The wicked run when no one is chasing them

Bungy Girl

Runner’s World Intermediate 5K schedule - Week 1

New log. New plan. New goals. Time to consign the old log to the archives and start afresh. It might encourage me to look forward and avoid comparisons with fitter times (at least until I’m back to full fitness!). I found a 6 week schedule in Runner’s World ‘Guide to Road Racing’ and I guess it’s as good a place as any to start.

Monday 12th

Local loop, started just after it started pelting down. A refreshing run ! Ran it a bit too fast, for some reason the legs were willing and didn’t want to slow down but the lungs weren’t quite able to keep up. HR on the watch was acting up and gave me an average of 99 bpm for the run. Hmmm, don’t think so.

• 3.0 miles @ 9:00 (path)

Tuesday 13th

Got this done in Santry Demesne during daylight. Session was 6 x 400m @ 5K target pace with 200m recovery jog. Tried to warm up on the grass but it was pretty mucky and slippy in parts so terrain was mixed for the warm up and I stuck to the tarmac and packed trail for the session. 2 miles and 4 strides to warm up then into the reps. Target time for the 5K at the end of this 6 week block is 22:30 so I was aiming for 7:15 min/mile pace. Splits ended up 6:47/7:17/7:11/7:19/6:55/7:19. Guess which ones were into the wind! 1,3,5 felt easy enough and I was consciously slowing down, the others were tougher but I wasn’t really paying attention to the watch and might have come in on target with a bit of extra effort. Oh well, not bad for the first speed session in almost a year. 2 miles to cool down. Average HR for the reps was in the 160s so that might be useful as a guide for the hill reps on Thursday as going for pace on those might finish me off all together.

• 6.8 miles incl. 6 x 400m @ 5K pace (grass, trail, tarmac)

Wednesday 14th

Just Pilates this evening. Didn’t even walk there the weather was so manky. Good class and felt much taller after it .

Wubble Wubble

Best of luck with the new log and goals

eyrie

Love the log title! Will follow with interest

OOnegative

Best of luck with new log G, has a lot to live up to after Mum on the Run!!

denis b

Well I am glad to see the regaling of tales and good humour has followed. Enjoy the rebuild BG. With your recent Parkrun in mind I wager 21.30 mins is not safe

Bungy Girl

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Best of luck with the new log and goals

Thanks J, I think both the log and myself were in need of a freshening up!

eyrie wrote: »

Love the log title! Will follow with interest

Thanks! All credit to Laura_ac3 for the quote. I'd not heard of it before and thought it would be apt for the new log.

OOnegative wrote: »

Best of luck with new log G, has a lot to live up to after Mum on the Run!!

Cheers B, hope not to disappoint

denis b wrote: »

Well I am glad to see the regaling of tales and good humour has followed. Enjoy the rebuild BG. With your recent Parkrun in mind I wager 21.30 mins is not safe

Thanks, D. Well, it's safe for now but hopefully not out of reach by the summer.

Bungy Girl

Thursday 15th

A day off work! To be celebrated with hill reps, naturally. Headed to Howth and the Fat Turkey route which I was told is probably the best hill on DNS for up to 3 min reps. Today was 1 min reps, and beforehand I did a couple of miles then some strides on a patch of soggy grass by the sea. Started the reps just before the cemetery entrance and didn’t get very far at all really in the 60 seconds . Didn’t look at the watch and went by effort. Not sure if I was too easy on myself, I was wary of doing these too quickly. HR averaged around the low 150s for the reps so maybe I need to HTFU a bit the next time. Also, I actually enjoyed the session, so perhaps that’s a bad sign too :rolleyes:. Paces for the reps were 7:42/8:04/8:13/8:08/8:28/8:10/8:17min/mile. Garmin tells me the elevation gain was 32 ft over .13 miles which I THINK makes that a 4.6 grade hill which will do for starters (the plan recommends 5 - 6 grade). Recovery after each rep was a jog back down the hill and these were very consistent at 1:42 – 1:46. 2 miles cool down to finish.

• 6.8 miles incl. 7 x 1 min hill reps @ 5K effort (path, grass)

Friday 16th

Cycled into town for a S&C session and a new programme. Brutally tough as always but needs must, and the gym work is doing what it says on the tin and keeping the injuries at bay. I will never love gym work or Pilates (or any form of exercise that isn’t running if I’m honest) but it’s a means to an end and must be done.

Fitted in a short run after dark. Slow plod on the local loop. Nothing of interest to report except that I had to run by loads of delicious smelling restaurants and as a consequence spent most of the run thinking about food.

• 3.0 miles (path)

Saturday 17th

Parkrun tourism close enough to home at Tolka Valley. Despite the swirling sleet and biting wind the volunteer team were all in good spirits and very welcoming. Loved this course and will definitely go back to race it. It’s undulating but none of the uphills are very long and there’s plenty of downhill to compensate. On a less windy day I think it could be quite a fast course, not PB territory though. Ran this easy to moderate effort and happy with the HR and pace for the effort.

