Como Una Cabra

Diablo Verde

Monday 17th May Easy

Fairview and St. Anne’s parks recording the latest episode of the Waltons

Distance – 14km
Average pace: 5:03/km

Tuesday 18th May – 16x400m – Clontarf to Baldoyle

This was my first session back after a few weeks of post-half relaxation. The legs were still feeling a bit battered during the warm-up after my jaunt up Howth the other day. The plan here was 5k-10k pace so I settled on anywhere between 03:28/km-03:38/km. I probably averaged at somewhere around 03:34 pace so happy enough with that. 400m felt like a fairly short distance for the reps, and the 400m recovery was plenty. Enjoyable overall, and got home just before the thunder struck!

Rep 1 – 1:25
Rep 2 – 1:26
Rep 3 – 1:26
Rep 4 – 1:26
Rep 5 – 1:26
Rep 6 – 1:26
Rep 7 – 1:26
Rep 8 – 1:26
Rep 9 – 1:27
Rep 10 – 1:26
Rep 11 – 1:25
Rep 12 – 1:24
Rep 13 – 1:24
Rep 14 – 1:26
Rep 15 – 1:26
Rep 16 – 1:25

Total distance – 19km

Diablo Verde

Wednesday 19th May Recovery

The legs were completely battered at the start of this one, and slightly less battered by the end. It was a real shuffle job, and though sore at the time, I know that these stand to me when the Thursday sessions come around.

Distance – 5.5km
Average Pace – 5:33/km

Thursday 20th May 6.4km @T

I have to admit that I thought of binning this one when I saw (heard) the weather this morning. In the end, I talked myself into doing it in the afternoon. I had been running these Tempo-type runs at around 3:52/km pace when I was training for the half TT, but I have settled on attempting these at 3:48/km for this training block. As per usual, the coast from Clontarf out to the causeway at Bull Island was a bit temperamental in terms of wind, but in the end, it wasn't too bad for the first 4, saving the worst for the last 2. Overall, a good effort, and it will be interesting to see how I go as the distance for these shifts up.

Total Distance – 19.5km
Distance@T – 6.4km – 24:09@03:46/km

Diablo Verde

Friday 21st May Easy

Sand dunes and St. Anne’s

Distance – 14km
Average Pace – 4:59/km

Saturday 22nd May – Easy

St. Anne’s and Sand dunes

Distance – 14km
Average Pace – 5:02/km

Yesterday’s route, reversed, today.

Sunday 23rd May – Long Run

Docks – Sandymount – Merrion Gates – Ranelagh – Rathmines – Canal – Fairview – Alfie Byrne

I was supposed to be leaving the house to meet the brother at 7 this morning as I had limited time available. I woke up at 5 to 7. Not a great start. Then I rushed out of bed and realised I had washed ALL of my shorts last night and none were dry. Back to bed.

It would have been easy to not bother with the long run later in the evening, especially with the weather reports, so I’m pleased that I got it done. I headed out before 6, into a promise of heavy rain. I was feeling smug after 10k as I coasted towards Ballsbridge, still bone dry, but predictably enough, I got pissed on for the next 13k.

Distance – 22.5km
Average pace: 4:52/km

Total Weekly Distance – 108

Monday 24th May Easy

Fairview and St. Anne’s parks

Distance – 13.5km
Average pace: 5:15/km

Diablo Verde

Tuesday 25th May – 8x800m – Raheny Shamrocks Loop

Well this went surprisingly well. Last week’s 400 reps were around 3:34/km pace. Today’s 800s were closer to 3:30/km.

Rep 1 – 2:48
Rep 2 – 2:48
Rep 3 – 2:48
Rep 4 – 2:48
Rep 5 – 2:47
Rep 6 – 2:48
Rep 7 – 2:47
Rep 8 – 2:49

Total distance – 20km

Diablo Verde

Wednesday 26th May Recovery

Distance – 5km
Average Pace – 5:24/km

S&C – Yoga

Thursday 27th May 6 Mile progression

Headed out to Malahide and ran this on the first lap of the Malahide parkrun course. Hopefully it won’t be too long until we can do this for real. The run itself was tough for the last 2 miles but I got there in the end.

