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Are those my feet?
Comments
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27th February - 5th March
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 5.85 miles easy (9:44/mi) A lunch time run around the local loop. It's a pretty undulating loop, with no real sustained flat section. A really nice relaxed run, although my left leg (hamstring and quad) was giving out a bit.
Wednesday - 4.21 miles recovery (9:48/mi) A few recovery miles at lunchtime.
Thursday - 10 miles vanilla (9:24/mi) I wouldn't really have a window at the weekend for a long run, so moved it forward. This was a pre-work run, which I kept as flat as I could given this was a step-back week. Very happy with how this went, just felt nice and controlled throughout and the miles ticked away. A nice start to the day. Had physio in the afternoon - she worked on the left hamstring and quad - nothing major suspected there, some stretching and minding should resolve it.
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 6.07 miles easy (9:32/mi) We were in Center Parcs for the weekend so got in an hour or so both days. There is a nice enough outer path through the woods which is roughly 3 miles, so added in some exploring off that to make up the 6.
Sunday - 6.13 miles easy (9:46/mi) Similarish route to the day before, except ran the path in the opposite direction.
32.3 miles for the week. No S&C but plenty activity over the weekend to make up for it. The left leg has improved, but I'll take it easy to start this week to allow that and a lingering cold to (hopefully) fully clear up.
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6th March - 12th March
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 5.11 miles easy (9:46/mi). As I mentioned last week, I had a bit of a cold and the quad was giving out, so kept things short and easy to start this week. Kept this run as flat as I could as well.
Wednesday - 4.07 miles recovery (10:08/mi). In the office so some nice, flat lunchtime miles around UL. The bottom gate to the UL track was open so I wandered in for a few laps before continuing on. Mostly on grass after that. There were markings around the field which I suspected were from an XC race, and a google afterwards confirmed the University XC had been held there over the previous weekend. They'd thrown a few banks into the lap, but you'd be hard pressed to find a flatter and non-muddy XC course I'd say.
Thursday - 6.04 miles easy (9:27/mi). The closest I've come to dodging a run in forever. It was absolutely miserable out - driving wind, rain, and cold. Setting out I wasn't even sure what I'd do, but eventually settled on the same undulating loop as last Tuesday. Happy to have done that much.
Friday - 8.16 miles endurance (8:53/mi avg). The quad and the cold were 90% better, so decided it was time to re-introducce some effort. Could have done an LT run here and standard endurance LR on Sunday, but instead did an MLR here and Progression on Sunday, as I'd not done one of those to date. This was a hilly enough loop, so tried to run to the correct effort rather than be a slave to the paces. Did a decent (but nowhere near perfect) job of that.
Saturday - 3.78 miles recovery (9:45/mi). My Strava feed didn't give me any 'your activity from x year(s) ago' - turns out this was my first ever run on March 11th. Mindblowing, I know.
Sunday - 13.20 miles progression (8:17/mi avg). I dusted off the Endorphin Speed 2's for this - hadn't worn them in a while and they felt great. My plan was 3 miles at 9:20, 2 at 8:50, 3 at 8:20, 3 at 7:40, last 2 at LT (7:00). The early miles were into the wind - this should have meant I'd have some help later, but the wind died down as the run went on. Despite the wind, and the uphill nature of the opening miles I was cantering along. In fact, the first 8 miles of this were bliss - I was motoring along, ticking off the miles, happy out, thinking this was a breeze and life was great. It only occurred to me around the 7th mile, that I was barely over half way and I'd be needing to pick up the pace again (and again) in the next 6 miles. I'd also overdressed - it was miserable and threatening looking as I started out, but I finished up with gloves and a neck buff in my pockets and a rain jacket around my waist. The 9th, 10th, 11th miles were at 7:40 - definitely felt the increased effort here, but still felt pretty good. Into the last 2 miles then and upped the pace again - the wind which should have been helping had turned into a crosswind, but these miles were thankfully a small net downhill. Had to really push in the last mile and I was so glad when the watch beeped for 13. Pace was 7:06 for both LT miles, which was spot on. The whole run was spot on really - felt I judged the effort pretty well, and was able to lift the pace each time when called for. There's another one of these in a few weeks time, so will be interesting to see how that goes, when I won't be as fresh.
40.3 miles for the week. Most of the miles were in the latter part of the week, which is not ideal, but the quad feels good now so hopefully the few extra light days did the trick. This week has the first VO2 max session, although I might swap it for an LT session that I missed last week - there's not much more LT stuff left in the plan, and I'd like to get that one in - where as there are a good few VO2 max sessions (and races) in the coming weeks.
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13th - 19th March
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 7.21 miles easy (9:25/mi). Just about enough light after finishing work to get out for this. Really looking forward to the longer evenings. Loved this run - pretty undulating so I tried to keep the HR in the 130's most of the way, or not let it stray too high on the hillier sections. Worked a treat and I felt great throughout.
Wednesday - 4.23 miles recovery (9:59/mi). Lunchtime trot around UL. The whole place was pretty soggy, so I stayed away from my usual pitch and surrounding gravel paths and plodded around the outskirts of the campus instead. What looked a nasty, horrible day from the comfort of the office chair was actually pretty reasonable when out in it.
