Positive Vibes. Negative Splits.

MY BAD

MONDAY

PM: Strength work/home gym

TUESDAY

PM: 6x 1km with a target of around 3:45/km pace with 60 seconds standing recovery.

I picked it up a bit on the last two, particularly the last one. It felt good.


Warm up 3.7km with the usual strides, dynamic stretching and drills.

Splits for the 6x1km

3:45/km
3:46/km
3:43/km
3:44/km
3:40/km
3:33/km


Cool down 3.1km


PM: Light bit of strength work.

WEDNESDAY

PM: 50 minutes 10.6km @4:45/km

PM: Light bit of strength work afterwards.

THURSDAY

PM: 45 minutes 9.6km @4:42/km on a hilly route.


FRIDAY

AM: 3x 2km at tempo with a target of around 3:55/km. I did this on the trail.

I had planned 4x2km but I was slow moving getting out of bed so only had time for 3x2km. I must of had a slight wobble as I had a bit of discomfort on my left foot on the cool down.

Warm up 2.8km with the usual dynamic stretches, drills, and a few strides.

Times for the 3x2km

7:51
7:47
7:48


Cool down 3km

SATURDAY

No running or strength work today. 8km hike up Benbulben, lovely day for it. That discomfort in my left foot from Friday continued a little bit but it wasn't too bad. In the evening I went to a local 5k to support my team mates. Man, I miss racing.

SUNDAY

PM: Easy 16.1km @4:55/km on the roads. No issues

Total distance this week
61.4km

MY BAD

MONDAY

PM: Easy with 4x strides 9.54km @5:00/km


TUESDAY

I met my physio before this session. He's quite happy for me to continue on the way I'm going. He gave me more exercises, so no more appointments for now....

PM: Broken fartlek of 2x[2x 2 minutes on (1 minute recovery ),1 minute on (30 seconds recovery ),30 seconds on (30 seconds recovery )] around 2 minutes off between each set. The target for the "on" was to keep it under 3:30/km.


Warm up 3.1km I went more or less straight into the session.

I intended to do this on our track but I forgot junior training was on so I had to look for a different place to do it. I had a quick chat with Dermot, he was there coaching the kids. He told me don't be rushing back and keep building slowly.

So I did it on the roads in and out. It was a bit up and down which was probably better than on flat track. I started to struggle on the last repeat, especially the last 2 minutes but bar that the rest were all sub 3:30/km pace. When I try to run at speed it makes me feel so unfit. Patience is key.


Extended cool down because it was a peach of a evening 3.9km


Total session 12.67km


WEDNESDAY

PM: Gym

THURSDAY

There's a non timed 5k run for a local school on Sunday. So my intention is to run it at tempo. I decided to do my "long" run today instead. My original plan was to run a parkrun on Saturday at tempo pace.

PM: 10 hilly miles 16.4km @4:40/km.

Spectacular views on this run. I was able to see into every country in Connacht. Although its not a good sign of the weather to come been able to see the Twelve pins in Connamarra from here!

MY BAD

FRIDAY

PM: Heavy legs today so I brought the pace back a bit 10.57km @4:59/km on the roads.

SATURDAY

No running, very small bit of strength work after work.

SUNDAY

I decided against doing that 5k as previously mentioned. I felt a more structured workout would suit me better. That 10miler during the week took a bit out of me. I'll do a parkrun in a couple of weeks as a straight tempo. I'm struggling with my sleep these days, not sure why but I need to get on top of it. Up at 5am!

AM: 8x1km cruise with a target of around 3:50/km and 45seconds off recovery. I did this on probably the only 1km flat bit of road near me. So in and out with a good head wind coming back in. My legs felt fine, that rest day Saturday did them the world of good.

Warm up 3.5km with the usual dynamic stretches, drills, and a few strides.

Splits for the 8x1km

3:50
3:51
3:52
3:51
3:51
3:50
3:50
3:51


Cool down 2.8km

Total session 14.76km


Total distance this week
63.9km

MY BAD

This video was sent to me. I found it funny very lonely island Vibes from ten years ago but running related.

https://youtu.be/hjUtfijyp7I

I'm the too short shorts runner :pac:


MONDAY

AM: Easy 60 minutes 12.32km @4:53/km on the roads

TUESDAY

AM: Easy 45ish minutes with 6x 20 seconds strides 9.48km @4:57/km

I think strides have been very beneficial to me. I've always done them as part of my warm up routine but now I've started adding them to easy runs. The plan is to do them twice a week at the end of my easy runs the day before my session. Then twice a week before any session after my warm up.


WEDNESDAY

I'm on call for work this week. I had the alarm set for 5:30am but got a call from work at 1am. I didn't get back to bed until 3:30am so that put the early session out the window. I woke at 7am when my wife was getting up for work and couldn't fall back to sleep, so at 9 I hit the road. I knew I'd be to wrecked in the evening. (which I was!!) Also the temperatures predicted weren't ideal.

