
Time: 0:20 - Distance: 4.14km

Tullamore Half Marathon
Warm up

4km progressive, untimed

Race

21.17km in 1:13:05, 3:27/km
Kilometre Splits; 1) 3:23, 2) 3:28, 3) 3:21, 4) 3:30, 5) 3:33, 6) 3:28, 7) 3:26, 8) 3:27, 9) 3:28, 10) 3:35, 11) 3:25, 12) 3:24, 13) 3:24, 14) 3:26, 15) 3:31, 16) 3:34, 17) 3:30, 18) 3:30, 19) 3:31, 20) 3:21, 21) 3:20, 22) 0.17km @ 3:02/km ,

I was confident heading into this race, but I felt the same way about the 10-Mile race 4 weeks ago and that didn’t work out so well. So, there was also an element of doubt about whether I’d manage to hold the sub 3:30/km pace I’ve used for my LT runs for a full 21 kilometres.
Sub 74 minutes was the target, but anything under my previous standalone half-marathon PB of 1:15:10 wouldn’t have been the end of the world. I don’t think there’s too much lucky about running, but at the same time it’s very easy make mistakes in a race and I didn’t want to have to resort to that excuse today. I was hoping I’d fall in with a group of runners who had similar targets to me. Doing this, would stop me from tearing off like a hare from the traps and give me the best chance of taking advantage of the downhill finish in today’s race.
Happily, this is exactly how things played out and I quickly settled into a group with about six others. We were tipping along at a sustainable pace and I didn’t dare surge ahead. I’d let someone else do that and should it happen, I’d wait and see how the group would react.
Nobody seemed overly keen to launch a solo attack though and despite the odd change of leader, most of the group were still together when my Garmin registered the tenth kilometre with 34:39 on its display. This was faster than all three 10k races I’ve done this year. Ordinarily with another 10k plus still to run, this wouldn’t have boded well. Rewind the clock to last March, I don’t think this would have ended so well. I thought I had ran smartly up until now though and although I knew I was going to have to work for it, I didn’t feel like another 34:39 10k split was beyond me.
Unfortunately, I got dropped from my group and I was going to have to do it on my own. The group hadn’t put much too much distance into me and although it became more and more obvious I wasn’t going to latch back on, having them in my sights helped. We had gone through halfway at this point and although a few people passed me before the finish line, the splits on my Garmin told me I wasn’t slowing. Their tactics were their business and I didn’t let any of the passes bother me. I was still moving well and he longer the race went on, the more confident I became of finishing with a time below 74 minutes.
I got to the outskirts of Tullamore with two others who had chased me down over the second half. Each of us led for a few hundred metres apiece in the final 2km and we got back to the gates of the stadium still neck and neck. I pushed as hard as I could, but the two others did likewise, and I had no answer to their turn of speed. I was easily distanced once we made it on to the track, but I finished in a time well under my sub 74-minute target.
It’s no exaggeration to say it’s the first time in over 4 years that I have been happy with a standalone running race. I’m not sure what the finishing time entitles me to aim in DCM, but it’s the best indication I’ve had all year that a sub 2:35 marathon is within my capabilities. With almost two months remaining until 28th October, it still feels like there’s a long way to go until my A-race and I hope there are further improvements to come between now and then.

Cool down

3.25km in 18:35, 5:42/km

Totals;
Time: 1:40 - Distance: 28.42km


Sunday 26th August
No running; A “Short recovery/Day off” was scheduled. I didn’t run, but I didn’t take the day off either and went for a 2-hour cycle instead. After no proper cycling, there’s probably SFA I’ll be able to catch up on in a single week, but I don’t want to rock up in Kenmare without having done any cycling all year. Today was the first day of a week in which I hope to get my legs somewhat re-accustomed with what it means to pedal a bike.