Thursday - LT session: 20 mins on / 4 mins off / 16 mins on. I've a long list of
excusesmitigating factors, but this was tough! Started off with a 1.6 mile warm-up. Halfway through the warm-up I changed my route - it was fairly windy and I knew that my planned route along the old N8 would definitely be windy, so switched to the Swiss Cottage riverside path which might be more sheltered. Once again I'd forgotten to start the session on my watch, so just continued on with the run I'd started. Stuck my rain jacket in a nearby bush, did a couple of lacklustre strides and it was time for work. The path was pretty windy, so not sure I got much value for changing the route. Target pace was in or around 7:00 min/miles, but from the off I was getting nowhere near that. Tree cover had me wondering at times, but the avergae pace stayed up there - the effort felt right (or even too much) so I just accepted 7:20 as the benchmark for today and went with that. Paces for the first 20 mins came in at 7:18, 7:21 and 7:06 (0.76 mi). I'd turned for the last bit and the pace increase reflects that the wind was helping there. More of the same in the second rep, 16 minutes this time - 7:18 and 7:18 for the first 2 miles, and 7:16 for the 0.19. The last minutes were so tough, and really just hanging on. At the time I thought I'd actually bailed on the last 2 minutes and cut the rep to 14 minutes (I was spent, couldn't do the mental maths, thought I'd only completed 14 mins and didn't have another 2 mins in me). My head was so frazzled. It's only now when I come to write this and check out the splits that I see I actually completed the 16 minutes! So that's a nice boost to get of a Monday morning - I actually completed a run I thought I'd quit on! Definitely need to start remembering to use the workout function on the watch! Either way, this was a very tough run - I'd overdressed again with a long-sleeved base layer which didn't help, and I wore the Gliderides which are more suited to moderate paced runs I find. 8.54 miles in the end after a 1.6 mile cool-down trudge.Friday - 6.65 miles recovery (10:06/mi). An early morning trot around with the local running group. Nice to run with some company for a change and the miles ticked along quickly. Most of them run too fast for their own good, so I just hung out towards the back of the pack and settled in at a nice pace with a mini-group.
Saturday - 3.65 miles recovery (10:55/mi). Funny how you can live and run somewhere for years and still find new places to explore. Checked out a nice loop in the wooded area at the end of the Swiss path. It's probably only half a mile, but a nicely worn path through the wood, full of roots and uneven surfaces, but not too muddy given the weather. Paces could have been anything, given the tree cover, but effort was very easy, save for bit of climbing to get to the wooded loop.
Sunday - 13.3 miles endurance (8:48/mi). Another run that took me on some lesser and never-travelled roads. As the LR distances go up, it's nice to be able to vary the routes and explore a little. This was a hillier route than expected but I was really happy with the run. Effort and HR never really got out of line, despite the increasing paces as the run went on, with a fair dollop of climbing thrown into the mix. The rain came in the second half, and my Novablast were soaked but I was in the zone and didn't really mind the rain at all. One of my favourite runs of the year so far. Got in another 30 or so mins off S&C later in the evening. That slot seems to work for me at the moment and is hopefully becoming routine.
43.6 miles for the week, which is my highest mileage week in years. Pleasingly it feels very manageable though - spread over 6 days it's not too onerous at all. Big week ahead now with the biggest LT run (38 mins straight) and the final Progression LR (last 3 miles at LT).
Post edited by Mr. Guappa on9 -
I was following a tweaked version of your plan for my half marathon . Tweaked as in less mileage . I did 8k LT/hmp. When we started the plan 5:10 was LT or even 10k pace ( I was starting from a low level of fitness) but by the time we got to the 8k it was hmp if that makes sense . My tweaking wasn’t top class to be fair as had changed time to kms and over shot . The 8k I did twice in horrible wind . Those sessions increased by running confidence tenfold - I knew after them my tenk pb would take a battering . I need that long tempo type run for my head I think .
The progression long runs with the LT finish were harder than my actual half race and I sure channelled them at the end . Maybe one day I’ll do the plan in all its glory ! Dying to see the results you get from it !
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Thanks R. I've been following the mileage as prescribed in the plan, but I've been doing some tweaking myself to the runs. Not too much tweaking, although you do remind me to get some strides in this week... I've let those slide the last few weeks.
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20th - 26th March
Monday - 4.37 miles recovery (9:56/mi). Pretty windy for this one if I recall correctly. Seemed like the wind was present all week long. Always like when I get in Monday miles - feel like I'm ahead for the week then and have a buffer should anything pop up.
Tuesday - 9.33 miles with 38 mins LT. I volunteered for some work on Monday night, which meant I'd have a few hours off Tuesday morning to get this in. Wore the Endorphin Speeds after last weeks struggle in the Gliderides. Picked a simple route, out and back the N8. I always under-estimate the drags on this road until I'm running it. Couple of miles warm-up, with a few strides before it was time for the work. I had a headwind to contend with for the first half, and it was very strong at times. The worst of the climbing was in the first half too, so I was really digging in for the first 2+ miles until I got to the turn around point. Felt like I was going nowhere at times and I debated changing up the route and diverting off onto one of the side roads to get away from the wind, but I persevered. Mercifully I made it to the turnaround point and things eased a touch then. The wind suddenly felt like a gentle tickle compared to the howling gale it seemed to be just minutes earlier - why does it always seem like this? Had to dig in to get over one last drag and then made sure not to ease off the effort once the gradient was more favourable. 5.32 miles LT in the end, with the paces being 7:20, 7:24, 7:13, 7:05, 6:44 and 6:57 for the bit, which averaged out at 7:09. Just outside the prescribed range, but given the wind I won't worry about that. Couple of miles of a cooldown shuffle to round off a tough, but decent mornings work.
Wednesday - Rest.
Thursday - 5.71 miles easy (9:41/mi). It poured rain for most of this, but the rain itself actually kind of nice for the most part, except the sheer volume meant that streams of water were running down the road and you'd look like an absolute lunatic being out in those conditions. I was five minutes from home when hailstones joined the party. At least it wasn't too windy.
Friday - 8.23 miles easy (9:33/mi). I had this pencilled in for the afternoon, but I was up early and when the weather was favourable I moved things forward. Right decision too, as it was hit and miss later in the day. Right quad was a bit tight, so swerved the planned strides (again). A very nice run, at a nice easy clip.
Saturday - 4.39 miles recovery (10:12/mi). Had a tight enough window for this, so kept it local and doubled back on myself a couple of times to avoid the worst hills.