4x rotating kilometres of cruise/float

Target of 3:50 for the cruise and around 4:25 for the float. I did this on the same bit of flat road as my 8x1km last week. I think it's going to be my new spot for this kind of sessions.

Warm up 3km followed by my usual warm up routine of dynamic stretches, drills, and strides.

My first 3 cruise k's were 3:50. I feel I'm getting better at judging my pace again. The last one I went slight faster on purpose 3:46. The floats were a little faster than planned

2.2km cool down


Total session 13.2km

I still had a bit of time before I needed to be back at work so I did some weights after as I noticed a very slight niggle in my knee after the session. I find doing squats/ split squats the best for it. I'll have to watch that, as it hasn't happened in a couple of weeks.

I said in another thread that I got a pair of of Zoom Fly FK (fly knit) for 90 euro. My NB 1500v2 are near their end so I wanted another fast shoe to replace them. I decided to try them out on this session. First impressions... Nice comfortable shoe. Not quite the same feel as the zoom fly SP fast. The FK use react foam while the SP use Lunarlon foam. I'd say these ones will last longer then my SP ones. I had a chance to buy the 4% but I think I'll hold off and cave into nikes marketing department and get the next percent when they are released.

Swashbuckler

You're stringing together some good weeks now man. Nice one. What's the general feeling in terms of racing? Again, apologies if you mentioned it recently. I follow too many logs!

MY BAD

Possible the day of the Irish PBs 5k just to see where I am. Not to PB! But I'll be literally just of a plane so might not be the best indication. The following Friday July 19th there's a local 5k which might be better, but I'll need someone at work to cover for me.

MY BAD

THURSDAY


PM: I had planned some gym work but I got call into work.

FRIDAY


AM: Recovery run on a mixture of road and trail 5km @5:12/km.

I had planned strength work again in the evening after work. I didn't get finished at work untill 8:30pm. I was called in again at 1130pm and didn't get home until 330am. I'm seriously considering changing my job. It's unsustainable, not just for a running background but just having a healthy balance.

SATURDAY

I had to go into work in the morning to resolve more issues. Finished at 2 and went to bed for a over a hour before starting my session. Perfect evening for it, warm with a light breeze. I got a Fenix 5s plus on sale so this was my first run with it. Expensive week with the Zoom flys too.

PM:8x 800 with 90 seconds off with a target of 2:48-2:50. In and out on a flat bit of road.

Warm up 3km with my usual warm up routine of dynamic stretches, drills, and strides.

Times for the 800s
2:49
2:48
2:47
2:47
2:46
2:47
2:46
2:41

Cool down 3km

I picked it up on the last 800 and didn't look at the watch. Temperatures started to rise on my cool down, glad I got out when I did. It felt great to run at speed again.

Total session 12.86km


SUNDAY

PM: Easy 16.36km @4:51/km on mainly trail.

It felt longer then 10 miles doing loops of the forest (because I'm on call) can get boring and a long week too. Very happy with this weeks running. First time since my injury running 6 days in a week, also I'm highest mileage since the injury too.

Total distance this week
69.2km

This is how my last 12 weeks have looked in terms of increasing my mileage.

MY BAD

MONDAY

I had planned a 40 to 50 minutes easy Monday morning depending on how I was feeling. But I was called into work Sunday night so that put a end to that plan. Rovers were playing in the evening so I managed to squeeze in a easy 5k before that...

PM: Easy 5.2km @4:53/km half road, half trail

TUESDAY

There's a TV series been filmed in town so they took over the car park I usually do my warm up routine in with their trailers and stuff. So it meant I was doing my drills on the side of the road which I'm not a fan of doing.

PM: 4x200, 2x400, 800, 2x400, 4x200 all with 90s shuffle recovery.

I see a lot here coached by Luke use this workout on race weeks. It's one I always wanted to do too. I hope to get back to Dermot in August so this was a opportunity to test it out before I do. I don't think I'm race fit yet but I want to attempt some race to see where I am. So the plan is a hilly 4 mile race on Friday. If anything it will be a good workout. My main goal for July is a 5k on the 19th (if I can get someone at work to cover for me) So I'm not to pushed on how this one Friday goes.

Back to this session... I was kind of guessing what the splits for this session should be or even the recoveries. I went with 5k pace for the 800, 3k ish for the 400, and a bit faster for the 200s. It was nice to play around with speed again.

4x200
36
36
37
37
I pulled the last two back a bit I was afraid I'd over cook.

2x400
81
81

1x 800
2:49

2x400
82
82


4x200
39
39
39
38


Warm up 3.5km
Cool down 3km


WEDNESDAY

PM: Recovery run on roads with the lads 10km @5:09/km.

The lads were deciding on a route for that 5k I mentioned, so I tagged along.

THURSDAY

PM: Easy 5km @4:59/km with strides. I felt really sharp when I opened it up for the strides.

