Often becomes easy when the easy is often..

Kellygirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119613408#Comment_119613408

Worse than labour I’m told … by a very reliable source that I live with 😜

Swashbuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119614923#Comment_119614923

The alternative is more painful 🤣

Lazare

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119614923#Comment_119614923

How soon was he able to walk again?

After the hiding you gave him 😁

Kellygirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119615753#Comment_119615753

The hiding wasn’t strong enough as he keeps repeating it!!

Lazare

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119617102#Comment_119617102

haha, I doubt I'd be left in a position to repeat it if I said it. 😁

Lazare

Week 6 plus Dublin Half race report.

Monday September 12th - 5 mile easy, Abbottstown XC track - 5:49km, 131 bpm

Tuesday September 13th - 8x 400 @5k, 400m jog recs. 4k Up and 4k Down. Wasn't thrilled with these, felt some fatigue in the legs which is to be expected I suppose. Should have been hitting 95 seconds. Reps were 99, 102, 101, 97, 98, 99, 97, 97. 8.5 miles total.

Wednesday September 14th - XC track again for another 5m easy. 5:50km, approx 130 bpm (some idiot kept forgetting to change that HRM battery)

Thurs September 15th - 7k tempo, WU/CD. Target pace of 4:30 for this. Reps were 4:32, 35, 35, 29, 29, 35, 32. 8.15 miles total.

Sat September 17th - Dublin Half - Race report. (forgive me, I talk in miles and metric a lot here, I think in miles when it comes to distance, but metric with pace)

Hadn't raced a half since 2018 so I had no real idea of a strategy for it. Fingal 10k time suggested 1:36:45 (McMillan), 4:35 pace. My marathon goal (3:22) suggested 1:35:59, 4:33. Kinda felt over the last couple of weeks that I could do a little better than that. Failing a disaster a PB was guaranteed, I just wanted to get inside what McMillan predicted.

@Laineyfrecks' Ratoath half gave me a ton of info and inspiration. E and I are of a very similar standard in terms of pace ranges and targets (obv goes without saying she's a far superior runner) so I studied how she ran that half. Her neg split, the fact she ran some latter miles faster than 10k pace and the super strong finish. It gave me a lot of confidence and inspiration. I gave her splits another good looking over the morning of the race and put a plan in place.

Plan was to hover around 4:30km for the first half, not to be concerned if I drifted a little, and more importantly not to be concerned if the pace was a little too hot.

First three miles were downhill unexpectedly (probably should study courses) so the pace averaged 4:25. Effort was relatively easy. I liked running by the 10 mile marker here as it was nice to know some ground could be gained later if needed. The first 10k in fact was quicker than planned, averaging about 4:26 for it, felt so strong though and confident.

Ran into a little bit of doubt around the halfway mark, my right leg started to feel a bit jellyish, affecting my gait. Thought for a bit that I'd overcooked it. I've had this before though and it's worked itself out. After about 500m it did work itself out and I felt strong again. Another bit of doubt on the stretch up Chesterfield, mile 8 I think. Was running 4:40 pace and was concerned, effort was hard. Realised then that Chesterfield is an insidious drag and the nerves settled. Sure enough as soon as we turned around the pace lifted.

So up to this point, coming up to the 9 mile marker my race had been mostly confidence and strength with some spells of doubt. We turned right off Chesterfield and I saw the lead car come up on my left and turn up the same road. I ran behind it for a bit in a bit of confusion. Didn't really know what was going on, dawned on me then that Peter Somba was about to come up alongside me. Not sure why but watching him, giving him a shoutout and watching his chaser sent a burst of confidence into me. From this point on I felt on fire. I ran the next couple of (downhill) kms at 10k pace. In previous races this would have scared me enough to back off, but E's race gave me confidence. We turned left up that sharp hill at the Jingle Bells finish and I punched through it, felt like Superman. Some guy half collapsed and I roared at him 'COME ON, WE'RE BUILT FOR THIS' haha. I powered up the hill and didn't drop pace. Felt so so good at this point.