Sunday - 13.20 miles progression (8:17/mi avg). This was a slight step-up on a similar LR from two weeks ago - the last 3 miles would be at LT this time, compared to last 2 miles on the previous occasion. Having worn the Endorphin Speed 2's last time, I wore the Magic Speed 2's this time, and ran the exact same route to make it easy to compare. I also dressed more sensibly this time, without excessive layers. I was a bit ropey starting out, having had a nice feed of pints the day before, but luckily not in the absolute horrors. The whole run felt pretty good, some wind in the early going which then eased for an hour. The effort felt surprisingly under control for the first half, and even when I dipped into the 7:xx for miles 9 and 10 thing still felt reasonably comfortable. The wind reappeared around now, which was not ideal. Mile 11 was the first of the LT miles, and was the toughest of the run - bit of a head/cross wind and a decent drag in the second half of the mile. I probably pushed a bit too hard in this mile but soldiered on, knowing that the gradient would be more in my favour for the last 2 miles. The last 2 miles were not bad at all - hit the paces without blowing a gasket and I wasn't hanging on for a finish, which was the case last time. The LT miles came in at 7:05, 6:58 and 7:01. Looking at the average HR stats, and I was 5-7 beats lower each mile compared to 2 weeks ago. I'd put some of that down to dressing more sensibly, but the Magic Speeds definitely offer a bit more assistance too. The strongest of my midweek LT sessions came in those shoes too. Anyway, very happy with this run.
A very satisfactory 45.2 miles for the week, with another 30+ mins S&C on Sunday evening. The coming week sees the first of the tune-up races. Nothing nailed down yet as some family activities have to be confirmed, but the options, in order of likelihood are 1) Ennis 10km on Sunday, 2) no race and do a VO2 Max session, 3) Parkrun. So we will see what happens with that - hopefully I get to do the race. A 10km PB should be a near formality if I do, but I haven't raced a 10k in almost 4 years and in my head it's the most intimidating distance - all the hurt of a 5k but for twice as long!
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I have found the Magic Speeds to be a great shoe too...except that they are very slappy for me, terribly noisy. Not Alphafly noisy but annoying as fook 🤣
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They create a bit of a racket alright. Mind you, that's not necessarily always a bad thing when you run on quiet country roads and have a knack for catching unsuspecting walkers unawares and frightening the bejaysus out of them as you overtake, despite plenty of warning coughs, grunts and stone kicking on approach.
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Rounding off March....
Monday 27th - 4.16 miles recovery (10:27/mi). Very much a recovery plod as tired legs and a bit of wind kept the paces in check. Stayed away from hills where possible.
Tuesday 28th - 8.09 miles easy (9:43/mi). Out before work and did the same route as last Friday. Something of a point-to-point route where I got dropped off by herself on her way to work and ran home in a circuitous fashion. Anything for a bit of variety. Wild enough for a mile or two before it mellowed into a nice morning.
Wednesday 29th - 4.41 miles recovery (10:08/mi). Nice and flat at lunch around UL. The back gate to the track was open so popped in there for a few laps until I got bored, then moved over to the grass field for a few more laps. It was pretty windy and I nearly lost my cap a few times. Desite being fully charged the night before, my watch was on near empty battery starting out. It clung on for the duration of the run, but it might be on it's last legs. Same thing happened in January too, where it ran down to empty battery overnight, but once it recharged and restarted it was fine again for another while until today.
Thursday 30th - 7.19 miles easy (9:48/mi). Another pre-work run. I'm getting used to these now - certainly for easy runs I don't mind them. Thrown a few strides in during a flat section in the middle of the run. Lumpy enough route apart from that bit in the middle.
Tomorrow will be a rest day, so that's March done at 179.6 miles, a monthly figure I've only topped twice in the past. I'm sitting on 468.1 miles for the year so far, which is a total I'm more than happy with. The non-running supplementary stuff is trending in the right direction too - no giant leaps, but just a better decision here and there around diet and sleep, and the weekly S&C is becoming part of the routine, along with a small dollop of walking.
It's looking like I will make the Ennis 10km on Sunday, so it will be interesting to see how that goes. My race PB is 44:48 from the Coillte 10k nearly 4 years ago, but that's a figure I've bested a number of times in other races, most recently during the Dungarvan 10 miler (43:21). Plugging my time from that 10M race into Tinman predicts a 42:47 10km, so I guess that is the target for Sunday - a 2 minute PB? I've yet to check the course or weather, so either of them might change expectations. It's not a goal race either way, but I do intend to give it a good lash on the day.
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Ennis 10km report - 42:54 (PB of 1:54)
After a few miles shakeout on the Saturday, I was all set for the trip to Ennis. Had a brutal night's sleep, but at least that meant I was up early. Hit the road way too early as it turned out, and got to Ennis just after 9 for the 11 o'clock start. Race HQ and start were at the Lees Road sports complex - a hugely impressive setup with a running track, 4G/astro pitches, multiple grass pitches, a playground and skatepark, plus perimieter walking path and trails into the forest. The place was a hive of activity all morning, with rugby, soccer and GAA matches and training all taking place, in addition to the race. There was a 2k kids race at 9:30 so I watched the start of that, then registered for the 10k. Mooched around while before getting in a couple of miles warm-up.
Pretty sure this was the sunniest day I've ran on this year, although at 10 o'clock it had the look of a right scorcher - thankfully that didn't come to pass. I'd looked up the route on Friday - seemed to be a lumpy enough course with a downhill start out of the complex and a notable hill around the 3 mile mark. A few conversations in the starting area confirmed this - general consensus was to save something for the hill at halfway, then the course was helping on the way home. No chip timing here and with a field of around 300 I wasn't positioned too far back anyway.
Once we were off I was determined to take advantage of the first mile, which was largely downhill as we headed out of the complex. Not too much congestion and plenty lanes opened up to get through where necessary. It wasn't exactly a complete downhill, with a couple of little crests to navigate. Things flattened out once we left the complex - I wasn't too far from the 40 minute pacers after my fast start, but now settled into the pace and one or two started to pass by - this was fine as I was trying to manage the effort a bit until the hill at halfway. First 2 miles came in at 6:41 and 7:03. Wondered after if I should have pushed a bit more in that 2nd mile, but who knows how things would have played out if I did.