FRIDAY

4 miler race day!

So this was my first race since January... Man I missed racing. This race is part of the local road race league so it brings out a good standard even though its a bitch of a course, and the old race distances wouldn't be as popular anymore. Its a bit like cross country in that position is what's important for your league position. So mid pack runners like myself are racing against other local lads of my ability. Its a great competition and adds to the competitiveness of it. Unfortunately with my injury this is the only race in the league I'll be taking part in this year. It was a nice evening here but quite winding. When I arrived the organisers where struggling with the finish sign over the gantry. In the end they gave up because of the wind.

I did my warm up on the track around the football pitch, this is actually where the race finished too. It was great to chat to all the local runners I haven't seen in some time. After my 3km warm up and drills I changed into my racers. The start line was another 500m away so I did some strides I ended up doing another 1km in total. The start was on a very sheltered bóithrín so as we stood listening to the race director is was quite warm. I wasn't sure who to tag onto because of the length of time I was out. I was told to hold onto a lad who recently ran a 17:20 5k but I thought that might be a bit too much. Apologies this race report is in metric in a imperial race distance! I was thinking a average 6 minutes mile pace would be a good target going into this race.

Three, two, one, off we go... The first km was fairly flat with a slight down hill. I didn't want to over cook so I kept trying to slow down a bit, unfortunately the lads I had planned to hold onto hadn't this strategy and took off like bullets!! The first kilometer was 3:34, it felt too easy. I actually caught up to the lads I had planned to stick with here. We took a 90 degrees turn and into the head wind and a 3km up hill climb. This is where the race began and I found myself isolated quite quickly as the lads around me dropped off and the lead pack were a nice bit ahead, a quick check on my watch and a land mark and they looked to be 30 seconds a head, I thought it was too far to try and catch up with, maybe if I had pushed on for that first km. Anyway I didn't feel any pressure and took the hill in my stride as I knew I wasn't race fit and I had no time in mind. Not much else to say about the next 3km expect my plan was to keep pushing on the hill and see what I could do. The 2nd km was 3:43, the 3rd km 3:57, and finally that last bastard was 3:47 then we took a 90 degree bend and into a sheltered bóithrín again down hill. I just said f*ck it and opened it up. I overtook the lad who recently raced a 17:20 here but I couldn't catch the rest of the lead pack 3:25 for the 5th km. I couldn't keep that pace going but the final km was 3:31 as I closed in on the lead guys. The final bit on the track was quite open and windy. No real hard push as I was a good 10 seconds behind the lad in front of me and then I was the same ahead of the lad behind me.

4 mile 23:17 and 10th overall. Good race, nice buzz, and a good confidence booster too. I think that's a 3:37/km average or 5:49/mile

Just over 3km cool down on the grass taking sh*te then into the hall for coffee and sandwiches. I enjoyed that far more then expected

SATURDAY

One of the lads organising that 5k I mentioned earlier asked if I could run the route and put it on Strava and relive...

AM:5km @4:39/km

I felt a bit springy surprisingly for the next part of that run I decided to slow down a bit. I had what I thought was a good idea to run to my Nannys house to wish her happy 88th birthday. Day dreaming on some of the lanes though the forests I missed my turn, not one but twice ffs! So that plan went out the window but I called after my run.

Easy 11.87km @4:49/km

Total today 16.87km


SUNDAY

Planning a rest day and end my 9 day running streak :eek:. Going on holidays for a a week of sun and hill repeats! :pac:

Total distance this week
65.3km

AuldManKing

Delighted to read that - fair play for putting it out there while not feeling race fit - something more of us should do!
That been said - thats a good run - those last 2km are savage.

Enjoy the holliers.

MY BAD

No session in the first half of this week due to last Fridays race

MONDAY

AM: 8.94km @5:03/km
I felt very sluggish on my first holiday run, getting used to the heat and travel took its toll.

TUESDAY

AM: 6.2km @5:00/km
Very humid this morning, it was a real struggle.

WEDNESDAY

No running today.

THURSDAY

AM: 11.13km @4:51/km
I felt great on this run even though it was very warm.

FRIDAY

AM: 11.11km @4:49/km
Again another good one.

SATURDAY

Long day up at 430am Irish time, got home at 800pm. Started this session at 845pm.

PM:2x 2 mile tempo with 90seconds shuffle recovery between reps, 3 minutes off then 5x 30 seconds hill sprints

Warm up 4km with the usual drills, strides, dynamic stretches.

2 mile splits
12:36
12:41
On the road with a few long drags.

The 5x 30 seconds hill sprints were all sub 3:20/km pace except one. Recovery was a slow jog back down, around 65 to 70 seconds. Gradient of the hill is around 4.5-5% so nothing hectic.

Cool down 3km

Total 15.41km


SUNDAY

I decided to sleep in and did my run in the evening. I was registered for the day of the Irish PBs but I gave it a miss. I wouldn't have done myself any justice.