Supposed to swim in the afternoon but the gym was closed which I wasn’t expecting .

• 4.5 miles (tarmac) incl. parkrun 5K @ 8:16 min/mile

Bungy Girl

Sunday 18th

Enforced rest due to snow and lack of opportunity to get out. Bah.

TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 24.1

Bungy Girl

Monday 19th

Loops of the local park. Temperature seems to have risen by about 20 degrees! Will be breaking out the shorts and shades next :cool:. So happy to get out after the snow even if this turned out to be a bit of a plod. Normal service has resumed .

• 3.5 miles (grass, path)

Tuesday 20th

First time downloading a session from Garmin Connect to the watch. Fierce handy altogether! And you can’t cheat by adding extra time on to your recoveries. Well you can, but it’d be more hassle. Took me almost as long as the session to figure it out but I’m practically an expert now .

An amazingly warm and sunny afternoon. Session was 2 x 800s, 2 x 400s, 2 x 200s with half distance jog recoveries all at target 5K pace (7:15 min/mile). Warm up was 2 miles on a mix of surfaces and 4 strides on grass. Did the session on tarmac as the ground was still fairly boggy. Paces were fine, a bit faster than target but more consistent than last week : (7:00, 7:05, 6:54, 6:59, 6:54, 6:58) min/miles. 2 miles cool down.

• 7.1 miles (grass, tarmac, trail)

Wednesday 21st

Pilates. With a pre-warm up on The Barrel which I’ve been doing for a couple of weeks now before class and it’s great for my back. Think stretching rack but in a C-shape.

ReeReeG

Bungy Girl wrote: »

First time downloading a session from Garmin Connect to the watch. Fierce handy altogether! And you can’t cheat by adding extra time on to your recoveries. Well you can, but it’d be more hassle. Took me almost as long as the session to figure it out but I’m practically an expert now .

An amazingly warm and sunny afternoon. Session was 2 x 800s, 2 x 400s, 2 x 200s with half distance jog recoveries all at target 5K pace (7:15 min/mile). Warm up was 2 miles on a mix of surfaces and 4 strides on grass. Did the session on tarmac as the ground was still fairly boggy. Paces were fine, a bit faster than target but more consistent than last week : (7:00, 7:05, 6:54, 6:59, 6:54, 6:58) min/miles. 2 miles cool down.

Hi, with the downloaded session does it mean you don't need to stop and set up a new interval, say if you wanted to do 400s then 200s... this download can handle the change in the interval distance??

Bungy Girl

ReeReeG wrote: »

Hi, with the downloaded session does it mean you don't need to stop and set up a new interval, say if you wanted to do 400s then 200s... this download can handle the change in the interval distance??

Yes . It's awesome. You plan the workout on Garmin Connect 'My Workouts' and then click 'send to device'. It saves it, so you can copy/edit a similar session the next time. You can choose a variety of interval distances within the same workout and you can set the recoveries by time or distance (or leave open). You can also factor in repeats. So the session I did on Tuesday was a mix of 800s, 400s and 200s with mixed recoveries and it was all pre-programmed into the watch. Very handy.

ReeReeG

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Yes . It's awesome. You plan the workout on Garmin Connect 'My Workouts' and then click 'send to device'. It saves it, so you can copy/edit a similar session the next time. You can choose a variety of interval distances within the same workout and you can set the recoveries by time or distance (or leave open). You can also factor in repeats. So the session I did on Tuesday was a mix of 800s, 400s and 200s with mixed recoveries and it was all pre-programmed into the watch. Very handy.

That is fantastic to know!! Thank you, will 100% be doing this, have a mixed session planned for tonight!

Bungy Girl

ReeReeG wrote: »

That is fantastic to know!! Thank you, will 100% be doing this, have a mixed session planned for tonight!

Great, good luck with the session!

Bungy Girl

Thursday 22nd

Hills day ! I spent the whole morning in work looking forward to this. Not sure what that says about me – or my work :pac::pac:. Escaped at lunchtime and headed for the same slope as last week. One extra rep on the plan so it was 8 x 1 min hills @ 5K effort, jog down recoveries. I thought perhaps last week I hadn’t given it enough welly so aimed to push a little harder this time. Just over 2 miles warm up including 4 x 100m strides (strides done on grass) then into the reps. It was colder and windier than last week but paces were : 6:56/7:28/7:14/7:32/7:24/7:29/7:47/7:36 min/mile, a good bit quicker than last week. Recoveries were 1:41 – 1:49. HR for the reps was higher than last time (159-160 mostly); evidence that I worked a bit harder this week. Just a mile to cool down as I was under time pressure. Enjoyed this - tired but happy after it.

• 5.7 miles (grass, path) incl 8 x 1 mins hill reps @ 5K effort

Friday 23rd

Local loop, started just as it was getting dark.