Spent most of the 3rd mile tucked behind or alongside an impressive masters runner - he was running strongly, although his elbows were a bit erratic so I gave him a little extra room. 3rd mile ticked by in 6:59 as we turned left and hit the main climb of the route. It was a sharp, reasonably short climb and I ran it up pretty strongly. From here on in I tried to left the pace, and did to a limited extent. The course was more helpful now, but there was still plenty of undulations - just when you thought it might flatten out now, another sly little uphill would appear. 4th mile was a 6:46.
As we turned left and headed back towards the finish the wind became a factor, and the little stone walls lining the roads offered no shelter. I was pretty isolated too at this stage - some footsteps behind, and I picked off the odd runner coming back towards me, but the field had spread out. 5th mile was a 6:58. I kept trying to increase the pace and push on, but the legs just wouldn't obey. The wind wasn't helpful at all. As we passed the 8k mark, the owner of the footsteps from behind passed me by, I tried to go with him but just couldn't. He went off into the distance and my focus for the last mile was on another runner about 100m ahead - this guy looked like he was in trouble and kept looking over his shoulder - I'm not sure if he was concerned about me and our "battle" for what turned out to be 52nd place, or maybe he had a rival further behind - either way his nervousness should have given me the encouragement to catch him but I just couldn't close the gap. The 6th mile came in at 6:55 and even for the last bit I couldn't force much of a kick (6:43). I stopped the watch at 42:52, but the results give me 42:54 so that's the new PB figure.
I think @ReeReeG summed up my feelings on this one best with her strava comment - solid. Not a wildly impressive showing, but by no means a disgrace, and most definitely more progress. I was a bit annoyed not to hit the target of a 2 minute PB, but a 1:54 PB is nothing to be sniffed at so I would feel a bit greedy if I complained too much. I'm not too worried about the lack of freshness in the legs - presumably that's to be expected mid-block with no real taper, and this was only a tune-up race, so job very much done I guess.
After a feed of buns and sandwiches, plus a few chats with locals, I did a few miles cooldown to take me over 10 miles for the day, and 38 for the week. Legs feel fine today, which is good as the plan is for 10 miles later this evening.
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That makes it sounds like my comment didn't imply how impressed I was 😅 I certainly thought it was an impressive run, you're in great shape
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10ks are hard at the best of times, throw in you are mid training block with no real taper and that was a great result, you are in great shape and really in a position to have a brilliant year. Lees Road is indeed a very impressive facility, I've stopped there a few times with the kids. Is it a race you'd do again? It sounds like maybe you could have done with a bit more depth in the field? A problem I frequently have, getting isolated early on.
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Well done on the PB A, nicely done👌
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Well done on the PB.
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That's something I forgot to mention - this was my first 10k in almost 4 years I think. I did a few shorter races last summer (5k-8k) but even those were more controlled efforts as I worked back into things. So, I was a bit lost here when it came to figuring out the correct effort - there was a few occassions in miles 2 and 3 when I could have went with a small group, but held back. I think I passed most of them later on so maybe the right choice was made, but I was definitely a bit rusty at the distance.
The race was really well run, the whole place was very friendly and there was a fine spread afterwards. The route itself was challenging but fair. There was actually another 10k in Ennis on the previous Saturday, with almost 600 runners in that, so I'm sure that one diluted this field, and vice versa. Not sure what the story is there, both races were part of different 4-race series ('Run Clare' and 'Run The Banner'). I'd have no bother running it again anyway - the smaller field might actually have been an ideal test in a tune-up race, although as you say I'd definitely like more numbers if it was a target race. It was also a touch further than I'd like to travel for a handy-sized 10km (1 hr 20 mins drive), so if I'd something closer that suited it would be preferable.
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Haha, nope, too late. Offence has been taken and a giant chip is firmly in place on my shoulder now.
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It'd be about the same distance from me and I wouldn't ordinarily go that far for a race either unless it was a target race but funnily/annoyingly enough I just realised I could have done that 10k! My son spent 7hrs, 20-25mins away there in Coole Park, from 9am-4pm yesterday doing a Scouts thing. I was looking for something to do and ended up driving back into Galway which was a bit of a trek to be honest. I could as easily have pottered down and done that 10k with a decent up/down as well and nice coffee afterwards, I'm a bit annoyed now I didn't think of it! Oh well, next time I'm going to be stuck somewhere for a day I might think of checking out local races. Lol, sorry to hijack with my own random thoughts! Yes agree it definitely takes practise to get the balance between pacing & pushing yourself for the shorter stuff again.
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With recent half marathon and 10k PBs in the bag do you have any plans to target a 5k?
I would imagine there's scope to take a chunk out of your PB there too.
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As it happens I do have plans to tackle a 5k! There's another tune-up race in the plan for 2 weeks time, and for that I'm eyeing up a 5k in Clara, Offaly on Sunday 16th. It's another one that's a bit far (90 mins) to be travelling, but it's all that I can find so far that suits. Could pivot to a parkrun, but we've underage soccer training Saturday mornings so I don't like missing that too often.
Tinman reckons I should currently be able to take 30s or so off the 21:08 PB. If I come somewhere close to the sub-20 in Clara, I might try again in May/June before knuckling down to marathon training.
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Great big PB and sounds like a really well executed run. Congrats!
(I’m a fan myself of getting to the race early. Really good for getting into the zone. So well done there too.)
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Best of luck with the 5k races. Cork BHAA have a few evening 5k races over the next few months. No chip timing IIRC but usually decent enough courses with good turnouts. Maybe it might be closer to you but perhaps midweek evening starts might not suit? - https://www.corkbhaa.com/calendar/
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Thanks D. I had looked at the PWC 5k next week alright when I was plotting my tune-up races for this block, but decided against it in the end. A midweek evening could be awkward enough alright, but I'd make it work if I needed to. Thanks for the reminder on those races though - one of those 5k's in May/June might end up being ideal.
Hope all is ok with yourself - noticed it was a bit quiet on the strava front recently.