I had used a landmark earlier (about mile 7) with the 1:30 pacers to guage where I was at and it took me roughly three minutes 50 to get to it, so I knew 1:33x was on. Now I just needed to remain strong. Passed the 12 mile marker in great shape. Nearly there. Doubts are history now, my breathing is better than those around me. Watch beeped 20k and I put the boot down. Two or three guys around me had the same idea and we all pushed on silently encouraging each other. Ran km 21 in 4:09 and the finish came into view. Totally ignored the watch though. Dug real deep and found a really strong kick. Ran the home stretch at 3:24 pace and came over the line. Looked down at 1:33:44 and pumped the air lol. 15 second negative split.

I grabbed onto a barrier to get my breath and a voice behind me said 'You can't hang around there now, move on please'. Turned around and it was Jim Aughney with a big smile on his face. We know each other well from parkrun. He gave me a big hug and congratulated me. Such an amazing buzz.

I'm still buzzing from it now.

It's given me such great confidence going into DCM. The whole purpose of it was to 'see where I'm at' and it's delivered on that for me.

Target was 3:22 which had always felt ambitious and a little scary. That half tells me I'm good for 3:17 so the scariness is gone. I'll see how the next four weeks play out and formulate a target plan then but I'm bursting with confidence. The training is working.

A special thanks to E for the inspo 😊

Sunday September 18th - 4 miles recovery jog at 6:10km

Total miles for the week - 45.6

Murph_D

Well done C, confidence is contagious!

Kellygirl

Fab report and brilliant running Conor. I’m delighted for you.

AuldManKing

Super run - very well done.

Lazare

Thanks a mill folks

ariana`

That was a lovely read Conor. Super run, really well done!

E is a huge inspiration to many of us but so are you! So much good stuff going on here this year.

Ya gotta love this time of year with the DCM build (and let's not forget Chicago), there's plenty of inspiration around these logs for those of us who aren't quite at the races at the right now.

Lazare

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119637064#Comment_119637064

Ah E, thank you so much, you're too kind 😊

Yeah I really love this time of year with everything ramping up.

Laineyfrecks

Just read this & to say I am very flattered is an understatement so thank you C.

I think E has said it above, there are so many people on here writing their logs every week because it keeps them accountable & so much inspiration in all of them. I've always said that we really don't ever realise the people we touch in little ways on a daily basis, this is what keeps me sticking around here, you may be feeling one way a certain week then read someones log & instantly get something from it & then it could be someone else's the following week, it's a great community.

Big huge congratulations to you C, you have been working hard & now you are reaping the benefits. You ran the race you wanted to, it was you on the course & you that orchestrated a really great race, I hope you are still buzzing😊

Have to agree it's great to see the training ramping up & the buzz of Marathon day around the place!

Lazare

Definitely is a fantastic supportive community here, and in running circles generally.

Have learnt so much through here.

Lazare

Bit of advice seeking.

Saturday's long run on the plan is a 37km. I'm not doing it. That 34k run from a couple of weeks back is my longest. It was a little over 3 hours which made it the limit.

It's Corkagh parkrun's birthday on Sat, was thinking of running to it, doing it and running home.

It's approx 19 and a bit miles at a guess.

I want to sprinkle a bit of MP in there and will run parkrun at that.

5k at pace is a bit skimpy I feel. Should I add a bit more, 20 mins maybe on the latter miles?

What would you do?

Murph_D

It depends on what else you are doing, no easy answer. What type of run was the 37k supposed to be?

I agree that 22m by the way that anything 3 hours or 20 miles is overkill. Impressed that you to 34 in the three hours, haven't made it past 20 myself!

Lazare

Thanks D, the 37 (and all long runs so far) would have been at about 40 seconds slower than MP (km).

The plan has very little pace stuff in it, only 2x runs, neither of which are on tired legs. That's fine, I'm happy with how his method is working so far but I think I'd like that experience, mentally.

Murph_D

Well what you're doing seems to be working well so far. I'd say your 5k @ MP plan is more than enough spice for what's supposed to be a LSR.

Lazare

Cheers D. I'll do that.

