If I didn’t log it, it didn’t happen

passinginterest

I’m usually a pretty patient person, but I’m also competitive, so trying to regain fitness and make progress with my running is a real challenge after struggling for over 4 years with a foot problem.

First some history to bore you all (boring detail may become a theme). I’ve always played sports, gaa and soccer growing up and soccer until just after I turned 30. Switched focus to running in 2014, following persistent groin injuries playing soccer, and having completed some IMRA events and 10ks in the previous years.

Stayed injury free up to a few weeks before DCM 2014, had hit all my targets from 10k to half marathon and was on track to target a 3.40 marathon after the race series half. Looking back I struggled with pacing on longer runs and didn’t finish out may of the 15 mile plus runs and missed some mid week sessions when I was tired.

I hit the wall badly 15 miles into the Athlone 3/4 and that hurt my confidence. That was 3 weeks before DCM. I was away with work the week before and started to notice a pain close to the ball of my right foot. It was so bad coming back that I had to change into runners when I was making a transfer in Amsterdam as I was hobbling around. I assumed I had stood on something and bruised it on a training run so wasn’t overly bothered. Added to the sore foot I had a dodgy stomach from the combination of flying and dodgy food so went into the 3/4 with very little fuel on board and couldn’t stomach the gels I planned to take. Most rookie mistake of all was to not make any adjustment to my pace plan (in hindsight I shouldn’t have run at all). I joked to my wife that if I wasn’t finished in 3 hours I’d probably died (not a joke I’ll ever make again). Those last 5 miles were a horror show, I missed the 3 hour target, eventually crossed the finish looking like Casper the friendly ghost, to be greeted by a very worried wife, who pretty much had to carry me back to the car after I forced down some lucozade and a banana.

Sore foot was pretty much forgotten at that stage, and while it was niggling, more when walking than running, it was never going to stop me lining up for DCM. Again didn’t really heed the warning signs from training and set out on 3.50 pace, crossed the half bang on time but faded badly in the last 6 miles to finish in 4.00.48. 49 seconds quicker and I might not be as haunted by this running bug!

Anyway post DCM I was happy to have finished and to have made it without stopping or walking (not sure the shuffle was any quicker at a few points, but don’t walk was the mantra in my head for a long way). I was determined to have learned some lessons and to go away and try again, hopefully going sub 20 for 5k in the meantime.

After a few weeks rest the foot was not getting any better, so went to the doc, got an x-ray to rule out stress fractures, took some pain killers and thought all would be grand. Foot flared up badly just before the course of meds ended. Didn’t really bother following up again and just got lazy in the months after, doing an odd run or having a kick about with the lads. Over a year later and decided maybe the physio might have some suggestions, Dr. Google told me it sounded like a Morton’s neuroma. Without any prompting from me physio came to the same conclusion. Just needed an MRI to be sure.

MRI resulted in a very confused physio and a diagnosis of possible Freiberg’s disease. That brought on a bit of panic, as that’s a condition that can cause the metatarsal head to pretty much die and disintegrate. So I was hobbling around in a space boot for a few weeks and the physio referred me to a specialist in the Beacon. The specialist straight away said no it’s not Freiberg’s, it looks more likely to be some form of arthritis but sent me for a CT scan to be sure. Once that was checked I was referred on to specialist number two, to try an figure out if it’s arthritis and what way to treat it. The suspicion was psoriatic arthritis but that needed a rheumatologist.

Went on the public list rather than cough up more cash, I though I’d just manage it if it’s likely to just be arthritis anyway. Made a few failed attempts to get back running regularly along the way. Last summer it flared up badly and I was hobbling everywhere so bit the bullet and made a private appointment with the specialist in the Beacon. That resulted in an official diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis in two of my toes and a few injections and a regular course of medication later, the pain levels are low, the inflammation is under control and here we are... the most long winded log in history.

passinginterest

Goals for 2019, PBs from 2014
5k - 22.00 (pb 20.18 Grant Thornton 2014, 2018 24.14 park run)
10k - 46.30 (pb 44.47 Race series 2014, 2018 56.24 run in the dark)
Half - 1.45 (pb 1.37.56 Dublin Half 2014)
DCM - sub 4 (pb 4.00.39 2014)

Signed up for Wicklow half on 24th March and DCM 2019. Working on 5k at the moment and will set a time at parkrun on 12th Jan as my base time.

Started back into more regular running in October when a group from work signed up for Run in the Dark. Probably the lowest fitness level of my life and my heaviest, I was below 11 stone after DCM 2014 and the last time I was on a scale I was over 12.5, I reckon I was touching 13 if I'd found a scale.

Oct 20th headed to parkrun to test how bad things were. 29 minutes and 18 seconds of struggling later and I knew it was going to be a long struggle to get back to where I'd like to be. Got in 6 more runs before Run in the Dark on 7th Nov and managed the 10k in 56.24.