Mile 1: 06:48 – 4:15/km
Mile 2: 06:39 – 4:09/km
Mile 3: 06:30 – 4:04/km
Mile 4: 06:19 – 3:57/km
Mile 5: 06:08 – 3:50/km
Mile 6: 05:55 – 3:42/km

Total Distance – 16km

Friday 28th May Easy

Fairview and St. Anne’s parks

Distance – 13.5km
Average Pace – 5:14/km

S&C – The Challenge

Saturday 29th May – Easy
St. Anne’s and Sand dunes
Distance – 14km
Average Pace – 5:11/km

S&C – Yoga

Diablo Verde

Sunday 30th May – Cycle and Long Run

Cycle - I started the day off by getting back on the bike for the first time in ages. 60km spin out to Portrane and back. Cracking morning for it.

Run – I was interested to see how easy/difficult this would be after the cycle. I took a break of 5 or 6 hours, which I spent eating, and then headed out into the afternoon heat. I took it handy and felt fine until around 18km when the legs started giving out. Wouldn’t be put off by doing a “double” like this again, but I’d be inclined to keep the run pace on the easy side. Also, Herbert Park is probably best avoided on a sunny day.

Run Distance – 21.1km
Average pace: 4:57/km

Total Weekly Distance – 103km

Diablo Verde

Monday 31st May Easy – St. Anne’s and the Dunes

Distance – 14km
Average pace: 4:50/km

S&C – Isometrix

Tuesday 1st June – 1,600/1,200/1,000/800/400

This week’s Tuesday session called for reps as above, starting at 10k pace and moving up towards 5k pace for the last one. The first 2 were particularly hard , but I’ll forgive myself that as they were into a slight headwind, and it was fierce early in the morning. I had turned back by the time I started the 1,000 rep, and now had the advantage of the slight tailwind. Didn’t quite get up to 5k PB speed but happy enough.

Rep 1 - 1,600 @3:41/km
Rep 2 - 1,200 @3:42/km
Rep 3 - 1,000 @3:37/km
Rep 4 - 800 @3:36/km
Rep 5 - 400 @3:33/km

Total distance – 19.5km

S&C – Legs

Wednesday 2nd June Recovery

Distance – 5km
Average Pace – 5:29/km

S&C – Yoga, The Challenge

Thursday 3rd June 8k@T

Back out to Malahide for 5 laps of the 1 mile loop at Tempo pace. The hill felt tougher each time around, and the legs (and lungs) were more or less spent by the fifth lap. Happy to get this one done, and there's nothing harder for the rest of this plan in terms of Tempo stuff.

Total Distance – 19km
Distance @T – 8km – 30:17@03:47/km

Friday 4th June Easy

Clontarf and St. Anne’s park

Distance – 11km
Average Pace – 5:10/km

Saturday 5th June – Long Run

Mainly trails alongside Clontarf, Bull Island and St. Anne’s.

Distance – 21.1km
Average Pace – 5:19/km

Sunday 6th June – Recovery

Clontarf and St. Anne’s

Distance – 10.5km
Average pace: 5:28/km

Total Weekly Distance – 101

Thoughts for next week:

Some of the easier stuff this week has felt like a bit of a slog, and the body is beginning to creak a little so I’m thinking of taking a rest day if that continues. I’ve run every day since December 31st so it’s been a decent streak. I’ll let the body dictate whether it happens or not. Back to the 2 mile race series this Tuesday so it will be great to pin on a number after so long.