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Thanks very much D. The more I reflect on Sunday the happier I am with it.
I didn't expect to be so early for this one - light Sunday traffic meant I flew up the road. They had warned that parking would be limited due to all the activities taking place - no such worries when I got there but closer to race time there was cars being abandoned everywhere. I like being early myself, particularly at an unfamiliar location - it's nice to check out the set-up, get your bearings and chill for a bit. I was rewarded for my punctuality on this occassion by being the first to register on the day and so picking up one of the few remaining 'Run the Banner' water bottles (the rest were allotted to online entrants and those who had run the entire series).
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Hope all is ok with yourself - noticed it was a bit quiet on the strava front recently.
I'm out of action for the foreseeable future due to health issues so my runs at the moment will have to be vicarious. 🙈
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Sorry to hear that D, look after yourself
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Well done on the pb - you seemed fairly chilled coming into the race. !
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3rd - 9th April
Monday - 10.15 miles endurance (8:48/mi avg). I wasn't sure what to expect with this coming on the heels of the 10k race the previous day, but it went very smoothly. Wore the Endorphin Speeds and kept the route reasonably flat so as not to overdo things. Wouldn't say I was reigning the paces in, but I was pretty comfortable for the most part with a bit of bite in the last few miles when I upped the pace to 8:20 or so. The legs felt great and I was really happy with how this went.
Tuesday - 3.64 miles recovery (10:57/mi). NOW the legs were dead! A complete and utter plod during (a late) lunch hour. Just ambled around and let the legs dictate the pace.
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 6.10 miles (9:41/mi). A surprisingly tough one - the legs felt a bit fresher, if not quite 100%, but it felt particularly warm and humid out and this was a bit of a struggle at times. I'd also eaten some spicy chicken not long before setting off - never a particularly smart idea. I did pass the 500 mile mark for the year durning this run - very pleasing to reach that number in early April.
Friday - 9.25 miles Vo2 max. This was my first speed session in 4+ years I'd guess, maybe longer. It was 6 x 1km at 3k/5k pace with recoveries of 50-90% of the rep time. Tinman and FRR were closely aligned on the paces, which were 6:25-6:37, and I'd worked out that recovery time would be between 2 mins and 3:36 - I'd see how I felt after each rep before settling on which end of that spectrum I'd land. After a nice handy 2 mile warm-up with a few strides, I wound up in the Inch Field beside the castle and did the reps there. I had the place to myself for the first 3 reps, before being joined by the odd dog walker as the rest of the world awoke. It's a small park, and each 1km was 2-and-a-bit laps. I took off like a bullet for the first three reps before settling into the pace, and on the last 3 reps I tried to start off more controlled and be more even across the 1km. I was generous to myself and used the full 3:36 recovery after each rep. The paces came in at 6:26, 6:31, 6:25, 6:35, 6:33 and 6:37 - all within the range, if not exactly metronomic. These were tough, but manageable - I was hanging on toward the end of the last rep alright. The small loop and tree cover in one corner might have affected paces a touch, but whatever, I was happy - buzzing for the day after it.
Saturday - 3.89 miles recovery (10:12/mi). Weary enough legs again for this. Don't remember too much if I'm honest, only that it must have been a bit windy as my cap blew off at one stage - right outside the busy dining area of the local garage naturally enough.
Sunday - 14.20 miles endurance (8:52/mi avg). The longest run on the plan. The legs felt tired starting off, which didn't bode well as I'd need to up the pace as the run went on. Thankfully the legs improved as the run went on and each time I needed to up the pace they were able to respond. I'd chosen a fairly challenging route with plenty of hills dotted along it. The last half mile was tough, with an uphill section followed by a flat section in a wind tunnel, but I was able to coax enough out of the legs to see it through. Once again, really happy with this run on the back of a big week. Another 30 mins S&C later that evening.
47.2 miles for the week, which is the biggest week of the block, and my biggest in a long time. I've said it plenty times before, but I do enjoy those FRR endurance runs. Another tune-up race this week - which will either be a parkrun on Saturday or the Clara 5k on Sunday. Another PB should be within reach all going well.
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Are the races in the 3 Counties Challenge near you? First one is a 5k in Ballyneale I believe(wherever that is, I only know cos my bro who runs for a Tipp club has been promoting it on Instagram)
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The farthest of those races would be maybe 50 minutes from me. For some reason I didn't have Carrick as one of the many clubs I follow on Facebook, so I've added them now. My Facebook feed is basically just running clubs and videos of guys making tables using epoxy resin. I had the Deadmans 4 mile (what a name!) earmarked as one of a few possible races in the period after Limerick, but didn't realise there was others in the series too, so thanks for that, I will check them out. The Ballyneale 5k would be ideal if it was a week earlier.
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Yeah there are 4 of them I think. That's actually my brothers club! Some amount of road races down that way, he's been racing most weekends this year it seems like
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Clara AC 5k - 20:16 (PB)
I'd a longer post typed out, but lost it so I'll just put up this shorter version instead. The plan had this second tune-up race as an 8k-10k race, but I settled on a 5k being plenty. Had considered the GIR at one stage, so happy to have dodged that mess. I had a decent weeks running in the lead up to the race. Everything was easy or recovery pace, although there was a fair dollop of hills thrown in, and not much in the way of a taper.
Mon - 3.5 miles at 10:20/mi
Tues - 5.83 miles at 9:53/mi
Weds - Rest
Thurs - 6.59 miles at 9:35/mi
Fri - 8.31 miles at 9:35/mi
Sat - 3.59 miles at 9:21/mi
Sunday - Clara AC 5K - My PB was 21:08, but that felt soft enough and race predictors suggested I was capable of a 20:3x 5k, so I went with 20:30 as the target, which would be 6:37/mi. I'd checked out the course profile in advance and it showed a favourable start, some climbing to start mile two and a bit of a pull up towards the finish. While there were certainly mild undulations throughout, in reality the course was flatter than my research had me thinking.