PM: 20km @4:45/km

Total distance this week
72.8km

MY BAD

Positive Vibes. Negative Splits. :cool:


And yes the next % are worth every cent. :pac:

Swashbuckler

All joking aside do they make a difference? Super run by the way. Back in the game

MY BAD

Swashbuckler wrote: »

All joking aside do they make a difference? Super run by the way. Back in the game

I don't want to sound like a Nike fan boy as there's enough hype about them. But they certainly are different to any shoe I've worn before. They feel light with a soft bounce and very responsive. You have a feeling of been propelled forward. I'm sure there's a placebo effect too. When I changed after doing my warm up from my Pegasus 35 to them you can notice a big difference straight away, again the same for changing back into the pegs for my cool down. I've been doing my sessions in zoom fly FK the past few weeks and you notice a big difference between the two

MY BAD

I'm going to start this weeks log with what I think were mistakes I made last week. Looking back I should have broken that 2x2miles on Saturday into 10/8/6 minutes tempo with 90 seconds recovery and probably should have done it on the Sunday. Then just done 8 to 10km easy on the Saturday instead. I say this because I think the travel and the holiday took a good bit out of me, but it was a delayed effect. I only really started to feel it at the start of this week. Also having two races in two weeks without having raced in 6 months and running my longest run since my injury between them wasn't the smartest thing to do.

MONDAY

AM: I had the intention of running 5k recovery but I was pretty wrecked so I had a extra hour in bed instead.

PM: Strenght work. I missed out on this the last two weeks with holidays and with my first race in six months in previous week. I felt a bit weak tbh.

TUESDAY

AM: 4x200/2x400/800/2x400/4x200 with 90seconds jog recovery  

This is my second time trying this session. I have to say I really like it. Its a nice sharpener simular to Dermots pyramids. But I find doing speed work at 6am really hard to get going, even after a extra long warm up and more time doing drills, activations. So taking that on board, plus the tiredness I was feeling in the legs I just wasn't hitting the paces I'd like, but the effort or feel was there. I wasn't off much either so I wasn't to bothered about it.

Warm up was 3.8km with a bit longer than usual activations, drills etc. The cool down was 3.3km

Total session 14.96km

WEDNESDAY

AM: 40 minutes recovery run 7.66km@5:19/km on mainly trail.
I just let the leg do what ever they felt like doing which wasn't much as they were quite dead.

THURSDAY

PM: 25 minutes easy with 5x20 seconds strides at the end 5.25km @4:47/km
I felt grand today, and quite sharp once I started the strides.

FRIDAY

Race day!!!

So I'm on call this week for work. I actually had a great spell of no call out all week for a change... until Thursday night. Two calls outs, the first one when I was going to bed, and then again when I was home a hour after the first one. I only go 4 hours sleep that night, so I was pretty wrecked Friday. When I got home I fell asleep for 20 minutes or so and would have missed the race only for Mrs Mellow Yellow to come home and wake me.

This race is a local ish 5k as a fund raiser for my GAA Club where I grew up. The guys organising it and are all involved with my AC too and are very clued into how to run a race. I know I'm biased but this was a exceptionally well ran on a nice course.

When I got to the registration there was a biblical shower of rain but thankfully it cleared off just before I started my warm up. It stayed dry until I got home after the race. I decided to where my rain jacket for the warm up but with the humidity I sweated buckets and was wetter on the inside then the out side. I did 3km nice and easy then back to the car park and changed into my singlet and new racers that I mentioned in the previous post. I started my activations and dynamic stretches followed by a springy jog then some strides maybe another km then some strides. I felt a bit weak through out the warm to be honest I don't know if it was the humidity as it was quite warm and dead.

Looking around at the start line there was good few fast runners plus a load of the GAA lads (I thought they'd be decent 5k runners but I was wrong) I knew loads doing this race and had a good few family running it too. I was thinking if I could push for 18 minutes it would be decent because I still don't feel race fit and in my 4 mile race two weeks ago I hit the 5k mark at 18:30 ish but there was a horrible hill in that race. There was a slight delay at the start as some runners were late getting to the start line. Nothing worse waiting around when you're itching to go!