Diablo Verde

Monday 7th June Rest

Recent runs had been less enjoyable so I decided to take a day off. Let’s see if it does the trick

S&C – The Challenge and Yoga

Tuesday 8th June – 2 Mile race

It felt great to be back doing a bit of racing. 2 miles isn’t exactly my favourite distance but just pinning on a number again felt right. This was a part of the club’s 2 mile series which was suspended last year. There was definitely a nervous energy on the startline that you don’t necessarily always get at these things. That excitement transferred to the race as we all flew off at a fairly hot pace. The race is run on the same 1 mile loop where I do a lot of my sessions, and I felt that stood to me. I think the cheat boots also stood to me as I ran 2 fairly solid kms before speeding up towards the end to take home an 8 seconds improvement on my best effort over the distance. I’ll take that.

2 mile time – 10:53
Total distance – 14km

S&C – Isometrix

Wednesday 9th June Recovery

Distance – 10km
Average Pace – 5:14/km

S&C – Yoga

Thursday 10th June Hangover pace

Total Distance – 11km
Average Pace – 5:27/km

Friday 11th June Easy

Clontarf and St. Anne’s park

Distance – 13.5km
Average Pace – 5:20/km

Saturday 12th June – 7 Mile Progression

Malahide Castle.

Mile 1 – 4:14/km
Mile 2 – 4:09/km
Mile 3 – 4:06/km
Mile 4 – 4:00/km
Mile 5 – 3:56/km
Mile 6 – 3:51/km
Mile 7 – 3:43/km

Total Distance – 17km

Sunday 13th June – Long Run

Phoenix Park and back along the canal.

Distance – 22km
Average pace: 5:05/km

Total Weekly Distance – 87

healy1835

'Hangover Pace' doesn't matter how slow the pace is as long as you get out the door...

Diablo Verde

Monday 14th June Rest

Tuesday 15th June – 2 Mile race

Took it a bit easier this week.

2 mile time – 11:24

Total distance – 14km

Wednesday 16th June Recovery

Distance – 10km
Average Pace – 5:15/km

Thursday 17th June The Dunes and St. Anne’s

Total Distance – 14km
Average Pace – 5:11/km

Friday 18th June 8k@Tempo

Malahide Park

These just don’t get any easier. 5 times around, 5 times up the hill.

8k- 30:30 @03:49/km average

Total Distance – 19.3km

Saturday 19th June – Easy

St. Anne’s and coast

Distance – 11km
Average pace: 5:21/km

Sunday 20th June – Long Run

Malahide Road-Coolock-Bayside-St.Anne’s

Distance – 21.1km
Average pace: 5:04/km

Total Weekly Distance – 89

Diablo Verde

Monday 21st June Rest

Tuesday 22nd June Rest

No 2 mile race this week as life got in the way.

Wednesday 23rd June Easy

Nice easy pace with MacPhisto in St. Anne’s. Off to get vaccination this morning so I’ll have to wait and see how that affects the rest of this week’s training.

Distance – 10.5km
Average Pace – 5:25/km

Diablo Verde

Thursday 24th June Easy

Total Distance – 11km
Average Pace – 5:12/km

Friday 25th June Easy

Total Distance – 13km
Average Pace – 5:13/km

Saturday 26th June – 5k@Tempo

St. Anne’s parkrun course. A bit too hot on the pace.

Tempo – 18:43@3:44/km
Total Distance – 14km

Sunday 27th June – Long Run

Malahide Road-Coolock-Raheny-Dollymount-St.Anne’s

Distance – 22km
Average pace: 4:53/km

Total Weekly Distance – 70.9

Diablo Verde

Monday 28th June Rest

Tuesday 29th June 2 Mile Race

I gave this a proper lash this week and managed to take another few seconds off my PB. The pace was more even than previous efforts so I’m really pleased with that.

