Shotgun 2020

shotgunmcos

Thu 16 Apr
Session: 4x 5mins @5k off 90sec, 12.18m, hr143-176, 1hr34
Yoga with Adrienne "Home" day 10 - 18mins

Up before the 0530 alarm. Gear on and just sat on the stairs. I was asleep before 10pm so enough in the tank, I just wanted to go back to sleep. Sometimes the hardest part is just getting out the door. I battled that demon and got up and out. Getting out the door, so trivial but early morning sessions unfuelled are not my favourite. Just have to be done and before Caz leaves for work. "Done" includes, shower, breakfast, getting kids dressed, going over the day's plan, meals, home schooling, exercise with the kids and logging on myself to balance it all.

I knew I;d need a good warm up. As expected 10 minutes in and 9:15 pace on the watch. I build the effort up to get the blood moving but more to set the breathing rhythm, important to me. Passed home after 30 mins but had to duck in for few minutes. Emerged still good to go. A few leg swings, signal and 3 minutes later started the first rep.

Actual Reps
1. 5mins @6:18
2. 5mins @6:11
3. 5mins @6:14
4. 5mins @6:16

Half way into the first rep around the local sleepy estate, the cold air filled my lungs. My heart rate shot up but controlled. Note, I need to build into the TT next week. I cannot shoot off and lose control of breathing. With the control my focus moved to my feet, where it needs to be. Just turn over, in rhythm. Rep 1 done in a flash and the 90 secs counted down. With a minute to go I was fully aerobic again. No idea what the pace was. I set the target pace zone as 6:10-6:25 to assist control.

Rep 2 good, starting to find the little drags, the windy spots.
Rep 3 tough, held it on the drags and windy spots but found the fast corners and the tailwind sections. 70 of the 90 seconds burned to get to the aerobic zone. Barely recovered and not yet believing I'd complete another rep, I got stuck in.
Rep 4, breathe... just 5 minutes to go. The quads were not fresh to begin the session but angry now. The lungs burned but not cold air, the control was there. Hold on for the drags and windy bits. Use the fast corners to pull the pace back down. 90 seconds to go and no way I'll fall. Worked to the end.

3 miles easy to cool down. Solid session. Home before 8. Plenty of time

Murph_D

This Adrienne one is cropping up everywhere these days too.

Nice running, nice writing.

ariana`

Love reading your log - you should write a book.

Just spotted your 1000 mile achievement, well done! You've made quite a leap in mileage this year.

Another Adrienne fan here - her sun salutation workout is my go-to for a quick yoga fix. I always feel better after it

Laineyfrecks

I agree, love reading your log & you have great writing skills, so descriptive!

The running's not bad either;)

shotgunmcos

ariana` wrote: »

Love reading your log - you should write a book.

Just spotted your 1000 mile achievement, well done! You've made quite a leap in mileage this year.

Another Adrienne fan here - her sun salutation workout is my go-to for a quick yoga fix. I always feel better after it

Thank you kindly all! I'm just a Yoga fan in general but Adrienne makes it easy and so many to choose from. Worth bookmarking her "Yoga for Runners" stretchy post run short session too. True, grounding yourself and taking the moment to meditate at the end of even a short standing snappy session can leave you feeling taller, straighter and fresh.

Been meaning to ask you, and now that one of cheeky residents brought it to my attention on Strava (after giving out to me about the double space after my first name - 4 year old typo fixed!). What is the deal with that extra comma after your name?

ariana`

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Thank you kindly all! I'm just a Yoga fan in general but Adrienne makes it easy and so many to choose from. Worth bookmarking her "Yoga for Runners" stretchy post run short session too. True, grounding yourself and taking the moment to meditate at the end of even a short standing snappy session can leave you feeling taller, straighter and fresh.

Been meaning to ask you, and now that one of cheeky residents brought it to my attention on Strava (after giving out to me about the double space after my first name - 4 year old typo fixed!). What is the deal with that extra comma after your name?

Lol it was a genuine typo when i created the account and it drives me mad! This is a bit embarrassing to admit but would you believe i can't login to boards on several devices because i can't find that specific symbol on the keyboard :pac::pac::pac: I must see about changing it

Thanks - i'll look up that yoga. I'm a divil for going back to the ole familiar one.

shotgunmcos

ariana` wrote: »

stuff.....