There was a decent-sized field of what turned out to be 314 finishers, which gives you plenty of company in a 5k. I didn't think I started particularly fast - the pace felt kind of slow but the effort was right up there almost straight away and when I glanced at the watch I saw 6:30 so bang on target. The first km whizzed by as I settled into my running. Quick look at the watch as we passed the 1km marker showed 4:0x, which was spot on. I seemed to make a decent fist of judging the right pace/effort without too much looking at the watch. The 2nd km brought us up through the village. Tried to stay nice and controlled here in anticipation of a bit of a climb in the 3rd km, but still managed to keep the pace right up there. @Laineyfrecks 'run the mile your in mantra' randomly popped into my head along here and helped keep me focussed. I was seriously under pressure already though - felt like my chest was going to explode at one stage but that passed as I went by a few who sounded worse than I did. I don't remember seeing the 2km marker at all. The third km began with a right turn onto a small bit of a gentle climb, but we soon turned left and the road flattened again. Tried to push on again, but I was pretty much at my limit anyway. Passed the 3km marker in 12:15 or so. Figured I was on for the 20:30 if I could keep this up, but keeping up the pace seemed a tough ask, nevermind increasing it for a tilt at sub 20. All these thoughts went through my head briefly but kept getting shoved out by the screaming pain from everywhere! As we turned left back toward the village there was a bit of wind into our faces, but this actually may have helped me. I was a touch isolated but made the push to catch 2 guys maybe 10m ahead with the idea of sheltering behind them. Without the wind I might have stayed as I was, but I managed to bridge the gap. Spent a moment or two on the shoulder before driving on again. I gave serious consideration to pulling aside at this stage - a 4km race and 1km jog would be the finest I told myself before snapping out of it. Anytime I looked at my watch, my pace was showing 6:3x - I wasn't getting any quicker, but I wasn't slowing either. My legs were swimming in lactate now, and I kept cursing "oh f**k" as we mercifully entered the last km. Expressing the hurt seemed to help. The final km had a bit of a drag for most of it, although I can't say I really noticed. There was a Ballyskenach AC runner just ahead who had been in my vicinity the whole race. She looked over her shoulder and I thought "yeah, your place is safe, I've nothing more to give". The last 20m was downhill and I somehow managed to just ease past Ballyskenach and cross the line still yelling "oh f**k". Took a good few minutes to compose myself before heading in for some tea, cake and sandwiches which were in plentiful supply. I was pleasantly surprised that the legs weren't completely dead and managed a cooldown that was a touch faster than most of my deathly slow cooldowns.
Chip time came in at 20:16 in the end, which I'm thrilled with. It's a PB of 52 seconds. Don't think I could have run a second faster tbh - this was hard. I'd forgotten just how hard 5k's are. I'm thinking that I might switch to km's for 5k's and maybe 10k's in future - the in-race calculations seem easier? I'll have maybe 6 weeks between Limerick and the start of the marathon block so might revisit the 5k during that time. Sub-20 seems tantalisingly close, and at least worth having a crack at. Anyway, that's for another day - 2 weeks to Limerick now. Wound up with 35.1 miles last week, and it'll be about the same this week. I've another 10 miles on tired legs tonight, and one more VO2 session this week before the taper truly kicks off.
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Great race A. Sub 20 will fall very soon. You're making stellar progress since returning from injury.
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Congrats on the big PB! I was looking forward to reading that. Great account of the pain and the mind games that we play. Sub 20 is definitely there for you. It doesn't sound like the easiest of courses, not bad but for sub 20 you could find a faster course I should think. May be a nice goal at some point...
Good luck with the rest of the training ahead of GLR.
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Another great result and report there A. It must be very tempting to push on for a sub 20 when you're so close especially since it's been some time since you raced 5ks and usually it takes a few to get your best effort.
Even though the previous PB was soft it's still quite a chunk to take out of a 5k time. Were you wearing supershoes for this race?
Switching to kms for 5k/10k is a no-brainer although I usually forget to also adjust the autolap when I do it 🙈
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Thanks E! I neglected to mention the mandatory "I'm never, ever racing a 5k again" decision which was made around the 3.5k mark. Quickly forgot that pledge as soon as the race was over, of course.
It was a fine course to be honest, some undulations but net downhill with the fast start that didn't have to be paid back, so I'd be doing well to find a course that was loads more favourable.
I'm actually beginning to think that I'm better suited to undulating courses. I like the changes in momentum and it suits me to use downhill bits to up the pace and then maintain the new pace. Anytime I've ran on flatter courses I've found them a bit of a let down - maybe I'm just not used to flat courses.
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Cheers D. In a way it's nice to have the sub-20 still out there on the horizon.
I wore the Asics Magic Speed 2 for this. I'm not sure if they qualify as a super-shoe, although they do have a full length carbon plate, and definitely more helpful than the Kayanos I would have worn for my previous PB!
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Good old Offaly for getting you a PB ;)
Brilliant run A, really delighted for you and it's so well deserved. Very excited to see how the rest of this year goes for you! Good lesson from this log for all of us that patience, consistency and hard work absolutely pays off.
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Thank you V! My first race and (I think) run in Offaly and it didn't disappoint. I should mention that the race was really well organised, from the parking and race itself which both had plenty marshalls, to the fine spread afterwards. Top notch.
I was also struck by just how many clubs there was from Tullamore and the surrounds... Tullamore, Ferbane, Daingean, Kilcormac, Clara and more all from within a small geographic area. In contrast, down my neck of the woods you only really have Clonmel AC serving a whole host of towns and villages.
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Catching up - super run there in Clara and many congrats on the big PB. Your observations afterwards re the cooldown are interesting. Every right to expect further improvements. Very well done all round.
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Thanks D. Not sure what to make of the fresher than normal cool-down legs. Could be nothing, or something. Interesting alright. Currently trying not to look past the task at hand (Limerick Half) but I'm intrigued by another crack at the 5k in the coming months.