Race Distance – 2 Miles – 10:51@3:23/km
Total Distance – 14.5 kms

S&C – Yoga

Wednesday 30th June Recovery

Distance – 6.5km
Average Pace – 5:08/km

Thursday 1st July 8 Mile progression

This was the session I was supposed to tackle last week but decided to delay it after getting vaccinated. I headed out to Malahide and ran 1 mile loops on the first part of the parkrun course, which unhelpfully (or helpfully if you’re sadistic) ends with a nice uphill. Miles 7 and 8 were tough but I got there.

Mile 1: 6:53@4:18/km
Mile 2: 6:45@4:13/km
Mile 3: 6:35@4:07/km
Mile 4: 6:28@4:03/km
Mile 5: 6:20@3:58/km
Mile 6: 6:08@3:50/km
Mile 7: 5:59@3:44/km
Mile 8: 5:51@3:39/km

Total Distance – 18.5km

Friday 2nd July Easy – Coast and St. Anne’s

Legs feeling a bit achy today.

Total Distance – 10.5km
Average Pace – 5:16/km

Saturday 3rd July – Easy – Dunes and St. Anne’s

Legs a bit better on this easy run with MacPhisto.

Total Distance – 14km
Average Pace – 5:11/km

Sunday 4th July – Rest

I woke up this morning feeling wrecked so decided to bin any plans for a Sunday long run. I’m not training for anything specific so there’s no need to flog myself when I’m not right.

S&C – The Challenge

Total Weekly Distance – 64.1

Thoughts for next week:
This was my lowest weekly mileage in a long time but I felt like the body was giving me a few warning signs. I’ve been slowly but surely dropping the strength and conditioning work and I really feel like I need to get back on it. The focus this week will be on trying to get some consistency there.

Diablo Verde

The short version is that in mid-July as Boards went off a cliff, my running went in a similar direction as our first baby arrived. Both were a good excuse to not bother with this log for a while.

I took a month off the running, as well as the sleeping, and after that, slowly started building up to the marathon in Valencia. Training went well (I felt), and I reckoned I was well able for around 2:55 on a bad day, meaning a decent 4-minute PB. I felt I could probably go a few minutes quicker still. On the day, I started too far back, as well as too slowly, and I just never got going from there. At halfway, I was still confident of nabbing my 7th PB in a row, but alas, with 10k to go, I knew my race was run and not even the world-class clapping and roars of support from Itziger were enough to prevent me from shuffling home in just under 2 hours 61 minutes.

Where from here? I’ve taken the drastic decision to try something new, so I’m going to try tackling a Jack Daniels plan for the 2 mile distance during the first six months of the year. It’s unlikely that I’ll be able to hit the 100k weeks that I was logging this time last year, so something that allows for less mileage suits. I think my PB over the distance is 10:57 (ish) but I’ve never trained specifically for the distance, so I’ll be interested to see how this ‘experiment’ goes.  

After that, I’d be very surprised if I don’t try to right a few marathon wrongs in the Autumn, and hopefully I’ll go into that with a bit more speed in the legs.  

Murph_D

Welcome back. I think your 2-mile PB is a good bit better than that - see a few posts above! Good luck with the JD, will you be using the winter league to get in a bit of practice or will tomorrow focus on the summer league?

healy1835

I don't think I've ever seen a 2 mile race outside of the Raheny series 😛 maybe throw in a 3000m indoor attempt too?

A good 26.2 is just waiting there for you. Hopefully life plays ball and you can have a good rattle in the Autumn 👍

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118417282#Comment_118417282

https://clonliffeharriersac.com/the-clonliffe-2/

MrMacPhisto

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419434#Comment_118419434

That looks like a great event. Do the sponsors provide hydration post event?

Diablo Verde

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118417251#Comment_118417251

That's gas. I've no recollection of running that time. Strava backs it up though. Delighted with that 😁

Looking at the Winter League schedule, I'll probably have a go on the 19th to see where the fitness is at. Then I can see how much (or how little) I've improved when the summer comes around.