Double tap the button to the left of the number 1 on your keyboard. Now, hit the "Backspace" key once or its on the second screen of symbols on most devices

shotgunmcos

Fri 17 Apr
Easy B (capped hr) 8.58m @7:57, hr 135, 1hr08
Yoga with Adrienne "Home" Day 11

One of the positives of the lockdown is the morning rush is no longer a rush. Kids now trained to make their own first breakfast (Toaster out of bounds yet). We get to sleep in another hour at least. Its glorious. I turned my usual alarm off and took full advantage of that hour. Sleeeep So much of it I miss in what was normal life. A little too glorious though. The house was too quiet. The kids were up to some mischief. Probably a 3rd or 4th bowl of the granola they are allowed sprinkle on weetabix or natural yoghurt with fruit. My running window started to evaporate slowly as a small smiling guilty face appeared silently around the door frame. A very credible story only made the morning more glorious By the time Caz had to get up and going I had the bones of an hour to run. Shoes and cap on and didn't even wait for a signal (took seconds anyway). No leg swings, perfectly mild crisp morning for an easy one.

My only plan, apart from keeping a lid on the effort, was to find trees. I took the quickest route out of suburbia and found one of the only 2 countryside links within the radius. A solitary mile along the Rosbrien Road and turn off for a solitary mile up and down a quiet country hill, broken only by the sound of cars on the motorway under a bridge at the top. The country road is a cul de sac so the green again savoured upon exit back to suburbia. My earphones died and I noticed that my feet were gliding into the stride and dragging my shoes under me. It explains the wear pattern on the outside edge of the foam (NB 1080V10) but the sudden awareness also made me straighten up and improve my form. I held this better form for the final few miles home, squeezing the most I could form the time I had.

At the start of the run I was listening to Stephen Scullions Podcast. I know some are fans around here so this might meet disagreement or distaste. I've enjoyed his candid, loose journey to qualification standard and everything else. Not always my cup of tea but definitely edgier than most. Since he hopped on a bike a week ago unfortunately I've found him insufferable. This morning, a week into the cycling he was describing the difference between elite triathletes and Kipchoge running 2:01. Interesting topic but then it went into a narcissistic "I could beat any triathlete" kind of place. I've read countless autobios and it brought me back to one of the worst I've read during my triathlon days. A unnecessarily narcissistic autobio of a 7x National Champion, respected successful business man etc.. I remember how this persons head literally filled every page and warped the words into an ugly read. I met that person and the book did not do justice. Unfortunately Scullion's cycling musings took me back to that book and I switched over to a funny Rugby Pod for some needed laughs

shotgunmcos

Sat 18 Apr
Easy/Steady 11.46m @7:46, hr 138, 1hr29

It's amazing how awake and alive you can feel at 4am. No, not locked in to a local watering hole with slurring mates but running along the white centre lines of empty main streets. After a mile it started to rain and I considered turning around. Just a light showery drizzle, barely noticeable but for nothing else to notice. I had been in and out to a toddler adamant to construct his dreams of robots from lego, since 3am. Once finally settled I was wide awake. May as well....

No late night party people staggering home, leaning forward like magnets on their foreheads were pulling them towards their door. A Brennans bread van, a garda van, a taxi van and a few other nondescript white vans. The only other sign of life, the odd solitary soul in a hood wondering seemingly aimless around a ghost town.

An Easy C run. Capped base effort but uncapped only for hills or long drags. It was so early that the dawn chorus had yet to start whistling. Part of me ran around hoping to meet another sleepless runner. I'd probably have been as surprised as they to meet myself running. Energetic run despite the silly hour. Home safe as the blackbird composers began to arrange the mornings playlist. I successfully avoided the creaky steps for once to steal a couple of hours deep dreamless kip before daybreak.

eyrie

I'm not sure which is more striking - that you're able to get yourself out for a long run in the middle of the night, or that you're able to go back to sleep after it!

shotgunmcos

Sun 19 Apr
Long Run 15.73m inc 4x10min MP , hr 150/167, 1hr58

The day was running away from me. I had settled on a few short easy miles to keep a new streak going. Actually felt the mild calm evening air and decided I do the original planned session. Perhaps the last session until the TT this week is done. The legs need some recovery from recent volume.