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April 17th - 23rd
Monday - 10.17 miles endurance (8:52/mi avg). A long run the day after the 5k - I kept the route the exact same as the same run the day after Ennis, for nerdy comparison purposes. Definitely felt leggier on this one than two weeks prior, but HR and paces were almost identical. Felt this one got better as the run went on, and I was motoring nice and smoothly by the closing miles.
Tuesday - 3.16 miles recovery (10:05/mi). Back in the office 2 days a week now (Tues/Weds) which will make midweek sessions that bit trickier to fit in. On the plus side, the grass fields and flat environs in UL are a nice change. Plus I tend to eat and sleep better when heading to the office. Mostly on grass for this one at a very leisurely pace, with the legs feeling ok.
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 7.36 miles VO2 max session - 2 x 1200m, 2 x 1000m, 1 x 800m. I kept the paces for this the same as 2 weeks ago (6:25-6:37) despite having a fresh 5k time to work off. Not too much in the difference anyway, but figured no point in pushing the boat out at this stage of the plan. I returned to the same park as the last time, and again this was early morning before work. I'd say this went pretty well again - the shortening reps made you mentally think it was going to be easier as it went on, but it wasn't at all. Kept the recoveries at the full 90% recovery time (3:36) again, although I copped after that I could have went even longer for the first 2 recoveries as I'd based the 90% off 1000m. Paces came in at 6:33, 6:29, 6:27, 6:32, 6:36 and I'd say the effort was more even throughout each rep than two weeks prior. Hard going, but manageable, especially with the generous recoveries.
Friday - 4.43 miles recovery (10:10/mi). A few handy early morning recovery miles before work. Nothing too exciting.
Saturday - 10.16 miles endurance (8:48/mi avg). For handiness sake I just kept to the same 10 mile route as Monday's run. Wore the Gliderides on this occasion compared to the Endorphin Speeds on Monday. HR was 10 beats higher on this one, but once again I felt great towards the end clipping along at the faster pace. I'd meant to take a gel with me just to get the stomach accustomed to one again before Limerick, but completely forgot.
Sunday - Rest.
35.2 miles for the week, and I nudged just over the 600 miles mark for the year so far. Nothing too much this coming week - a couple of race-pace miles tomorrow and a few recovery runs will hopefully have me nice and fresh come Sunday. I'll hopefully throw up a quick review of the block and some thoughts on my expectations for Limerick later in the week.
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April 24th - 30th
Monday - 4.17 miles recovery (9:58/mi)
Tuesday - 7.31 miles with 2 at HMP. I did this along the Blueway outside Clonmel. I've ran a few times on the Blueway now and I never enjoy it. It should be a lovely place to run, but for some reason I always find it a chore, particularly when heading upstream. The HM miles came in at 7:13 and 7:18, which was about right although HR seemed a bit too high for them. It was a pretty warm morning for it.
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 3.06 miles recovery (10:14/mi)
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 3.08 miles recovery with a few strides (10:00/mi)
Sunday - Limerick Half Marathon - 1:37:18
April was a good month, with 164.1 miles ran and new PB's at 5k, 10k and Half Marathon. I never got around to doing a preview of Limerick, so I'll throw out my pre-race thoughts now. I executed the block as I wanted - running the prescribed mileage each week, although I moved around and split up some of the runs. My target going onto Limerick was 1:34:xx, which would be a PB of 3 minutes or thereabouts. My recent race times suggested this was achievable. Worries going into the race were that the weather looked set to be warm and humid, compared to the ideal cool conditions of Waterford HM last December and Dungarvan in February. I also wondered about the tune-up races, and if those had taken too much out of me. But I was trusting the plan, and felt nice and fresh in the days leading up to the race.
Limerick HM race report to follow
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I totally missed your HM on Strava, I didn't run over the weekend myself so I wasn't on it. Looking forward to reading the report - no pressure 😉
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Limerick Half Marathon - 1:37:18 (29 second PB)
As mentioned in my previous post, I went into this with a target of 1:34:xx, and if things went really well maybe I'd even sneak into the 1:33's. I wasn't really entertaining contingency plans, but if things went sideways then getting under my Waterford time of 1:37:47 for a PB would be the back up goal. 7:12 mins/mile was the target pace, and after a bit of research of the course I identified miles 3 and 7 as having the worst of the early climbing, so figured a bit of a drop off in those miles. There was more hills on the back end, but figured by that stage I'd be all in anyway so no point planning a pace really.
We got to Limerick in good time and got nice parking on a green opposite the railway station. The railway station was a handy spot with toilet facilities on hand. I did a mile warm up with a few strides, and even then the sun was making it's presence felt. It was a funny day - drops of rain one minute, then some cloud cover followed by a hot sun the next minute. We saw the leader of the Marathon pass by as we made our way toward the start line. The half would follow the same route as the second half of the full, starting 90 minutes after the full had gone off.
I found a spot between the 1:30 and 1:40 balloons and waited for the off. They let us go in unofficial "waves" and I was in the second wave. I found it tricky to settle into my pace in the early miles. It was reasonably congested and I seemed never to be hitting the right pace even though the effort felt right. I tried to take advantage of any downhill sections and paces for the first to miles came in at 7:15 and 7:17. A touch slow, but no cause for alarm as things settled. Throughout the course I did find many inexperienced runners who were liable to make a sudden or random move - you just had to be extra wary I found, especially of anyone wearing the official race top which was posted out prior to the race.
The next 4 miles brought us out towards Dooradoyle/Raheen and then we looped through some residential areas before returning in the way we came. On our way out the marathon leaders passed by on the opposite side of the road, and similarly on the way in we passed some of the later marathon and half marathon runners. This was a nice distraction. I passed out one guy who had decided to remove his shoes, hold them in his hand and run barefoot. Not sure how that worked out for him in the end. The support throughout the course was excellent - kids and families were out everywhere, and as we came back into the city the crowds swelled. Those 4 miles came in at 7:22, 7:11, 7:10, 7:04. I was feeling good during these miles - working reasonably hard but I felt like I was in control.