• 3.0 miles (path)

Saturday 24th

Spectacular morning. Ventured west for a visit to Porterstown parkrun. Had it in my head that this was flat and got a bit of a shock when the 2nd half of the lap contained a few little drags. So on a 3-lap course they added up! Ran this a bit faster than planned as realised after the first lap that I was potentially on for a top 3 finish (3rd, 4th and 5th Fs weren’t far ahead at that point) so all thoughts of jogging sensibly went out the window :rolleyes:. 23:51 official time and 3rd F.

Great to bump into Wubble Wubble from these parts afterwards. Well done on your run, J, making it look easy!

So after today I only have 1 more Dublin parkrun to do to complete the lot. Hope to make it to Shanganagh (& hopefully recruit Nop as tourguide) some time in April. Today was also my 49th so will do next week’s milestone at St.Anne’s.

Also did a full gym session today. No time to swim.

• 4.7 miles total incl. 5K @ 7:37 min/mile (tarmac, grass)

Sunday 25th

Feeling it today after a bit more intensity than planned in yesterday’s parkrun, the new gym programme AND a stint on the climbing wall in TCD this morning for a fundraiser.

So the LSR was a plod in St.Anne’s mainly on trail and grass to give the old bones a break. The park was jammers, no better place to be on a sunny day!

• 6.0 miles (trail, grass, tarmac)

TOTAL WEEKLY MILES : 30.0

Wubble Wubble

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Thursday 22nd

Hills day ! I spent the whole morning in work looking forward to this. Not sure what that says about me – or my work :pac::pac:. Escaped at lunchtime and headed for the same slope as last week. One extra rep on the plan so it was 8 x 1 min hills @ 5K effort, jog down recoveries. I thought perhaps last week I hadn’t given it enough welly so aimed to push a little harder this time. Just over 2 miles warm up including 4 x 100m strides (strides done on grass) then into the reps. It was colder and windier than last week but paces were : 6:56/7:28/7:14/7:32/7:24/7:29/7:47/7:36 min/mile, a good bit quicker than last week. Recoveries were 1:41 – 1:49. HR for the reps was higher than last time (159-160 mostly); evidence that I worked a bit harder this week. Just a mile to cool down as I was under time pressure. Enjoyed this - tired but happy after it.

• 5.7 miles (grass, path) incl 8 x 1 mins hill reps @ 5K effort

Friday 23rd

Local loop, started just as it was getting dark.

• 3.0 miles (path)

Saturday 24th

Spectacular morning. Ventured west for a visit to Porterstown parkrun. Had it in my head that this was flat and got a bit of a shock when the 2nd half of the lap contained a few little drags. So on a 3-lap course they added up! Ran this a bit faster than planned as realised after the first lap that I was potentially on for a top 3 finish (3rd, 4th and 5th Fs weren’t far ahead at that point) so all thoughts of jogging sensibly went out the window :rolleyes:. 23:51 official time and 3rd F.

Great to bump into Wubble Wubble from these parts afterwards. Well done on your run, J, making it look easy!

So after today I only have 1 more Dublin parkrun to do to complete the lot. Hope to make it to Shanganagh (& hopefully recruit Nop as tourguide) some time in April. Today was also my 49th so will do next week’s milestone at St.Anne’s.

Also did a full gym session today. No time to swim.

• 4.7 miles total incl. 5K @ 7:37 min/mile (tarmac, grass)

Sunday 25th

Feeling it today after a bit more intensity than planned in yesterday’s parkrun, the new gym programme AND a stint on the climbing wall in TCD this morning for a fundraiser.

So the LSR was a plod in St.Anne’s mainly on trail and grass to give the old bones a break. The park was jammers, no better place to be on a sunny day!

• 6.0 miles (trail, grass, tarmac)

TOTAL WEEKLY MILES : 30.0

Thanks, a somewhat generous description there

Your week's activities before and after parkrun put me to shame.
Enjoy the 50th. I'm pretty sure there's usually a feather boa involved :pac:

Bungy Girl

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Enjoy the 50th. I'm pretty sure there's usually a feather boa involved :pac:

And a pink tutu I am told :eek:

OOnegative

Bungy Girl wrote: »

And a pink tutu I am told :eek:

Pictures, pictures.........

Bungy Girl

Monday 26th

Easy/recovery run mainly on grass in the local park. Schedule will be all over the place this week and next with the school holidays :rolleyes:.

• 3.0 miles (grass, path)

Tuesday 27th

Surprisingly cold and windy! The wind was kind of swirly so I wasn’t sure what way it was blowing to be honest. I think I had the benefit of it mainly behind me for the 400s and 200s with a mixed bag for the 800s as I did those in a U-shape. Plan was for 2 x 800s @ 5K pace (7:15 min/mile) and then 2 x 400s and 2 x 200s at 30 secs per mile faster (6:45 min/mile). Recoveries were half distance jog for the 800s and full distance jog for the rest. Must admit to a little walk after the 2nd 400 .

Paces were 7:14/7:09, then 6:28/6:30 and 6:14/6:18 min/miles. So on target for the 800s and too fast for the rest. I try not to pay too much attention to the watch and go by feel and usually get the hang of the pace after a week or two so no big!