Three, two, one, and we're off! I was eger not go out too fast as I knew the second km was a drag. My Dad was a stewarding about 400m after the start line. I found myself up near the front quite quickly in 6th place. As we came into the village for the 1km mark I heard lots of people cheer me on which was great. My first km 3:28 with a quick glance of my watch I was holding off a good bit, getting ready for the 2nd km. I didn't look at my watch until the 4km mark after that. A few lads I run with were stewards and encouraged me on. I gave this km too much respect and should have pushed on more, maybe if I looked at my watch I would have seen the pace but I was happy to hold my position with no one breathing down my neck. 2km mark 3:43. It was fairly flat for the next km for I pushed on and past the guy ahead of me to move to 5th. 3rd km 3:36 into the 4th km I thought the guy in 4th place was wearing a GAA shirt I said to myself f*ck that I'm not having him beat me and pushed on further I caught him easily enough kept it steady as I slowly pulled away from him. The guy in 3rd place I know him very well though football and running it was a good 15 seconds ahead of me now. Soild 5k runner who regularly runs sub 17 5ks. I noticed he was isolated as the top two lads were miles ahead and I said I'll make a push for him but knew he was too far ahead and had the speed if he really wanted too. We came around by the start line again and my 4th km was 3:32 I started to close in on 3rd place but my buddy was able to pick it up too, he told me after he could hear me catching up. I passed my Dad again at his stewarding point he encouraged me to push on further but the gap was too much as we came through the village again. My last km was 3:22 4 seconds behind 3rd place finishing 4th in 17:39 I was quite pleased with it to be honest. I waited around at the finish line for a few minutes to catch my breath and to congratulate my friends. Then I walked back to the car changed shoes and only had time for a 2km cool down as I needed to be home and showered by 9 to be back on call as one of the lads was covering for me. Unfortunately I couldn't go to the afters which I would have enjoyed and maybe try and recruit some of the GAA lads to the church of the Sunday long run.

Some afterthoughts...
I know I'm not race fit yet and definitely missing that race sharpness. On reflection I think my first km was spot on as I didn't want to over cook it. I gave that second km too much respect and should have pushed on more. And finally I think I left it too late to push on for that 3rd spot, which I was capable of getting in retrospect. But over all I'm very happy with that race. I know I'll get sharper and more clued in on what I can and can't do with a few more races under my belt. I think the bit of strength work and strides added to my easy runs have helped me. Good day at the office.

SATURDAY

AM: Easy 8km @4:48/km on mainly trail. I intended to run this at recovery but I just let the legs do what ever they felt like.

PM: Some light strength after work.

SUNDAY

PM: My watch says 16.24
km @4:48/km but I think the gps was a bit off looking at the map on Garmin. Still I think its close enough as I was doing loops of the trail and counting them.

Total distance this week 63.1km with 6 days running.

OOnegative

Well done again on the race, nice work. Your coming into shape again, keep it going.

KSU

Well done in the race man fair play

Enjoy the holiday

Mellow Yellow 26.2 wrote: »

TUESDAY

AM: 4x200/2x400/800/2x400/4x200 with 90seconds jog recovery  

Just in relation to this session as seems to be gaining popularity (funnily its not one I have used with any of my current athletes in a while) but its a great one pre race.

Regarding the paces there is one element of this session which is slightly different and that is that the 800 where you would expect the pace to be slightly slower than the shorter it is actually same pace or a shade quicker tha the 400s.

The idea is to really blast the 800m while everything else remains controlled. That 1st 400 in the second set should be a b!tch

Here are the splits from the last time I did the session myself

34, 34, 35, 36
1.16, 1.15
2.26
1.18, 1.16,
35, 34, 34, 34

Lowest I have achieved in session is 2.21 (400s in around the same) I think but the aim is usually put the foot down and really crank it

MY BAD

KSU wrote: »

Just in relation to this session as seems to be gaining popularity (funnily its not one I have used with any of my current athletes in a while) but its a great one pre race.

Thanks L I really appreciate that, I wasn't sure how to approach it at all

OOnegative wrote: »

Well done again on the race, nice work. Your coming into shape again, keep it going.

Thanks B, same goes for yourself

AuldManKing

Great race there - good to see you coming back to fitness.

MY BAD

MONDAY

PM: Gym. Strength work nothing too taxing

TUESDAY

PM: Easy with 4x 15 seconds hill sprints 9km@4:59/km on mainly trail.

I decided to head to the mountains and hit the trail there. I use to run here a good bit but not much in the past few years. I really should start running more here again as it's only a 10 minute drive and quite a cool place to run. I had 5x 20 second strides planned for the finish but I took advantage of the landscape and switched to 4x 15 seconds hill sprints instead.

Took this photo after my run.


WEDNESDAY

Back with Dermot! Man I missed this training. You can't beat training in a good quality group, compared to solo training. Anyway it was a nice session to ease myself my back.

PM: Mile, 4x400, Mile, 4x400, Mile with 60 seconds off recovery target of 6:20 for the miles but if feeling it bring it down to 6:00 and 80 seconds for the 400s

Warm up 3.2km with plenty of activations, drills, strides....

The first mile was a bit quick 6:10 it was quite warm and humid on the track. But it felt really comfortable.

The first set of 400s got the heart rate up 79,79,79,78 but again it was quite comfortable.

For the second mile we weren't concentrating for the first 100 and took off too fast still stuck in 400 mode. We put manners on it but once in a rhythm we just let it flow 6:04

The second set of 400s I had no problems again. I was eger to push on a bit but I didn't. 79,78,77,77

The last mile felt like a jog after the last 400s 5:56

Cool down on grass 2.8km

I really was surprised with how comfortable I was throughout that session. Not sure why but it felt very controlled.