Weekly Totals;
Running: 8:18 – 119.83km
Cross training: 3:30
S & C: 1:30

Kurt.Godel

zico10 wrote: »

Kilometre Splits; 1) 3:23, 2) 3:28, 3) 3:21, 4) 3:30, 5) 3:33, 6) 3:28, 7) 3:26, 8) 3:27, 9) 3:28, 10) 3:35, 11) 3:25, 12) 3:24, 13) 3:24, 14) 3:26, 15) 3:31, 16) 3:34, 17) 3:30, 18) 3:30, 19) 3:31, 20) 3:21, 21) 3:20, 22) 0.17km @ 3:02/km

Very impressive numbers, well done!

dublin runner

Firstly, super time. It wasn't a surprise given your recent training - quality. The Magness Plan is extremely good but one caveat needs to be implied when targeting DCM. I firmly believe it to be a completely different kettle of fish compared to flat marathons, like experienced in April. I would call it a 'tacticial' marathon, given its unique rolling course profile. With all that said, I think training needs to be focused on running hills, particularly for the steady end of things and MP.

It is a lot easier, in my opinion, to gauge perceived effort on courses like Rotterdam, especially when compared to a hilly course like Dublin. I would definitely look to run testing loops in the Park, such as the Simon 5 mile route over examples such as North Road/Avenue. Sure, the numbers may not look as impressive but it teaches the body and mind how to run on rolling terrain.

Keep up the good work!

Basically - run loads of hills!!

zico10

I did a triathlon on Saturday and shelved the Magness plan for the week. This week was the first time all year I did any proper cycle training. With a good few hours given to that, the run volume was well down on what it has been of late.

Monday 27th August
6 Miles

9.67km in 39:53, 4:08/km

I did this straight after finishing a hard cycle and the jelly legs experienced trying to run off the bike were the worst I’ve experienced since my first year in triathlon. Despite this, I held a good pace and I started to feel a bit more coordinated after the first mile was completed.
Totals;
Time: 0:40 - Distance: 9.67km

5 Miles Recovery

8.05km in 44:54, 5:35/km

The slow pace made this pretty boring.
Totals;
Time: 0:40 - Distance: 9.67km


Tuesday 28th August
8 Miles

12.91km in 54:03, 4:11/km

I was meeting someone for a swim at Killiney and drove out there an hour early to get this run done beforehand. I ran from Killiney Beach to Dun Laoghaire and it was a very lumpy opening two kilometres. It was an out and back run, so I had the same hill to tackle in reverse when finishing up.
Totals;
Time: 0:54 - Distance: 12.91km

7 Miles Recovery

11.27km in 1:02:13, 5:31/km

Much like yesterday’s recovery run, this was an awful bore fest and the extra 2 miles I had to run tonight only served to extend the drudgery.
Totals;
Time: 1:02 - Distance: 11.27km


Wednesday 29th August
6 Miles w. 4 x 30” strides

9.67km in 38:45, 4:01/km

This was done immediately after a cycle with some max efforts. I was pleased with my pace considering this.
Totals;
Time: 0:39 - Distance: 9.67km


Thursday 30th August
a.m.
6 Miles

9.66km in 39:04, 4:03/km

I was back to work today, so this was the earliest I’ve ran in over 2 months. After a slow-ish opening mile, my pace settled to what I would deem acceptable. It doesn’t make up for two months holidays coming to an end, but I would have taken it going to bed last night.
Totals;
Time: 0:39 - Distance: 9.66km

p.m.
4 Miles steady, 1 Mile cool down

8.05km in 33:06,
Mile splits; 1) 6:31, 4:03/km, 2) 6:16, 3:54/km, 30 6:13, 3:52/km 4) 6:08, 3:51/km,
5) 7:52, 4:53/km

Totals;
Time: 0:33 - Distance: 8.05km


Friday 31st August
25 Minutes Easy
This was untimed and done after a long drive from Dublin to Kenmare. I wasn’t trying to achieve anything other than shaking out my legs after a 5-hour drive.
Totals;
Time: 0:25 - Distance: 5.00km


Saturday 1st September
The Lost Sheep Half Iron Triathlon
Warm up
2km easy running, 1.9km hard swimming & 80km hard cycling
Run