Lazare

Week 7

Monday Sep 19th - 5m easy, XC track, lunchtime run. 5:56km 130bpm.

Tuesday Sep 20th - Plan for this was 5x 1m @ 10k. Was a bit concerned about it on Mon night, legs were a bit dommy after the half. After races he has a relatively easy Tuesday session, 6x200s. I asked advice on the improvers thread and skipping it for an easy run was unanimous. I did that, ran 8 miles easy, 5:55km, 120bpm. Got a whatsapp from Sean that night wondering why I skipped it. He gave me a bit of grief 😄. Told him the legs still had a bit of the half in them and he replied with 'The legs will have a bit of a half in them in Crumlin' lol. I think it was the correct decision, pretty scared stiff of injury at this point. Maybe the 6x200s could have been done.

Dropped in to Amphibian King on Tue and picked up a pair of Endorphin Pro3, in shiny bright pink.

Wednesday Sep 21st - 5m easy, 5:34km, 125bpm. Legs obv benefitted from the longer recovery.

Thursday Sep 22nd - 10m @ long run effort (30-55 secs slower than MP). Couldn't wait for this run to try out the Endorphins, my first time ever running in a super shoe. Woke up at 5:50am and looked out at absolutely disgusting weather, rain hopping off the road. For a moment I considered putting them away until Saturday but I figured 'feck it, they're gonna get wet' and ploughed on. They felt weird at first on the slippy wet road but I got used to them quickly enough. They felt amazing then, the run felt effortless. I'd been running these efforts at 5:26km with 130bpm average, this was 5:14km 128bpm. Felt pretty much no fatigue in the legs.

Saturday Sep 24th - 20m long run, with 5k of MP. Wore the Endorphins.

Plan had a 37km run on it but I'd made the decision weeks ago that I wasn't running beyond 34k. 34k was 3:05 so that's the time on feet limit. It was Corkagh parkrun's birthday so I decided to run to there, do it at MP and run home.

MP segment was a touch too fast for the first couple of km but I settled into the correct pace. HR was about where I expect marathon effort to be, 145bpm.

Enjoyable run, felt pretty strong throughout. I felt a strange discomfort on the ball of my left foot towards the end. There's people on the improver thread mentioning similar. Something to keep an eye on. I plan to do all my stuff in them and keep the Kinvaras for easy days. Maybe they need a little breaking in.

Sunday Sep 25th - 4m recovery, 6:13km, 125bpm.

Another 'longest week', 52.4m

Lazare

Meant to add that I tried out a couple of different fuels yesterday. Popped into AK Bray on Friday and grabbed a random selection.

Filled a soft flask with 250ml of Tailwind, that's about the max weight I'll carry on the day. Took a PowerBar gel at about 11 miles, two PowerBar jellies (Powergel shots) at I think 9 miles and about 16 miles and a Salt Stick electrolyte dissolvable chew.

Wasn't really practising timing, more how they felt in the mouth and in the stomach.

Zero issues with any of them in that regard, the gel was a sticky mess though. Will need baby wipes, I had one.

Loved the jellies, although I just really love jellies 🤪

Tested the SaltStick tab to see if water was needed with it and it wasn't, went down real easy and was also quite enjoyable.

I met some friends last night, one of whom lives on Wainsfort Road. He offered to meet me with fuel so I think I'm going to take him up on it, have him hand me a bottle of Tailwind at about mile 17.

I believe Supervalu sell the Enervit gels so I'm gonna pop in there during the week.

Fuel then will be those Enervit Cola gels, 250ml of Tailwind in the belt, some Jellies, some of those Electrolyte chews and bumping into my mate for a gush more of Tailwind.

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119663778#Comment_119663778

How long has that fella been injured again? 😉

Lazare

Ouch 😀😀

skyblue46

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119664240#Comment_119664240

Long enough to realise finally that speed kills, miles strengthen 🤣

Lazare

So I shoulda done five of them slowly then? 🤪

skyblue46

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119664499#Comment_119664499

Unless they were at mile pace or faster it isn't speed 😉

Lazare

Week 8 - Interesting and enjoyable week.