2 miles + strides warm up and 2 miles cool down.

• 7.5 miles total (tarmac)

Wednesday 28th

Walked to and from Pilates. Good class – tough but felt able for it.

Bungy Girl

Thursday 29th

Hills, yay . 6 x 90 secs this week with jog back recoveries. Very cold and windy again as seems to be the norm for these sessions. Usual warm up with strides on a grass patch. Effort definitely there today and splits were reasonably consistent. HRM mustn’t be working properly as my HR barely changed from easy pace according to the watch even though I was properly out of breath at the end of each rep. So I’ll discount those figures! Paces for the 6 reps were 7:42/7:39/7:57/7:45/7:53/7:48 min/mile and jog recoveries were 2:40-2:50. The elevation figures aren’t reliable either so I’ll just go with ‘steep’ and leave it at that :rolleyes:.

• 6.7 miles total (path, grass)

Realised belatedly that I omitted 2 x 200m from Tuesday’s session by misreading the instructions. Oops.

Friday 30th

Full session in the gym in close proximity to the Great Unwashed (bleurgh) after a morning in work. Too hungry to run afterwards so postponed until later and was then not bovvered.

Saturday 31st

Parkrun pacer day and also happened to coincide with the occasion of my 50th parkrun. The tutu didn’t transpire, but I did get to wear a pink feather boa and a giant 50 badge that drove me nuts and I had to take it off after a lap! Was pacing 27 mins and managed to drag a friend to a parkrun PB so all good. Cool down and breakfast with aquinn to conclude another great morning at St.Anne’s.

• 4.9 miles total incl. 5K @ 8:40 min/mile (tarmac)

STATS FOR MARCH:
Runs: 23, Gym/Pilates: 7, Swim/Aqua S&C: 2, Cycles:1, Rest/Snow Days: 3
MILES: 108

Sunday 1st

Junior parkrun with BG Jr responding to bribery and running without moaning or stopping to walk – result!

LSR was a very peaceful out and back along the canal. Chilly enough but was well layered up and enjoyed this.

Have lost track of volume of chocolate consumed at this point :eek:.

• 7.0 miles easy (path, tarmac)

Halfway through this 6 week programme now and I’m enjoying the change in pace and the 2 mid-week sessions. Hopefully it’ll lead to an improved performance in the 5K. Not close to PB territory yet but the times are coming down.

TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 29.1

Murph_D

I find the 235 HRM very frustrating. I think it just doesn't like skinny wrists. Congrats on the parkrun milestone.

Wubble Wubble

Congrats on the 50th, glad you enjoyed celebrating your milestone

Neady83

Congratulations on your 50th

You're times are definitely improving, there's loads more to come in the second half of the programme

Bungy Girl

Monday 2nd

Easy/recovery plod in the local park. Probably burned off 0.05% of the chocolate consumed yesterday.

• 3.0 miles (path, grass, tarmac)

Tuesday 3rd

Session on the paths in Santry demesne amidst 4 seasons of weather in the space of an hour. Plan was 2 x 800m @ target 5k pace (7:15 min/mile), then 1 x 800, 2 x 400 and 2 x 200 @ target 5K pace less 30 secs (6:45 min/mile). Paces worked out ok but I was shattered afterwards. Recoveries were on the generous side too as I resorted to walking at times. Actual paces for the first two 800s were 7:09/7:01 min/mile (bit too fast), 6:47 min/mile for the 3rd (this was tough) then 6:46/6:43 for the 400s (good!) and 6:11/5:58 for the 200s (oops!).

Usual miscellany of dogs off the lead, dogs on extendable leads, stray toddlers, rogue toddlers, deep puddles and so on to keep me on my toes. Actually had to stop in the middle of one of the 400s as a toddler on one side of the path had a dog on a lead on the other side of the path as I was running towards them and I wasn’t going to risk hurdling. Parent was on the phone and oblivious to her child’s attempt at setting a trip wire :rolleyes:.

• 8.0 miles total (tarmac)

Wednesday 4th

Don’t normally run on a Wednesday but I won’t have a chance to do anything tomorrow so ran to and from Pilates this evening.

• 3.0 miles total (path)

Bungy Girl

Murph_D wrote: »

I find the 235 HRM very frustrating. I think it just doesn't like skinny wrists. Congrats on the parkrun milestone.

It beats the chafing chest strap though! I used to have a brilliant HRM (a Suunto) then it was discontinued and I've not found one yet that really works consistently for me.

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Congrats on the 50th, glad you enjoyed celebrating your milestone

Thank you! Looking forward to the 100th now

Neady83 wrote: »

Congratulations on your 50th

You're times are definitely improving, there's loads more to come in the second half of the programme

Thanks, the next couple of weeks on the programme look a bit scary but hopefully I'll have a decent result at the end of it!

ReeReeG

Wow, great paces on your session!