Good workout. I like sweet spot training. A tight 155-165 custom hr zone to control it and though the reps were solid work, none too taxing. 5 minutes easy between the efforts. The cumulative fatigue evident on the cool down run into dusk. I'd be pretty chuffed if this was an actual representation of current marathon pace. Emm, no. However, lots of time to even get to the plan to get there.

Rep 1: 10mins @6:45
Rep 2: 10mins @6:41
Rep 3: 10mins @6:43
Rep 4: 10mins @6:45

Weekly Total 81.57 miles in 10hr49min, 2hrs on the yoga mat and 34mins on the rower. V02 hit 59 but dropped back to 58 today. Weight hovering below 81kg. Overall another good week.

The plan for this week
Reduction in mileage
Some strides for sharpness
Sub20 5k TT

skyblue46

Don't take this the wrong way please and I know you can assess your training and judge your performances better than anyone else but is sub 20 really your target? Everything you are doing points at sub 19 surely?

OOnegative

Seriously M, your prediction is like Gary Kirby saying I’ll make this free or John Galvin saying I’ll grab this kickout!!

shotgunmcos

I appreciate the interest lads. My last 5k was 20:02 at the end of Jan. No speedwork done since. Most of the mileage is lower aerobic. Sub 19 will eventually be a target sure and faster but sub 20 first. I'm not sand bagging just stating facts.

I'm fitter than that last 5k and I'm sure I can improve. I have enough tempo work in the tank to not fade as badly as my last 5k. Its a looped course pretty flat, just a couple of small drags. Weather should be nice. It will be pre 8am and unfuelled for me. It's a bit of craic. My last interval session was 5k focused to see what is likely. I averaged 6:16. That's mid 19 pace if I could string all the reps together. A tapering of sorts off 2 big weeks and pacing it properly might squeeze a bit more out but I'll be genuinely surprised at low 19 let alone sub 19.

Also in contrast to my default A type, since I liberated the sub 3 monkey I'm not hung up on time targets.

shotgunmcos

Mon 20 Apr
Yoga with Adrienne "Home" day 13, 18min
Recovery 6.39m @9:00, hr 125, 57min

I'm enjoying the yoga, the non rushed few moments of meditation at either end. Something up with my right wrist so some poses not great. I couldn't do the 'crow hold' on day 11. I skipped day 12 where she wraps herself in a blanket for a kip. I'd never wake up, well until my 3 year old dive bombed on me from the couch. He gets some laugh out of tackling me when I am sat cross legged with eyes closed.

The run was meh. Beautiful sunny day, if a tad chilly at times in that easterly. Plod plod shuffle shuffle. 4 hills on the route, each super slow and laborious to shuffle up with a zone 1 capped hr. The legs were heavy and reluctant but felt marginally less meh by the end of forever. I need a serious turnaround in energy department in the next few days!

shotgunmcos

Tue 21 Apr
Easy 8.7m @8:37

Not feeling the love today. I should have gone out running this morning when it was sunny. Alas doing the weekly shop early, social distancing queues had me under pressure for a heavy work day by the time I returned. It turned murky and grey for the afternoon and my motivation drained into the dry grass like the rain.

I figured a day off wouldn't hurt but a 25 day streak loomed in my mind. A few laps of the block. I settled on 4 laps which I knew was 5 miles. A bit frustrating dodging out onto the road to avoid every couple on the block out for an evening walk post showers. The road was also busier than it ought to be. Reached a reluctant 5 miles sluggish in zero wind and thought another lap or two would give me the achy bones of an hour. I actually dragged out 3 more for about 75 mins. A bit more life in the legs than yesterday but mentally drained. The soupy humidity didn't help. The streak lives on... yay!

Speedy44

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Tue 21 Apr
Easy 8.7m @8:37

Not feeling the love today. I should have gone out running this morning when it was sunny. Alas doing the weekly shop early, social distancing queues had me under pressure for a heavy work day by the time I returned. It turned murky and grey for the afternoon and my motivation drained into the dry grass like the rain.