Total session 14.5km


THURSDAY

PM: I had 60 minutes easy planned but I went off a little to fast. 12.38km @4:40/km

FRIDAY

AM: Easy 45 minutes with 5x 20 second strides 9.26km @4:52/km

SATURDAY

AM: 8x1km cruise with 60 seconds off recovery target 3:45

Started this session at 10am. Towards the end it was quite warm, but it was perfect conditions. I was very comfortable throughout the session and picked it up for the last two, maybe I shouldn't have done that.

Warm up 3.6km plus the usual...

Splits for 8x1km

3:45, 3:44, 3:46, 3:43, 3:47, 3:47, 3:41, 3:38

Cool down 3km


SUNDAY

I gave myself a target of 5:00/km for this run as I had a good week with 10miles/16km of quality, that Thursday run, plus over 75km total for week. I'm conscience not to over cook things as I feel everything is starting to click.

PM: 16.27km @4:59/km on road

Total distance this week 76.5km with 6 days running.

MY BAD

MONDAY

PM: Home gym.

TUESDAY

AM: Easy 45 minutes with 5x 20 seconds strides 9.28km@4:54/km on the roads

WEDNESDAY

PM: 6x1km with 2 minutes off recovery target of 3:35 and work it down a bit to sub 3:30 for the last two

Warm up 2.5km on the gravel with plenty of activations, drills, strides.... I was a bit late getting to the track so my warm up jog was a bit shorter than usual but kept my drills etc the same as always.

Big local race this weekend so not many on the track this evening. It was just me and another guy in my group. He's a lot better runner than me but his legs were very heavy so he wasn't feeling today. He paced the first four then I paced the last two.

Splits for 6x1km

3:35
3:28
3:34
3:38
3:28
3:26


Average 3:31.5

I felt very comfortable throughout, maybe the last repeat felt a bit forced on the final 200m as we had a head wind. Pity I'm not around for the race this weekend.

Cool down on grass 3km

Total session 11.92km

I had planned some strength work in at home afterwards but I left it for morning.


THURSDAY

AM: Home gym

PM: I had 60 minutes easy planned but I'm away Sunday so I swapped the 60 minutes with my Sunday 10 mile run. Also I'm switching my speed session next week from Wednesday to Tuesday. I chose quite a hilly route. Its turning into one of my favorite routes to run. Spectacular views into every county in Connacht! Only off putter is all the mad dogs...

16.49km @4:45/km

FRIDAY

AM: Easy 45 minutes with 5x 20 second strides 9.1km @4:52/km

I would have preferred to do this run in the evening after yesterdays hilly run but I've too much on. I had 4x20 seconds hills planned but again after yesterday's I decided to swap them with 5x 20 seconds strides.

SATURDAY

AM: 3x2km with 90 seconds shuffle recovery target 3:45

If I was feeling strong I was going to do 4x2km. I was short on time and if I'm honest I think that hilly 10 mile took its toll more than expected so I think overall it was better to leave it at 3x2km

Warm up 3.4km plus the usual...

Splits for 3x2km

7:29, 7:31, 7:33

Cool down 3.3km


SUNDAY

At a wedding Saturday. I had 3 pints.... I'm bit of a light weight when it comes to drinking nowadays.

AM: Easy 60 minutes 12.5km @4:49/km

I had a slight wobble on the run where I went over on my right ankle. I think it's okay. I'll know tomorrow

Total distance this week 72.4km with 6 days running.

Swashbuckler

Mellow Yellow 26.2 wrote:

SUNDAY

Going really well lad. Some nice sessions there.

MY BAD

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Going really well lad. Some nice sessions there.

Thanks, frustrating year but I think things are starting to click. I feel adding strides twice a week to my easy runs, along with them before sessions are helping things in terms of form and speed. The additional strength work seems to be having its benefits too. It will take a while more until I feel I'm race fit but I'm still aiming to PB in the Rathfarham 5k. I hit 1000 miles last week. I'm not sure when I hit 1000 miles last year but it definitely was earlier in the year but I'm not too worried about mileage this time round.

MY BAD

Slightly rearranged week.

MONDAY

AM: Normally no running on Mondays for me but we were down in Killarney. So I did a bit of running Tourism out to Ross Castle.

Easy 60 minutes with 5x 20 seconds strides at the end.
13km@4:49/km

TUESDAY

Instead of leaving my track session until Wednesday when I'm back on call for work I decided to take advantage of the day off. I intended to check out UL facilities on my way home while Mrs Mellow Yellow did some shopping but it was pretty miserable so she changed her mind. Kinda glad is wasn't speed work weather. But kudos to all who gave me recommendations. When I got home is was quite windy on the track which made it hard but sunny.