Mile 7 started out with a long uphill drag in towards the city. I backed off a touch and let the effort guide the pace and tried not to bury myself completely just yet. The second half of mile 7 and all mile 8 were my favourite part of the race - a lovely long downhill section along O'Connell Avenue, onto Henry St and across the Shannon. I flew down here feeling really good. Those miles were 7:23 and 6:58. I'm feeling great.
I'm not sure exactly where but somewhere on mile 9 or 10 things just seemed to get really, really hard. These were 2 miles of mainly gentle uphill as we followed the North Circular Road around towards the Ennis Road. It was warm now, although at the time I wasn't overly aware of the sun. Despite the increased effort, the pace remained just about where it needed to be - 7:22 and 7:16 for those miles. I got through those miles by telling myself that the gradient would be more favourable once we got onto the Ennis Road. I hated every second of the next 3 miles.
Once we got onto the Ennis Road we were hit in the face by a tasty enough wind. This broke me mentally and I debated crossing the road and walking back to the finish. The downhill section here kept me going and I trundled on. The whole thing felt like a death march now and I got into a spiral of looking at the watch and being thoroughly disheartened at how long was left. 2.5 miles seemed like an eternity. We turned off the Ennis Road into a residential area for a loop and somehow it seemed that every corner had a hill waiting around it. I grabbed a cup of unknown liquid from a supporting child - it turned out to be coke. Took a couple of sups but saw most of it again a few seconds later. This was just horrible as I tried to grind my way through the pain, constantly running numbers to figure out if I could hang on for a PB. I figured if I could manage 8:00 for the last few miles then I would get a PB, but wasn't entirely certain of the maths as my head was all over the place. The watch showed 9:xx at times but somehow the miles beeped in semi-decently - 7:58 and 8:33 for miles 11 and 12. I drew a modicum of inspiration from the fact that the paces were clinging onto some bit of respectability and tried to dig in again for the last mile and a bit.
Mile 13 was thankfully flat and downhill so that gave some assistance. I wouldn't say it got any easier but knowing that the finish was near gave some hope. I just ran as fast as I could - which wasn't very fast and still an almightly, horrible struggle. The finish eventually came and put me out of my misery. 7:46 for mile 13 and 7:27 for the last 0.1. I made my way through the finishing chute in a daze before settling down on the ground by the fencing for a good 15 minutes as I downed the complimentary lucozade, banana and protein bar. Once I'd somehwat recovered I made my way back towards the car, taking in the start of the 6 mile race en route.
I'm disappointed that things went pear-shaped, but pleased that it was still enough for a PB. I'm not sure exactly where things went wrong - the weather definitely played a part, it was pretty hot at times and very humid. I talked to others who struggled too, but then some others went well and finished strong. Maybe I should have started more conservatively - my best races seem to be big negative splits so maybe that style just suits me. I met lots of randomers on the way back to and at the car and some of those conversations really cheered me up - there was a kid who excitedly told me about the medal he won at the kids race the previous day, an injured runner who wished he could be in my shoes and an older man who'd ran Connemara the previous week and was no doubt off to somewhere else next weekend. They all spoke about running with such passion and joy that it couldn't help cheer you up. I have to give a word to Limerick too - a great race, with tons of support and really well organised.
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Well done A! It's a pity it didn't work out the way you wanted or deserved, but isn't it something that your bad day was still your fastest HM yet? I don't know that you should have started more conservatively, but I wonder if you needed a gel or electrolytes or something? Seeing as you seemed to lose it around mile 10, and then you mention getting into the banana etc fairly quickly after the race. I know there are some who strongly believe gels aren't needed on a HM, but I think for that last few miles they are certainly no harm.
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Great for hanging in there and still getting a PB. As V says that is still a good "bad day." Interesting that section where it went off for you. That is exactly where I blew up in the marathon last year. I don't think its as gentle uphill as assumed and don't be disheartened. Its a deceptively long drag at the hardest part of both a half and full. Well done!
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I was going to ask about fuelling as you didn't mention it! I think something would have been no harm and definitely electrolytes at the very least, the humidity was quite high over the weekend - I was camping in a tent (for my sins) and the amount of condensation in the morning was unusual so I looked up the weather and humidity was at 95% which explained it... You have strung together a few big PBs recently so maybe you need another base period before you make further big leaps? And despite all of this it was still a PB, amazing really, well done! You sell Limerick fairly well too.
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Thanks folks. Forgot to mention it in the report but I did actually take a couple of gels - took half of one around mile 7, and then most of a caffeine one around mile 10 I think it was. Hadn't any recent practice with gels so was a bit wary of taking the full one both times as I had a bit of stomach cramp in Dungarvan which might have been down to a gel. It's a good point about the electrolytes though - I had one in a bottle that morning but maybe could have done with something during the race too.
Looking at the bigger picture, I'm very happy with how the block went, and I'm happy that I was able to round it off with a PB. It was maybe last October when I first put Limerick on the agenda and I figured at that time that getting under 1:40 would be target, but I blew that out of the water in Waterford. So I guess if you told me 6 months ago that I'd run this time in Limerick then I'd have been over the moon. And as you rightly point out, I managed to get a PB so as bad days go this one had a big silver lining. I think I just got a shock from the blow up and felt that I didn't handle it well as it was happening - it's been a long time since I struggled so much in a race and it caught me off guard. That said, I kept going and saw it through which is pleasing. I'll take the narrow win, hopefully learn a few things and move on.
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Well done A for gritting that out. A PB on not such a great day is always a good result. When we see the posts come in on Strava its just wow well done they got a PB but when you get to read the race report you see the full picture & you have described it so well. Your standards for yourself are high & it didn't go to plan so that's where the dissapointment would come from(it's happened to me so many times) You are in a great place with your training & getting yet another PB can only boost your confidence! Well done😊
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I had a major catch up to do her end wow you are doing well. 3 great PBs. Congrats. It’s amazing how you have come back from injury. I didn’t make Limerick but I kept thinking how similar this year was to 2018 when we’d a really cold spring and suddenly it was really hot the day of Limerick. I bet that was a major factor.
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