I figured a day off wouldn't hurt but a 25 day streak loomed in my mind. A few laps of the block. I settled on 4 laps which I knew was 5 miles. A bit frustrating dodging out onto the road to avoid every couple on the block out for an evening walk post showers. The road was also busier than it ought to be. Reached a reluctant 5 miles sluggish in zero wind and thought another lap or two would give me the achy bones of an hour. I actually dragged out 3 more for about 75 mins. A bit more life in the legs than yesterday but mentally drained. The soupy humidity didn't help. The streak lives on... yay!

Glad to see I'm not the only one that has runs like this :rolleyes:

Seriously though, pushing yourself to get out when you are REALLY not into it definitely stands to us in the long run, no pun intended, I think , so well done.

shotgunmcos

Wed 22 Apr
11.14m @7:53 including Base Test and 1 mile @5k effort, 1hr27
20mins Concept 2 rower
27mins Yoga with Adrienne "Home" Day 14

First the Base Test - A fail!

Another 100 miles done since the last test at mostly base aerobic effort. This was test #3. 5k at capped 140hr over the exact same route as the last 2 tests. The last test showed progress.

Test 1: 24:05, hr 139 - Miles 7:53, 7:39, 7:45
Test 2: 23:45, hr 139 - Miles 7:47, 7:25, 7:42

This test: 24:22, hr 140 - Miles 8:06, 7:36, 7:50 my worst result and slower than my first test on all splits

Hmm the one difference in the last 2 tests was that they were early morning, quieter and colder. I ran on the roads. Today was warmer and busier. On mile one up the first drag into a light wind, my pace dropped to 8:30. I struggled to maintain the cap. Even the last bit of it downhill into town I could not recover. I then struggled to keep it capped often hitting 141-144 only to slow down to the target zone. It was warm and I was running on paths dodging cars which interrupted the rhythm. I knew I was just behind and no relaxing of breathing would do better. I'll do another one early morning to check.

Next the tempo mile. I ran it at 5k effort but 6:14 didn't feel like something I could hold for 3 miles. Again the heart rate was higher than the reps I did last week. Maybe the heat, maybe fatigue, maybe both.

I noticed later that the rower was higher heart rate too. Again it was warm and my upper body bulk warms up fast in heat but I think overall I might be a little fatigued. Even the Yoga was not as relaxing and refreshing as usual :rolleyes:

Tomorrow is another day...

eyrie

Given that you mentioned not having much energy on the runs the previous two days either, it does sound like you might be fatigued or something, which certainly affects heart rate! Maybe be a bit kind to yourself if you can?

shotgunmcos

Thu 23 Apr
27mins Yoga with Adrienne - repeat of Day 14 "Home"
21mins Concept 2 Rower
Easy/Steady 10.14m @7:43 inc 6x30s strides, hr 139/180!, 1hr18

Thank you eyrie - spot on!

Reverse of yesterday. The yoga in the morning in peace with more patience and attention to form. The row a quick steady session between meetings. The run in the late humid evening, not as heavy as yesterday but not fresh either.

I ran as I felt. A steady mile to get a reluctant body moving. Then settled down to base effort. Stopped for a couple of minutes in the center of town re-sycning my headphones. I needed some beats. Noticed I was sweating heavily and not yet 2 miles done. 2 more easy miles along the smelly Dock Road and I thought I'd attack the steepest flyover of the 2km radius. Gave it guns to drive my heart rate up to 180! Deep into the pain cave. It came after 40 mins of running so the Garmin interpreted it as a threshold test and gave me a new LT :rolleyes::)

I later saw on strava I missed what would be my first ever running KOM because I didn't start the attack early enough. I still have one of the most dangerous mountain biking KOMs in the city going back a few years but no running ones Finished with 6x 30sec strides at about 5k effort and they felt reasonably good. Overall finishing the run better than it started.


Fri 24 Apr
Recovery 7.13m @8:58, hr 123, 1hr04
25mins Yoga with Adrienne - Day 15 "Home"

Early and cooler super easy run today. The first mile was horrible. The legs protested. I had phantom niggles. My quads felt heavy. Far too many cars about already and noticeably more traffic the last week :rolleyes: I've noticed groups starting to form in the nice weather. Perhaps the updates are just so boring now that people are no longer listening or "immune" to the numbers. Or perhaps they are the 20% cohort that just didn't give a damn in the first place. As the run progressed so did my energy, mood and mindset. Again finishing better than it had started.