Bungy Girl

ReeReeG wrote: »

Wow, great paces on your session!

Thanks! The trick will be holding that pace in a race :eek:

Bungy Girl

Thursday 5th

No time for anything. A ‘rest’ day.

Friday 6th

Deferred hills from yesterday. Same as last week on the plan : 6 x 90 seconds. HRM not working again so I can’t quantify my exertions accurately :pac::pac: but this was tough and I died a little on the last couple of reps when the wind seemed to pick up significantly. Paces for the reps were
(7:08/7:27/7:48/7:31/7:55/8:11)min/mile. Awarded myself a gold star for effort, if not consistency .

• 6.2 miles total (path)

Saturday 7th

Fairview parkrun in the company of aquinn, laura_ac3 and annapr followed by a tasty breakfast. Full session in the gym later.

• 3.2 miles (tarmac, grass, mud)

Sunday 8th

Volunteered at Junior parkrun with BG Jr. Super morning for it with over 200 kids participating. Great to see The Muppet from these parts, hope your grandson enjoyed his run - congratulations to him!

Got out around lunchtime for my LSR and chose a random route through the Phoenix Park. Thought the trails would be a bit too slippy after all the rain and stuck mainly to the tarmac. Really enjoyed this.

• 8.2 miles (tarmac, grass, trail)

TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 31.6
 

Bungy Girl

Monday 9th

Easy/recovery through Santry Demesne. Out past the Walled Garden and onwards towards Ballymun on a lovely wooded trail and back the same way.

• 3.0 miles (tarmac)

Tuesday 10th

Session in the rain, cold and wind. Wasn’t feeling the love for this one and managed to forget my gloves so my poor hands were in bits afterwards and only regained feeling in my fingers after a few hours. Anyhow! I did the session and am very pleased with myself. I cut the cool down short because I was soaked and frozen to the bone but otherwise did as scheduled. Plan was 2 x 800m, 4 x 400m, 4 x 200m all at 5K target pace less 30 seconds per mile which is 6:45 min/mile. Actual paces were (6:36, 6:38), (6:36, 6:20, 6:26, 6:30) and (6:28, 6:31, 6:45, 6:29). So reasonably consistent. Tired after but not as much as last week so I’ll take that as progress.

• 8.1 miles total (tarmac, trail)

Wednesday 11th

Running around like a headless chicken and chasing my tail all day. Calamity! Arrived home too late to go to Pilates. Another unscheduled ‘rest’ day.

Thursday 12th

Hills day. 5 x 2 mins on the plan. Had to shorten the warm up and cool down as was tight on time. Cold and windy as seems to be the norm for this session. I was starving starting out on this and that might have affected the pace but the effort was there and the intervals reasonably consistent. Paces were (7:57/8:09/8:11/8:26/8:07)min/mile.

• 5.2 miles total (path)

Murph_D

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Easy/recovery through Santry Demesne. Out past the Walled Garden and onwards towards Ballymun on a lovely wooded trail and back the same way.

Ah, I see you've discovered the 'panhandle' - my favourite part of the park (used to come in that way on my DCU lunchtime runs)

Nice sessions too, despite the cold!

Bungy Girl

Friday 13th

Full gym session in the morning and an easy run in the evening. Couldn’t believe how bright it was at 7pm. And sunny! Dare we hope that Spring has sprung…..?

• 4.0 miles (path)

Saturday 14th

St. Anne’s parkrun, jogged in the company of Murph at a conversational pace. Cool down with aquinn. No time for breakfast afterwards unfortunately due to BG Jr’s packed social and sporting diary :rolleyes:.

• 5.0 miles (tarmac)

Sunday 15th

A wet and soggy Junior parkrun to start, followed by a wet and soggy LSR. Meh. Almost got taken out of it on the footpath by some eager mass-goers trying to park as close as possible to the church gates. Felt fairly strong on the run all the same, just wasn’t loving the wet and cold.

• 9.0 miles (path, tarmac, grass)

TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 34.3

Bungy Girl

Monday 16th

Nothing . A poorly BG Jr this morning meant arranging to work from home at short notice. A miraculous recovery ensued within 5 minutes of me informing the school she wouldn’t be in but it was too late to change anything and I was stuck indoors for most of the day :rolleyes:.

Tuesday 17th

Cheated a bit on the session, by doing all the reps with the (considerable) wind behind me. Just couldn’t face battling it head on; Garmin tells me it was 23 mph! 4 x 400s and 4 x 200s @ 6:45 min/mile, equal distance recoveries. Paces were (6:07, 6:36, 6:31, 6:33) and (6:17, 6:21, 6:04, 6:18) min/mile. Bit fast but wind-assisted and the effort was about right.

• 7.4 miles total (tarmac)

Wednesday 18th

Just Pilates today. Cycled there and back. Suffering a bit with an ear infection so need to nip that in the bud.