PM: 3km tempo, followed by 2.5 minutes off recovery, followed by 5x 800 with 2 minutes off recovery after each 800 Target pace for the 3k was between 3:45-3:50/km and the 800s 2:45

Warm up 3.1km on the grass with plenty of activations, drills, strides....

3km in 11:20 @3:47/km or 6:05/mile average

Splits for 800s
2:46, 2:44, 2:45, 2:44, 2:44

With the wind I did find them hard going especially towards the end. I raced the last 100m of the 5th 800 against a very strong head wind to hit my target. Not ideal, I guess 2:47 would have been the time if I didn't do it. I do enjoy split sessions. Definitely lacking with endurance strength.

Cool down 3.2km on grass


WEDNESDAY

PM: Home gym/strenght work

THURSDAY

AM: Easy 45 minutes with 4x 15 seconds Hill sprints included towards the end.
9.15km @4:58/km


FRIDAY

AM: 3x 10 minutes tempo with 2 minutes off recovery target 3:55-4:00/km average pace.

I decided to pull the pace back slightly to just under 4 minute kms, not overly pushed by a target pace. I find these pre 7am sessions hard to get going but I got in a rhythm and kept it at that. Dark wet morning. I did this on a gravel track so working a bit more than on road or the track.

Warm up 3.1km mainly on the road. I didn't spend too long on my drills etc less than 10 minutes

Average pace for each 3x 10 minute
3:57/km or 6:21/mile
3:56/km or 6:20/mile
3:57/km or 6:21/mile

Cool down 3km

PM: Some light strength work.

SATURDAY

Hard to get out of bed when the rain is bucketing down. Second morning in a row the street lights were still on heading out and its only August. The trail I use was flooded too.
Easy 45 minutes mixture of road and trail 9.15km @5:01/km

SUNDAY

Early start before work. Up at 5:30. Dark and damp.
18.77km @4:41/km on the roads. I picked up the pace for the last 3km km

Total distance this week 77.7km with 6 days running.

MY BAD

MONDAY

AM: Home gym/strength work stuff

TUESDAY

I've a 5k race in a few weeks in the next town over. I stopped off on my way home from work and did two loops of the course. It seems nice except a bitch of 500m between the 2 and 3km mark.
PM: 9.5km @4:37/km with 4x 20 seconds strides. Another 650m dropping off the car to the mechanic when I got home.


WEDNESDAY

PM: : 4x 1 mile + 600m* target pace 5:40 miles and try to work it down. The 600m target was just under 3000m pace. Between 2 and 2:30 minutes off recovery.

2.8km warm up mainly on grass plus the usual drills, activations, strides.

Miles splits

5:40
5:34
5:34
5:35

A few lads in my group racing this weekend so it was a solo effort at this pace as the other group was targeting 6:10. I was under the very watchful eye of Dermot. When he saw I knocked out two 5:34s he threw in a young lad just back from the European youth Olympics who ran a 8:47 (I think) 3000m to pace me to see it I push on more maybe sub 5:30. It went good up to 800m but I fell off then and blew up a bit. I recovered for the last 400 but it was 5:35 mile.

For the 600m fast finish I don't know why but when I got to 400 I thought only 100 to go. So it ended up been 500m in 1:36 I think that's around 3:12/km pace so I was happy with that finish after the last mile.

Cool down on grass 3.18km

Quite happy with that session. Still a lot of work to break 17:30 5k in 6 weeks time.


THURSDAY

PM: Easy ish 60 minutes ish
13.15km @4:45/km

FRIDAY

AM: Recovery run 9.21km @5:06/km

This was supposed to be on grass but some guy had his two German Shepherds loose on the football pitch so I decided to avoid them and stuck to the road for the most part. Only 2km on grass.

PM: Some light strength work.

SATURDAY

The plan was to pace my brother at parkrun for sub 20 but he had to drop out last minute. I decided to run it at tempo pace 3:50/km instead. The route is all gravel/unpaved surface so that's worth and 3 or 4 seconds per km in effort. Good long warm up 4.51km with strides and drills. Got a few funny looks. 229 runners great turnout. When we started a few lads look off fast and as usual I got caught up in it. I looked at my watch sub 3:30/km pace so I put the breaks on after 100 to 200mts. I kept it steady and stuck to the plan by the 2km mark I was in the lead. I was hoping I'd have someone to run beside. Thanked all the volunteers as I past them. 1st home in 19:18 followed by a 4.52km cool down.


SUNDAY

AM: 100 minutes easy 20.89km @4:48/km on rolling hilly route for the most part. Really enjoyable scenic run.


Total distance this week 80.6km with 6 days running.

MY BAD

MONDAY

AM: Home gym/strength work stuff

TUESDAY


PM: 9.61km @4:48/km with 5x 20 seconds included.

The 5x20seconds were a bit quicker than strides. Still fairly well controlled.

WEDNESDAY

PM: : 8x800 with 90seconds standing recovery target 2:45-2:40

2.63km warm up on gravel plus the usual drills, activations, strides.