Set myself a plan then to work on my 5k time for 8 weeks. Ran parkrun as a mid way test on 8 Dec and hit 24.14, better than the 25 flat I had in mind. Unfortunately a bit of a setback after and got no running for 10 days, not injury related at least. Wrote the missed time off and started week 5 of the plan, with revised pace goals, unfortunately the missed days and onset of a cold really seemed to set me back and the first few runs were a disaster, but seem to be back in a groove now. Trying not to get too obsessed with time and to be patient, but that's the competitive side of me and I find it really hard to switch off.

Aim is to run minimum 3 days a week and ideally 4 to 5.

Last week's log;
Christmas Day (goal Mile) 1k warm up 6.22, Goal mile 7.00, 3k easy at 6.39/km

Thursday 40min 'tempo' (target low 5.xx/km) 6.9km @ 5.48/km (5.09, 5.27, 5.25, 5.21, 5.42, 7.43, 5.47) knew after a couple of k I was struggling, had to walk for a bit, went out too fast and still had lingering cold effects.

Saturday 12k LSR - got new trail runners so stayed off road and took it easy (6.15/km)

passinginterest

Feeling much more like myself this week. Probably had more of a cold/virus than I realised and was definitely a bit run down. Need to start getting my diet in better shape, especially the processed foods and refined sugars.

Plan for the week and results to date;
Mon - Rest

Tues - 8k easy
New Year’s Day, so decided to head to parkrun, was thinking of the Bushy Tymon double, but a few glasses of wine and Prosecco meant I didn’t wake up in time. Decided I’d jog the 3kish to the start in Tymon and walk home after. Dawdled a bit leaving the house so had to run a bit quicker than planned to make the start, just about made it, got my breath back and started well back in the crowd to make sure I couldn’t run too hard from the start. Very congested first lap and took it easy, pushed a bit on the second lap and finished strong for a 26.43 parkrun. Strolled home after and felt way better than I expected after struggling last week and having a few drinks the night before.
Total 8.5k@ 5.21/km quicker than it should have been really but was surprised to feel so good.

Wed - Rest

Thursday - 8 x 400 with 90sec recovery
1k warm up @ 6.11/km
Splits - 105sec, 97secs, 101secs, 99secs, 99secs, 99secs, 101secs, 98 secs
5 min stroll/jog to cool down
Total - 5.77km @ 5.49/km In target zone or faster for all the 400s. Very pleased with that. Again prob shouldn’t be running faster than targets but hard to hold back!

Fri - Rest

Sat - 5k tempo
Up to Tymon parkrun again, drove around, literally seconds to spare at the start, not even a half hearted warm up, straight into it with car keys still in hand. Target was low 25s and went; 5.07,5.01, 5.03, 4.56, 4.50 and 4.10 for the extra 80m according to Garmin!
Avg heart rate 169
Still prob a little hard but felt good and wasn’t killing myself.
Overall 5.08km @ 4.59/km according to Garmin

Sun - 12k LSR will take it easy and maybe extend it a bit.

Next week the aim will be sub 23.30 parkrun and then starting into a 10 week plan for Wicklow half. Constructed a plan from looking at a variety of different ones, reminded myself that it’s all about base building and not speed. Will be aiming for 4-5 runs every week with most of it just easy.

passinginterest

Should add, I'm very open to suggestions, comments, advice etc. Still not sure about joining a club, live very close to Tallaght, but not sure about getting home from work in time for evening sessions. Planning to head to their open day on the 19th Jan anyway.

Another thing I need to work on is warming up, stretching and doing some strength work. I did yoga once a week for about a year and even that made a difference in terms of strength and flexibility. Hips, calves and lower back can suffer from a bit of stiffness so I know I need to keep on top of it when the miles start building up.

Some great inspiration, info and tips in other logs, really enjoy reading them.

Singer

Other than increasing the mileage (or kilometerage?) it looks like you're on the right track. Brothers Pearce and Tallaght AC are both decent clubs in your area, it'd be definitely a boost if you can make their sessions occasionally. Maybe consider keeping up the yoga!

passinginterest

13k @ 6.20/km avg heart rate 153

Felt like I paced it ok, was easy enough, but looking at it now I probably went a bit too quick. I know the wrist based monitor is probably not 100% accurate but I doubt it’s miles off and according to that 75% of the run was in zone 4. Might try running the next long run off the heart rate and keep it in zone 3. Legs a bit heavy after.

passinginterest

Overall a much better week. I'll prob switch to Miles when I start my Wicklow half plan next week so it was nice to see I just tipped over 20 miles for the week.
That's definitely the most I've run in a weeks since I was Marathon training in 2014 and the 8 miles on Sunday was the longest individual run.
Bit of a step back planned this week because I want to attack the 5k parkrun on Saturday. Aiming to go under 23.30, considering where I was 3 months ago I'd be happy enough with that.
Plan is to be conservative in building for the half. Much more focus on volume than speed.