Thursday 19th

Ear no better or worse today. It’s sore but I’m not unwell so did the planned session which was 3 x 200s, 3 x 150s and 6 x 100s, all at 5K target less 30 secs per min. This was handy enough although it was HOT! Was a sweaty mess afterwards. The park was busy so had to make some minor adjustments en route for toddlers, dogs etc. Had got stuck in work later than planned so did a reduced warm up and cool down.
Paces were (6:01, 6:16, 6:20), (6:22, 6:35, 6:42), (6:07, 6:25, 6:34, 6:21, 6:21, 5:55) min/mile

• 4.2 miles total (tarmac, trail)

Friday 20th

Round trip to Mullingar this morning and a busy afternoon meant no time for anything. Trip to doc confirmed a minor ear infection/inflammation but no need for antibiotics or to avoid running (hurray!). Could have got out for a run in the evening but too lazy.

Saturday 21st

The day of reckoning! Time to see if the last 6 weeks of training have made a dent in the current post-injury PB of 23:06 from early March. The short answer is no. DNF’d after 2 miles as wasn’t feeling the love. Longer answer is it was hot, my ear was still sore, I didn’t do a proper warm up, maybe the target pace was too ambitious, yada yada yada. Who knows . I’ll give it another bash next week and prepare better. A little disappointed that I didn’t just finish it out today. I probably would have dragged my sorry self to a sub 23 anyway, but truth is I think I deserve a better time after a decent block of training, so maybe it was wiser to cut it short and live to fight another day. Went to the gym in the afternoon.

• 4.1 miles total (tarmac)

Sunday 22nd

A point to point LSR from Templeogue along the Dodder and across the East Link. Tripped on route and went splat but no real damage done, just a few cuts and bruises. Enjoyable run, but under a bit of time pressure to get home on time to attend the Road Relays. Great event in Raheny as always. Next year with any luck I’ll be back competing !

• 8.0 miles (trail, tarmac, path)

TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 23.7
 

Murph_D

Maybe the parkrun effort was just a tad too much after those two sessions? Good week anyway!

Bungy Girl

Murph_D wrote: »

Maybe the parkrun effort was just a tad too much after those two sessions? Good week anyway!

Yeah, that is a distinct possibility...it was as per the training plan, but, BUT, I did the repeats too fast which may well have impacted the recovery in time for Saturday morning. Rookie error at my advanced age :rolleyes:. Different plan ahead for this week anyway so with any luck attempt #2 will see me get around the course at least this time :o

Bungy Girl

Monday 23rd

An easy few miles under time pressure as only a very narrow window available. Gotta grab these opportunities to run and make the most of them!

• 3.0 miles (tarmac)

Tuesday 24th

Session in Santry Demesne. I’m repeating the taper week, but don’t want to repeat the mistakes of last week so just went for a relatively easy session (6 x 400m with 200m jog recoveries) with the aim to trying to tune into 5K target pace (7:15 min/mile). Still doing these too fast but at least they were fairly consistent. There’s definitely something to be said for ditching the watch though ; I spend too much time stressing about not hitting the right pace when I could be just running.

Paces were (6:49, 7:08, 7:10, 7:01, 7:01, 6:59) min/mile

• 6.5 miles total (trail, tarmac)

Pilates in the evening. Not my usual class but won’t have a chance to do anything tomorrow.

Wednesday 25th

Rest day (laundry, breakfast-making, lunch-making, commuting, working, meetings, chauffeuring, another meeting). Finally sat down around 9pm.
Did manage a cycle to and from school meeting. But, yes, a rest day :rolleyes:

Thursday 26th

Did the St.Anne’s parkrun route (in Km!) in an effort to try to pace it better on Saturday. Big fail, in that the course measured 4.88Km on the Garmin so I’m none the wiser really. Sometimes the Garmin measures the course spot on or just a little short so adjusting upwards means I risk going too fast and adjusting downwards could result in missing my target. So I think I’ll do a naked* run and just try to tune into the effort rather than obsess about time.

• 3.5 miles (tarmac)

*Naked as in unadorned with modern technology. I will wear clothes.

Friday 27th

Easy couple of miles in the evening sun with a few short strides thrown in.

• 2.0 miles (path)

Saturday 28th

Pacer Saturday at St. Anne’s parkrun. With Murph celebrating his 100th (parkrun :pac::pac:), all the usual suspects were out for the celebrations. A fantastic morning with perfect running conditions. No excuses then :rolleyes:. Well I had been hoping to follow the 23 min pacer for the first half at least but there was none. Instead I decided to keep the 22 min pacer in my sights and gradually lose him by about 5 seconds per Km to try to hit my target of 22:30. It helped that FBOT01 was the pacer in question as I knew he’d run even splits.

I had changed to devil units on the watch for the occasion, figuring it’s easier to make up time with the shorter unit of measurement. As it turned out I only glanced at the splits when they beeped on focused on FBOT01 instead. The first lap felt really comfortable and I had to resist the temptation to try to catch up to 22 mins. A wise move as it turned out as the 2nd lap was a lot tougher and my abs had started to hurt so trying for sub 22 might have unravelled what turned out to be a good plan.