Diablo Verde

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118417282#Comment_118417282

Ah yeah. I'm a fairly positive person and reckon I still have a good bit left in me over the marathon distance. Let's see what the next few months holds.

Diablo Verde

Week 1

Sunday January 2nd - Run – 5k@MP (Q2)

I was already out the door for an easy evening 16 km, when I remembered that the Q1 sessions in JD are the longer efforts, so this should really be day 1 of the ‘plan’. I knew that there was some MP (marathon pace) stuff in one of the Q workouts in week 1 so I guessed it was on day 1. I did 4k Easy, 5k at MP (a bit faster actually as the wind was mostly at my back) and then 7 Easy to finish off. I could definitely feel the morning strength workout in my legs. I was wrong on a few counts relating to this session. It should have been Q2 for starters, and it should have been 6.4k@MP with 8 strides. I'll forgive myself this once.

MP 1: 4:04

MP 2: 4:08

MP 3: 4:03

MP 4: 4:02

MP 5: 4:06

Strength – The Warrior (P90X3) – A bit of core, upper-body, leg and cardio all rolled into 30 minutes. Tough!

Monday January 3rd - REST

Strength – Isometrix (P90X3) – Balance workout

Tuesday January 4th - Run – 6.5k@E (4 Strides)

Wednesday January 5th - Run – 16k@E (Q1)

The Q efforts for the first period of this plan are fairly mild, which is no harm as it should give me a good chance to shake the Marathon out of my legs. This run should have included some strides but I skipped them seeing as I’d done a few on Tuesday. Instead, I took a nice easy effort through Fairview Park, along the coast, through the dunes at Dollymount and came home via St. Anne’s. Mostly off-road which was nice.  

Thursday January 6th Run – 9.82k@E (Q3) (8 Strides)

I wouldn’t ordinarily have two Q days in a row, but as this was just an Easy run with some strides, I went for it. Got absolutely pissed on along the coast at Clontarf. The legs are only just beginning to return to normal after The Warrior on Sunday. A sure sign that I had really let the strength stuff go over the last 6 months.

Strength – Incinerator (P90X3) – Upper body

 

Diablo Verde

Friday January 7th - REST

Saturday January 8th - Run – Fairview parkrun

I wanted to get back into the habit of doing sub-20 minute parkruns fairly regularly. This was not easy, and though I was always going to hit my target, it was a struggle. I feel a long way from fit.

Week 2

Sunday January 9th Run – 16@E (Q1) (6 Strides)

Average Pace - 4:38/km

This was definitely at the hotter end of the paces that I could consider Easy. I just felt like blowing the cobwebs off so hopefully this did the trick. I went down to St. Anne's earlier in the day to watch the Cross-Country. Was a bit jealous at the start that I didn't sign-up but I'd changed my mind by the time I saw the struggle on the faces of the lads as they hit the fourth lap. Probably not helped by the spectator beside us who thought it was a 3-lapper and was telling people to sprint for home at the end of the third go around. Ouch!

Strength – Total Synergistics (P90X3)

Diablo Verde

Monday January 10th - REST

Tuesday January 11th - REST

Wednesday January 12th - 13.6kms

A nice run through St. Anne's and home via the dunes in Dollymount.

Thursday January 13th Run – 8k recovery pace

Sick of running in the dark.

Friday January 14th Run - 6.5k Easy

Sicker of running in the dark.

Saturday January 15th - Run – Fairview parkrun

A little quicker this week but still a second slower than my best over this course. I have to accept that this is where I am fitness-wise at the minute. Hopefully I'll be able to pick it up when the tougher sessions kick in.

Week 3

Sunday January 16th Run – REST

Motivation not great this week and plenty of family/work stuff got in the way of training. Hoping to invest in a running buggy in the next month or so which should give me the freedom to get out and about for some of the easy runs during daylight hours. Will make a big difference. Strength and conditioning fell off a cliff this week too so need to get back on that tomorrow.