Nice session on the mat with the warm sun streaming in the back door, stretching as needed.

shotgunmcos

Sat 25 Apr - Boards 5k TT Day!!
10.54m including the TT
22min Yoga with Adrienne Day 16 "Home"

I might get the nod for biggest sandbagger. 54 secs better than prediction I'm honestly surprised and delighted to get a sub19 milestone. I guess some had more faith in me than I had myself. It was not intentional, I just haven't raced many events or parkruns to know myself over this distance.

0530 up and at it. Coffee and a bite of banana. Waited for nature to call then put on new shoes! Adidas Adizero 4. They have been waiting silently beside the smellier, dirtier daily shoes. I swore I wouldn't put them on until I got sub 20. I knew today was the day. Squeezed into them like Cinderellas sisters trying on the glass slipper initially. Loosened the laces and whola! Good to go. I wondered if it would be a mistake but then felt great on the 4.5 mile chilly warm up, especially up on the toes for some strides. I felt good, if still a bit heavy. I was unsure what way to set the Garmin. I had a 5k "workout" but forgot to remove the warm up and cool down. I went through the menus and found "distance target" and selected 5k. It gave me a screen with time, estimated finish and pace.

The first 200m was downhill getting my cadence up. The giddiness done I entered the estate for four loops and settled. Beautiful calm serene morning. I had the roads to myself and well rehearsed. I didn't look at the watch until the end of the first lap and I was on 6:00 pace and the estimated time had me on 18:30 :eek: Yikes, I became concerned I burned too many matches like my last 5k in January. Mile 1 6:01

Onto lap 2 and the heart rate is well up. More importantly my breathing was under control. A rhythm, my friend! It felt good, the legs felt good, the lungs felt good and I was still holding a solid pace. Still faster than any of my training paces so I knew it would bite back. The slight drag on the only straight outside the estate seemed to take longer than lap 1. I looked at the watch again entering lap 3 and the estimated time was still 18:40 ish. I began to wonder if I could hold onto it. Working hard now. Mile 2 6:05.

A mile and a bit to go, Laps help. You forget about the last one and just focus on the next. I was starting to suffer. 0.8m to go and I'm not done with lap 3 yet. The corners are pulling away from me. The estimated time slips to low 18:50 and I have a doubt. I'm starting to wheeze and the doubt creeps up onto my shoulders. The pace is slipping, the doubt is in my head now. The last straight before lap 4 feels like a denser gravity. The ground is sucking me in. Its heavy but in some way I'm liking the pain. Its good pain. Its what I signed up for. I shake off the doubt and embrace the pain.

0.4m to go as I enter lap 4. Its just a few corners. Frustratingly the engine is working but the legs just wont turn over faster. The cogs have lost the grease and are grinding. The lungs are breathing flames, the arms are boxing the gravity. Mile 3 - 6:09 and its still sub 19, just. I think I'm just going to come up short but I pour myself into the furnace for a finish. The Garmin trophy thingy beeps on the screen to indicate target distance complete. 18:53, fooking get in!

Panted on my knees and walked for a moment. Noticed the clock is still ticking so I just started running again. Felt good. Soaked in the early morning sunshine for a couple of miles and home before 8. Job done. A TT benchmark that I can plot training paces from

After a recovery shake, shower and breakfast I experienced some satisfying creaks on the yoga mat. Felt amazing after it. Great fun following the updates on Strava and Boards. Oonegative Sir, pat yourself on the back. One of the most painful but fun things in weeks Looking forward to the next one already!

KSU

Fair play M,

What ever about training early morning. Flat out running at that hour is serious going. I know you are a man for figures and metrics so I reckon your Christmas has come early with some new data to play with.

DeepBlue

shotgunmcos wrote: »

I went through the menus and found "distance target" and selected 5k. It gave me a screen with time, estimated finish and pace.