The course measured 4.92Km for me today and splits were 4:37, 4:32, 4:41, 4:39, 4:01 (0.92Km) for a post injury PB of 22:33. Delighted! Especially after last week’s DNF. Amazing the difference a week can make .

• 5.1 miles total (tarmac)

Sunday 29th

Junior parkrun first thing with BG Jr realising the benefits of not completing the first 100m at the speed of light and bagging a PB.

Did my LSR during the afternoon and enjoyed it despite going Splat – again – and reopening last week’s wound on my hand and adding a grazed elbow to the list. Abs still sore after parkrun but starting to ease.

• 9.1 miles (path, trail, grass, tarmac)

TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 29.2
(over 30 if I include Junior parkrun, just sayin’) 

Neady83

Great running G, well done on the post injury PB, the plan is paying off

Yikes on going splat again. Is it happening at the end of the run when you're tired?

denis b

Congrats G on your new cycle pb. Well earned. I like the idea of the tuesday session. Will borrow that.

Singer

Nicely done on the comeback PB in a busy week!

nop98

Nice job on the post-injury PB, BG, inspiring to see how dedication to a plan and goal can yield results (and kudos too to BG jr).

Devil units?

ariana`

Great news on the return to form BG!

Huzzah!

Woot - congrats on the post-injury PB!

diego_b

Nice job, good weekend for that household for pbs! Indeed we have the same issue with our little lady for junior parkrun...the speed they all take off at is something else. Maybe parkrun should try have a 50-100m sprint alternative as part of the warm up!

eyrie

Cracking parkrun performance there, well done!

Wubble Wubble

Won't be long before the actual PB falls at this rate. Well done

Bungy Girl

Neady83 wrote: »

Great running G, well done on the post injury PB, the plan is paying off

Yikes on going splat again. Is it happening at the end of the run when you're tired?

Thanks, S !
Unfortunately both times I was early into the run :o. The first time was unavoidable really, there was a tree root pushing up the tarmac so it was inevitable. Yesterday I think I just tripped over myself, because there was nothing visible on the pavement. I'd had very little sleep though and possibly an alcoholic beverage or two the night before so not very sharp mentally either :rolleyes:

Bungy Girl

denis b wrote: »

Congrats G on your new cycle pb. Well earned. I like the idea of the tuesday session. Will borrow that.

Thanks, D! The 2nd taper week worked out better than the first anyway :pac::pac:.

Singer wrote: »

Nicely done on the comeback PB in a busy week!

Cheers, yeah things have gone a bit mad in work so I think the busy-ness will be a feature for a while yet. I generally get my runs in though, it's the less important things like laundry and cleaning the house that suffer .

nop98 wrote: »

Nice job on the post-injury PB, BG, inspiring to see how dedication to a plan and goal can yield results (and kudos too to BG jr).

Devil units?

Thanks, Nop! Hoping to be back to the glory days of Jingle Bells '16 by the end of the year if I manage to stay injury free. Race ya again ?

I'll admit the devil units were useful on this occasion but the Garmin is now firmly back to traditional measurements.

ariana` wrote: »

Great news on the return to form BG!

Thank you very much, hope it lasts!

Bungy Girl

Huzzah! wrote: »

Woot - congrats on the post-injury PB!

Thanks . Hope you're recovering well after your PB !

diego_b wrote: »

Nice job, good weekend for that household for pbs! Indeed we have the same issue with our little lady for junior parkrun...the speed they all take off at is something else. Maybe parkrun should try have a 50-100m sprint alternative as part of the warm up!

Ha ha, that's a really good idea. Get it out of their system first :pac::pac:. I'll admit there was bribery this week in the form of an ice cream if she stuck with me and didn't sprint or stop (or complain :rolleyes:).

eyrie wrote: »

Cracking parkrun performance there, well done!

Thanks a million. I am very happy with it I have to say, especially having failed spectacularly the previous week.

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Won't be long before the actual PB falls at this rate. Well done

I'm hoping that if all keeps going to plan I could make an attempt on the real PB at Jingle Bells. Will need all the stars and planets aligned for that one but fingers crossed I'll get there.

eyrie

Bungy Girl wrote: »

I generally get my runs in though, it's the less important things like laundry and cleaning the house that suffer .

Ha, love this! So glad to know I'm not the only one...
The problems really start when the ratio of clean running gear to dirty laundry pile gets all out of whack. It ain't pretty

The Muppet

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Volunteered at Junior parkrun with BG Jr. Super morning for it with over 200 kids participating. Great to see The Muppet from these parts, hope your grandson enjoyed his run - congratulations to him!

thanks and apologies for late reply G , He struggled tbh , its all or nothing with him but he did enjoy IT.

It was nice seeing you and the other boardsies . Good you see you back running , hope all is good with you .

Bungy Girl

The Muppet wrote: »

thanks and apologies for late reply G , He struggled tbh , its all or nothing with him but he did enjoy IT.