21.20km in 1:20:57, 3:49/km

I did this race last year, and my only hope this year was I’d be faster over the run leg. I’m definitely in better run shape than I was 12 months ago, but my cycle is some way off where it used to be, and it’s that that done for me in the end. The route was hilly as fnck, so my splits aren’t indicative of much. It was a warm day and I missed drinks at two of the four aid stations on the course. This wasn’t conducive to fast running and I faded throughout the third quarter. I managed to pick up the pace after that. It helped that the elevation was in my favour, but I’m happy that I still had enough in reserve to take advantage of the lay of the land. I finished 1 minute 20 seconds slower than last year, but after 10 months of no cycling, I can’t really draw comparisons between both years. It would have been nice to dip under 80 minutes, but it’s not the end of the world. The main takeaway is that I did the right thing racing in Tullamore last weekend.
Totals;
Time: 1:21 - Distance: 21.20km


Sunday 2nd September
Day off



Weekly Totals;
Running: 7:10 – 97.50km
Cross training: 6:20
S & C: 1:30

zico10

Monday 3rd September
7 Miles

11.36km in 47:49, 4:12/km

Although Monday usually sees me doing a recovery run, after taking the day off yesterday, I didn’t think I needed more recovery today. When starting, I was also planning a 9-mile run in the evening. It occurred to me later in the day, that a second run would ramp up my weekly volume by too large a percentage, so I took the evening off.
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.36km


Tuesday 4th September
a.m.
7 Miles

11.38km in 46:21, 4:04/km

I was running hither and thither around Waterville Park. It’s quite lumpy and I held a faster pace than yesterday morning, which I’m taking as a good sign.
Totals;
Time: 0:46 - Distance: 11.38km

p.m.
9 Miles + 1 Mile Recovery Pace

16.10km in 1:07:47, 4:13/km

A 9-mile run is what was on the schedule, and that’s all I was going to do until halfway into the run, I decided a 1-mile cool down would be appropriate. However short the extra mile might be, it’s one way of upping my weekly volume, something I think I should be aiming for.
Totals;
Time: 1:02 - Distance: 16.10km


Wednesday 5th September
a.m.
4 Miles Recovery

6.44km in 35:38, 5:32/km

This wasn’t in the plan, but I wanted to do something before work and neither weights nor swimming appealed to me.
Totals;
Time: 0:36 - Distance: 6.44km

p.m.
16 x {200m 5k-1 Mile pace/200m jog}

Warm up; 5.61km in 25:00, 4.27/km
Efforts;
1) 0.22km in 39.0”, avg. pace = 2:56/km, max pace = 2:47/km,
2) 0.21km in 39.0”, avg. pace = 3:10/km, max pace = 3:05/km,
3) 0.21km in 37.9”, avg. pace = 2:56/km, max pace = 2:38/km,
4) 0.22km in 37.5”, avg. pace = 2:54/km, max pace = 2:52/km,
5) 0.20km in 37.5”, avg. pace = 3:03/km, max pace = 2:56/km
6) 0.21km in 37.9”, avg. pace = 2:58/km, max pace = 2:54/km,
7) 0.21km in 37.6”, avg. pace = 2:58/km, max pace = 2:55/km,
8) 0.21km in 37.8”, avg. pace = 2:59/km, max pace = 2:56/km,
9) 0.21km in 38.2”, avg. pace = 3:06/km, max pace = 2:50/km,
10) 0.21km in 37.6”, avg. pace = 2:58/km, max pace = 2:55/km,
11) 0.21km in 38.0”, avg. pace = 3:05/km, max pace = 2:50/km,
12) 0.21km in 36.9”, avg. pace = 2:52/km, max pace = 2:43/km,
13) 0.22km in 37.8”, avg. pace = 2:54/km, max pace = 2:50/km,
14) 0.22km in 37.6”, avg. pace = 2:54/km, max pace = 2:46/km,
15) 0.21km in 38.9”, avg. pace = 3:03/km, max pace = 2:50/km,
16) 0.21km in 38.0”, avg. pace = 3:00/km, max pace = 2:55/km
Cool down; 3.10km in 18:41, 6:01/km

I did this on the track in Dunboyne and although the GPS data probably isn’t 100% accurate when running bends, I’m satisfied that it at least shows evidence that I was picking up the pace from the start to finish of each rep. There were a few reps that were sub optimal, but this had more to do with short lapses in concentration than anything else.
Totals;
Time: 1:19 - Distance: 15:15km