Well done and thanks for this tip. I had no idea that the watch had this feature (must RTFM). It could prove quite useful.

shotgunmcos

KSU wrote: »

Fair play M,

What ever about training early morning. Flat out running at that hour is serious going. I know you are a man for figures and metrics so I reckon your Christmas has come early with some new data to play with.

Ha the numbers have become less important in my new age group. I train to RPE or HR when I don't know but you are right, having a mark means I can now set up a bunch of sessions. I get to join the CV party and aim for Sweatlicker's 10k TT

ReeReeG

What a run! It's always a nice surprise when you're in better shape than you thought ... and I'm delighted there were bigger sandbaggers than me

shotgunmcos

Sun 26 Apr
Easy 8.75m

Bailed on the long run today. Legs good, even after an hour of trampoline and rugby with the kids. Had to log into work for a couple of hours and just not in the mood for 2hr running easy. Settled on the bones of 70mins aimlessly trotting around the local loop. Grey cool evening and a meh run. Quite the opposite of yesterday. Good that the legs are good to go this week though.

62.8m Total in 8hrs30 this week
Plus 40mins on the rower and 2hrs on the yoga mat
Very pleased with the TT result. Using it to do my first CV session this week. Plus my actual pb from my 30 year old self seems reachable now

shotgunmcos

Monday oh Monday 27 Apr
Recovery 11.24m @8:52, hr 126, 1hr39

Ok it's not groundhog day. There is still a separation between the week and weekend....

No long run yesterday and working yesterday evening just blurred the lines. Reaffirmed with a strange feeling in the legs this morning. Not fatigued but not fresh either. Perhaps the excitement of having the TT goal. Not a priority but something, anything to look forward to. Now it's done, what next? No interest in a mile TT but I'd take part for the craic. I had a look at the 2020 goals thread for a reminder. The main goal, DCM, may not happen.

I'm toying with the idea of doing the plan and doing a Marathon TT on the day if no race. With a 10k and a HM TT en route.

The run itself was a slow perimeter plod. I stopped on my favourite point of the invisible fence to absorb the beautiful chilly morning sunshine. The Shannon river was so still it looked solid glass. Amazing mirror of the church steeples, trees and rising red sun. Easily the highlight of the same miles on the same restricted routes. I did 2 of the miles on grass for something different, anything different.

eyrie

Amazing going, no idea how you managed to run that hard so early in the morning.

shotgunmcos wrote: »

I think I'm just going to come up short but I pour myself into the furnace for a finish.

Love this, great description.

AuldManKing

Just read you TT - thats seriously impressive at that hour!

shotgunmcos

Tue 28 Apr
Easy 12.42m @7:45 inc. 6x20sec strides
30 mins Yoga with Adrienne "Home" Day 17

Interesting how much I can relate to Lambay island under the spotlight at the moment. Life means you either just get up and get it done with the birds or forego. Life, is life now. Early morning is a need but I will say you learn to love it. The dawn chorus is simply amazing these days, and thats the urban version. Once the 2km radius relaxes first thing I'll do is run for the trees. I'd even welcome a proper hill. Things I look forward to that others here are perhaps tired of already. Someone who lives at the top of a hill among musical 4am trees may relish the flat loop around a local sleepy village.

Interesting run this morning. Two laps of suburbia. The first calm, crisp and clear. I figured the fog in the distance was slowly burning away with daybreak. I had the roads to myself and the birds chirping, cawing and calling for distraction. The legs felt light and energetic. Running back up town for a second lap the fog in fact had thickened and closed in. The visibility reduced dramatically to 40 meters and the temperature dropped from chilly to cold. The traffic was also building and it meant stepping up onto the footpaths. Stepping off them to avoid pedestrians proved treacherous in the path of cyclists emerging suddenly from the greyness. One yelled at me for running on the cycle lane. I yelled back that he was cycling down the wrong side of the road, in a fog, without a helmet! A rare moment of open social distancing frustration.

I dropped into a quiet local housing estate to execute the strides. 1, 2, 3 strides into it, up on the toes for 30 fast steps each leg, running "tall" for 100m of good form at near max. A minute to fully breathe the cold air and recover completely. Repeat 5 more times. A short satisfying blast and jog home to finish an enjoyable run.