It was nice seeing you and the other boardsies . Good you see you back running , hope all is good with you .

Glad he enjoyed it, that's what it's all about

Bungy Girl

Monday 30th

Nothing. Back a bit achy after parkrun, the Splat, and the LSR so sense prevailed. I’ve a couple of weeks before starting the next 5K programme anyway so no harm to go off schedule and just run for no reason.

STATS FOR APRIL:
Runs: 23, Gym/Pilates: 7, Swim/Aqua S&C: 0, Cycles: 2, Rest/Snow Days: 5

MILES: 126

Tuesday 1st

Easy run in Santry Demesne. Windy enough but it stayed dry. The park was eerily quiet. A nice peaceful run .

• 3.2 miles (trail, grass, tarmac)

Wednesday 2nd

Pilates class with a run there and back.

• 3.3 miles total (path)

Thursday 3rd

A couple of loops of River Valley Park. Stuck to the parkrun route but hopefully another time I’ll get to explore 'The Jacko'. Stopped twice, once for a work related phonecall (I’m on holidays, goddammit) and once to help someone who’d lost their dog, which I’d already seen twice racing joyfully around the park enjoying his freedom while the poor owner was in a heap.

• 3.4 miles total (tarmac)

Friday 4th

Cycled into town for a new gym routine.

Saturday 5th

Rest. Travelling. And in bits after the gym session.

Sunday 6th

Rest, Laziness.

TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 9.9 :rolleyes:
 

Bungy Girl

Monday 7th

Easy run along the coast in Cascais, near Lisbon. Difficult enough to find places to run here as the main surface is (limestone ?) cobbles. More on those damn cobbles later in the week :rolleyes:. Today was just an out and back along a cycle path that follows the coastline. Was mainly used by runners and walkers but the cyclists didn’t seem to mind sharing.

• 4.5 miles (cycle track)

Tuesday 8th

Found a track of sorts in the local park which was about 350m. Nice sand and gravel surface so did an easy session so as not to suffer too much in the heat.
6 x 400m with 200m walk recoveries. Paces were very consistent (6:55, 6:51, 6:47, 6:49, 6:48, 6:45 min/mile)

• 5.3 miles total (sand, gravel, trail)

Wednesday 9th

Rest

Thursday 10th

Easy run. Loops of the small local park in Cascais which was undulating enough.

Hiked to Decathlon in the early evening, having completely missed the fact that there was a bus. After an hour’s trek uphill over the cobbles my feet were in bits. But I got some great bargains !

• 3.0 miles (trail)

Friday 11th

No running but plenty of hilly miles wandering around the hillside town of Sintra. Feet were in bits after yesterday’s hike.

Saturday 12th

Travelling.

Weather was a lot nicer than expected when we landed so (after unpacking, naturally ) I escaped for a loop of St.Anne’s. So nice to run on soft grass !!

• 3.8 miles (grass, trail, tarmac)

Sunday 13th

Signed up for the Born2Run Dublin 5k series a while back when I was still struggling with fitness and returning to running. I thought some scenic off-road races would be a good motivator and being off-road there’d be no chasing PBs to put pressure on. The series is pricey, but their motto is ‘great races in great places’ and today’s was no exception. Venue was Newbridge House, Donabate, which looked stunning in the sun. There was a choice of 5k or 10k. I’d opted for the 5k and there was only 60-70 doing it, with the vast majority – a few hundred I’d guess - doing the 10k. The 10k runners went off first and we were to start 12 mins later. It was all very relaxed with Bruce Springsteen (of course :cool:) blasting from the speakers. We went off on schedule. I hadn’t much of a plan. I thought I’d set off at a tempo-ish pace and see how things went. One girl had shot off into the distance never to be seen again until topping the podium and there were about 4 other women ahead of me in the early stages. After passing a couple out at a fairly comfortable pace, I found myself just behind the 3rd placed female. Passed her out and started wondering if I could catch second. Well, it’d be rude not to try . I caught up by around 2K (although the distance markers were fairly random, there was another 2K sign further on :rolleyes:) and tucked in behind a male runner who was just behind her. Still felt fine at this point, although the pace was nothing to write home about so I should have been feeling fine . The course was a mix of tarmac, trail and grass, reasonably flat with a few bumps. Felt the pace slowing so passed both of them out, hoping neither of them would chase me down! Ran the rest of the race solo and the next (male) runner ahead was a good bit away. The last mile was tough and seemed never ending. I only wanted to run as fast as I needed to by that point to hold my position. Route markers were a bit confusing at one point. Finally came in sight of the finish and was almost caught at the line by the 10K winner (in fairness he’d had a headstart of 12 minutes but still ! I was 2nd F in an unspectacular time (about 4 mins behind the winner I think ).

A good morning’s work all the same with a generous voucher as a prize and a free race entry. Also a medal which I have no interest in but a lot of people going mad for them.

• 4.5 miles total incl. 5K race (tarmac, grass, trail)

TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 21.1