Mon Sep 26th - 5 mile easy, 5:51km, 126bpm. One of those gritty miserable weather runs. Knocked off work 20 mins early and ran it in Corkagh on my way home. Box ticker. No way I'm running that if I don't feel I have to. Can't miss a run tho.

Tue Sep 27th - 5 mile at MP. 3k up and 3k down. Wore the Endorphins. (Am wearing them for all Tue/Thurs/Sat stuff). Don't know what it is about MP sessions but I always find them mentally tough. I'm beginning to think though that that's the point of them. Like the pace is fairly comfortable, and the HR is where it's supposed to be, but I dunno, a lot of doubts seem to enter my mind, 'wtf are you thinking, you're not gonna hold this for 26 miles'. Probably normal. 8.7m total.

Wed Sep 28th - 5m easy, 5:53km, 123bpm.

Thursday Sep 29th - 8x 200s at 5k. Great session, felt so good. 4k up, 4k down. Reps were 48, 48, 46, 48, 46, 46, 45, 46. 400m jog recoveries. 8.06m total.

Saturday Oct 1st - October Baby! It's real. BW plan had a race. I had planned to meet a friend for a dawn run, 24k or so, but he had to cancel. Decided on Friday night to take the lie in and do something in the afternoon. Wasn't sure what to do. I've been playing around with a pacing strat. Spent the tenner on the mymarathonpace spreadsheet. Have used it before and it's imo, fantastic. Anyway I set it up for a 3:19:50 target, a neg split and aggressive downhills. I decided then on Saturday morning to run a part of the route, and run those parts at their specific PMP.

Ran a 3k warm up and began the MP bit at the beginning of Chesterfield. PMP for this stretch, up to (a bit before) Myo's was 5:06 - 5:10 km. Then from Myo's to the entrance to the Park, PMP was to be 4:40. Then 4:27 - 4:30 until the hill at Sarsfield Rd. I nailed the paces, but as said above, found it a touch scary. Some sections were HM pace. Was running the downhills pretty fast. Reflecting on it, I think I may ease up a little, but I'm not sure. Open to advice. I don't want to overcook the first half, but at the same time I want to die on the line. 16.5 miles total. Really felt like a valuable session.

Sunday Oct 2nd - 5k recovery, 6:31km.

Little niggly, here and there, standard stuff though. Cumulative fatigue. Living for the taper. Feel if I get to that the job is done, let it work it's magic. Excited and nervous, and pinching myself that I've managed to get myself to a stage where a pretty decent marathon is within reach. If it all works out.

46.66 miles for the week

Kellygirl

I would think that on the day those paces won’t feel as fast without the cumulactive fatigue etc. As well as the paceband in the day though we’ll have to be dialling into how we really feel and if the effort isn’t too high at that point then it’s fine.

AuldManKing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119694184#Comment_119694184

I'm not one to comment on peoples pacing strategies as these are very personal to the individual - BUT..........

Those pacing apps (Garmin watches have a similar function called 'PacePro') can be dangerous - I tried to set one up for my 40k run last week and I got scared by what it was telling me - I think I'd have blown up on Clonskeagh Road!!

Some other suggestions;

(1) Run the 1st 7 miles (uphill) at MP+10secs and hit MP for the next number of miles (8-13) and get that 70 sec's back on the 2nd half over the course of 13 miles.

(2) Breaking the Route into manageable sections helps me and keeps me focused

- Mile 1-7 uphill - care needed / 7-11 (deal with the bump on St Laurences Road) / 11-15 - Nice quiet spots and then Get through Crumlin Road / 15-21 Nice route, crowds, dowhnill / 21-23 - Clonskeagh & Roebuck - take a chill pill. / 23 - 24.5 Downhill - over the overpass, Nutley Lane. / 24.5- Finish - 1 long Road left - keep her lit and no heroics too early.

Whatever you decide - have a plan and keep the 1st 7 conservative!

Lazare

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119694610#Comment_119694610

That's very true K, thanks.