Thursday 6th September
12 Miles Easy

19.32km in 1:29:54, 4:39/km

As well as the pace, the route I took was easy; a simple out and back along the Royal Canal Way from Clonsilla to Leixlip. It’s a run I often do after a day’s teaching but having been on holidays for the last two months, this is the first time in a while I did it. It was good to be back on what is usually a serene route.
Totals;
Time: 1:30 - Distance: 19.32km


Friday 7th September
a.m.
1 Mile Easy, 8 Miles steady, 1 Mile Easy

16.19km in 1:05:00
Mile splits;
Warm-up; 7:42, 4:47/km
8 miles steady; 1) 6:14, 3:53/km, 2) 6:15, 3:53/km, 3) 6:13, 3:52/km, 4) 6:11, 3:51/km, 5) 6:06, 3:48/km, 6) 6:12, 3:51/km, 7) 6:08, 3:49/km, 8) 6:06 3:47/km, Avg. pace = 3:51/km,
Cool down; 1.71km in 7:54, 4:37/km

I drove to and parked at my school before this run. It’s approximately a mile from there to Porterstown Park, where I planned to start the 8 miles at pace. Although I was more concerned with holding a steady effort, I was strongly hoping this would yield a <4:00/km pace. I was comfortably under this for each mile and I’m starting to think that maybe I can afford to be more ambitious with my training paces from here on.
Totals;
Time: 1:07 - Distance: 16.10km

p.m.
6 Miles Easy

9.66km in 44:14, 4:35/km

Totals;
Time: 0:44 - Distance: 9.66km


Saturday 8th September
a.m.
10 Miles

16.10km in 1:06:55, 4:09/km

I only started this at 11:51, so to record it as an a.m. run is stretching the truth. It’s a bit late to be starting the first of two runs on a double run day, but feck it, I was tired, and it was the weekend.
Totals;
Time: 1:07 - Distance: 16.10km

p.m.
8 Miles

12.89km in 55:33, 4:19/km

Starting the morning run later than I should have, had a knock-on effect on the rest of my day and meant I also started this run much later (20:22) than I ideally should have. It would have been nice to have been faster, but I was conscious of a tougher and more important run tomorrow and ran conservatively with this in mind.
Totals;
Time: 0:56 - Distance: 12.89km


Sunday 9th September
5 Miles Easy, 14 Miles Progression to MP, 1 Mile Cool Down

32.32km in 2:15:14
Splits;
Warm up: 8.05km at 4:31/km avg. pace
Miles 1-14;
1 & 2) 6:52 & 6:56, 4:16/km & 4:19/km,
3 & 4) 6:47 & 6:49, 4:13/km & 4:14/km,
5 & 6) 6:33 & 6:32, 4:04/km & 4:04/km,
7 & 8) 6:20 & 6:21, 3:56/km & 3:57/km,
9 & 10) 6:35 & 6:09, 4:06/km & 3:50/km,
11 & 12) 6:21 & 5:58, 3:57/km & 3:42/km,
13) 5:48, 3:36/km,
14) 5:45, 3:35/km,
Cool down: 1.75km in 9:06, 5:12/km

I was in The Phoenix Park and heeding dublin runner’s advice to run more hills, after the opening 5 miles, I stuck to the hillier sections of The Park south of Chesterfield Avenue. I could manage the hills, but the wind was a real cnut today and I was often quicker going uphill with the wind at my back than I was running downhill but into a headwind. This sort of skews the numbers above, but my intention and indeed execution was to increase the effort every 2 miles. Although, the instructions for the 15 miles of progression were to finish at MP, I decided to push it out to LT for the final mile. My speed for this ultimate mile was looking very good, until about halfway through, I turned 180° and started running uphill and into a horrible wind. Despite the resultant drop off in pace, my effort went up, but to little avail. It was a disappointing end to what otherwise had been a satisfactory run, but I quickly got over that and all things considered, I knew I could reflect on a run well executed.
Totals;
Time: 2:15 - Distance: 32.32km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 12:13 – 166.91km
Cross training: 1:30
S & C: 3:00