800 splits

2:44
2:41
2:45
2:40
2:41
2:42
2:43
2:41


Cool down on grass 3.51km


THURSDAY

PM: 14.61km @4:52/km
Legs a bit heavy, I ate way too late before that run.

FRIDAY

PM: Dog jog 10km @4:57/km

PM: Some strength work.

SATURDAY

PM: 4x 1 mile @ 10km pace with 2 minutes standing recovery

Very humid around 90% and warm with no breeze. Doing my warm up I knew I'd be working hard. Fairly flat bit of road with nice drag on miles 2 and 4

3.6km warm up plus the usuals.

Mile Splits
5:50
5:55
5:53
5:57

3.4km cool down.


SUNDAY

PM: Close to 90 minutes easy 18km @4:53/km with around 5k in the middle dog jog. Boring enough run except for the pooch miles

Total distance this week 78.9km with 6 days running.

MY BAD

Mellow Yellow 26.2 wrote: »

Just to follow up on the past 12 weeks since posting this.


I've enjoyed the past few weeks. I hope to run two 5ks in September and maybe a mile race too. October I'm considering a local 10k and possibly some xc

MY BAD

On call for work this week. The best time to run is in the morning before work. So I try to be out before 6am. I'm getting more disciplined at these early starts.

MONDAY

Nothing. Called into work when I was about to start my strength routine...

TUESDAY

AM: 45 minutes easy with 5x 20 seconds strides.
9.61km @4:50/km

WEDNESDAY

AM: 6km tempo plus 8x 100m target pace for the tempo 3:50-3:55/km and for the 100mts hard effort.

3.4km warm up plus the usual drills, activations, strides. I need a extra long warm up when doing these early sessions.

6km tempo in 23:18 @3:53/km loops of the town.

The 8x100mts were all 2:53 to 2:35/km pace according to my Garmin but I don't know how accurate the GPS is on a short sprint.

Cool down 3km

THURSDAY

AM: 60 minutes easy mainly on trail 12.58 @4:47/km
Dark, wet, loops, but enjoyable.

FRIDAY

AM: Easy with 6x 20 seconds strides 9.52km @4:55/km

Mainly on the footpaths small bit on grass. I had some GPS issues for the 1st km it was a few hundred meters long and pressed stop instead of lap for my 1st stride so it wasn't recorded.


SATURDAY

I decided to take the chance of doing this workout in the evening after work. The thought of starting a v02max session before 6am before work isn't very appealing.

PM: 6x1km with 2 to 2:30 recovery

3.8km warm up plus the usuals.

Km splits
3:29
3:26
3:24
3:25
3:26
3:24

This was a in and out route on a flat bit of road. I was quite happy with this one although I was generous with the recoveries with closer to 2:30 than 2 minutes. During the 1st km I thought I'd really struggle with this session as I wasn't really clicking but as soon as I started the second one it was smooth and controlled, funny that.

3km cool down.


SUNDAY

AM: 16.76km @4:52/km on the roads. I could have done this run at 7pm this evening after work as there is no on call tonight but I decided to get it done early and enjoy the evening. The first high viz vest run of the autumn.

Total distance this week 76.2km with 6 days running. No gym work this week, every evening I started it I got called into work. I have deliberately cut back the mileage the past two weeks by a few kilometres each week as this week coming I've a 5km on Saturday. It's not a target race but I want to give it a honest effort. Its more of a time trial on a "fair" course (there is a bitch of a climb for 500m in the middle) to see where I am three weeks out from Rathfarham 5k. I'm still 50/50 on to race that mile race in Longford on Tuesday. The sensible side of me says you got enough of a turnover this week and you'd benefit from doing some kind of a strength session. While the other side says f**k it, give it a lash for the craic there aren't too many mile races about it.

MY BAD

I did that Ray Flynn Mile yesterday. Despite the horrible conditions I really enjoyed that race. A few tight bends, I had a slight wobble on one of them. I never raced this distance before or have been training for this kind of a race so I was happy with a 5:12 chip time. Its a great distance to race I'd love if there was more miles races around, maybe if I lived in the east of the country I'd have more opportunities. I'm thinking about swapping my shift at work to run the Griffiths Avenue mile and have a good crack at 5 minutes

Dubh Geannain

That's a great time for a first attempt and no focused training. Well done. Did you get any splits for yourself or have much energy for a kick towards the finish?

MY BAD

Dubh Geannain wrote: »

That's a great time for a first attempt and no focused training. Well done. Did you get any splits for yourself or have much energy for a kick towards the finish?

I should have set my watch for 400m autolap to get my splits. Normally on the track at 100m, 200m I have a glance at my watch and have a fair idea of my pace. I took off too fast a suffered for it. I've attached my Garmin pace and elevation data. You can see how I died out and where I had the wobble too. Also the pace is a bit up and down as I was at bends. I'd love to give it another go on a straight mile or better a track and see what happens.