Anyone know of any 10k or 10mile race around 16/17 or 23/24 of Feb? Would like to do a test run around then. Preferably within an hour from Tallaght.

RayCun

Can't believe I missed a reference to Brothers Pearse, my alarm must be broken :pac:

Yeah, come down and try out a few runs with us if you like. You'd recognise a bunch of us from tymon parkrun
http://brospearse.com/2019/01/06/brothers-pearse-ac-weekly-adult-training-wc-07-01-2019/

passinginterest

RayCun wrote: »

Can't believe I missed a reference to Brothers Pearse, my alarm must be broken :pac:

Yeah, come down and try out a few runs with us if you like. You'd recognise a bunch of us from tymon parkrun
http://brospearse.com/2019/01/06/brothers-pearse-ac-weekly-adult-training-wc-07-01-2019/

Thanks. My main issue would be making it home in time for the evening sessions. They're a bit early for me. Credit it where it's due though, seems like a great club, and not shy on the recruitment! I know one of the lads training up there and he's already been on to me too.

passinginterest

Midweek running all done. Tried to slow things down a bit. Three 30 minute lunchtime sessions, very easy, tempo, easy.

Hoping the arthritis isn't flaring up in my toes, a little more discomfort this week, if not pain, back to the specialist next week so will be interesting to hear his view and probably have a look under ultrasound again.

Tuesday;
30mins 4.43km 6.47/km HR 136
Kept is super slow, always find this tough, feels barely faster than a stroll. Reminding myself that this is all about longer term goals.

Wednesday;
30mins 5.77km 5.12/km HR 164
Met one of the lads who hasn't run in a while but doesn't understand taking it easy. Started at 5.23/km and finished at 5.06/km for the last 3 or so. Nice to have a bit of company for the first few km, he took a breather for a while and joined me again for a k before abandoning ship after 20odd minutes. Felt good, nice bit of effort but not struggling and felt I might have been able to quicken it a bit and keep it going for another 10mins or so.

Thursday;
30mins 4.65km 6.27/km HR 149
Another easy pace slog. Kept the heart rate in the middle zone. Not sure if it's lack of fitness, the fact I haven't done a proper max heart rate test and maybe it should be higher or just the way my body works, but I just seem to jump from resting to zone 3 with even a fast walk and with the slightest bit of effort it's straight into zone 4. Had a look at some of the stats on Garmin and revised my Max up on the basis that it had hit around 193 a few times, there was a 198 but thought that might be an anomaly. Maybe my Max is closer to 200, resting seems to be between 56 and 60 for the most part.

So far a nice week. Don't think I've run 3 days in a row since 2014 Marathon training.

Plan for Saturday is to 'race' Tymon parkrun and see where I'm at, hoping for low 23.xx. Although I see the BHAA cross country 6k is also there Saturday and I'm tempted to give that a lash.

Sunday probably around 5miles easy, although I've also signed up for IMRA and the Hellfire race is Sunday. Did that in March 13 and 14 and loved it. Might head up there and take it very handy on the climbs and have fun on the descents, I love running downhill, not a massive fan of going the other direction!

passinginterest

Bit of a disappointing run this morning. Decided to go ahead with the plan to 'race' Tymon parkrun. Woke up early, got there in nice time, managed to do a decent warm up for once and was feeling really good.

That's when I made my first mistake, decided I might have sub 23mins in me and set out to attack it. Despite knowing 23.30 was the realistic goal and sub 24 was the main target. Was happy with the effort levels up the first long drag, was aiming for around 4.40 for the first km and was pretty much on track (4.39) most of the 2nd km is downhill and I picked it up, got a few notifications from the Garmin to tell me it was too quick but was still feeling good (4.31). It was noticably windy and when the wind hit on the slight drag towards the end of the first lap the legs started to feel heavy and I knew i was in trouble. Slowed down a fair bit the second time up the opening drag, but still managed 4.50 for km 3, with the downhill in km 4 managed not to die completely but couldn't really up the pace 4.54 for that km. Really tied up on the last km and was getting passed a lot, biggest disappointed was the lack of 'race' in me, just mentally gave up a bit, could have still made low 24 maybe even sub 24 at that stage. 5.26 for the last km and another 28 seconds as the watch measured it a bit long. 24.49 for the parkrun, 24.21 thought the 5k by the watch.

The second km is probably what killed me. I should have levelled out the effort and let myself get into a rhythm rather than trying to push on. I've been trying to start easier and quicken to the end of most runs and should have stuck to that approach.

Glad I didn't opt for the cross country anyway! At least by attacking it it gave me another reminder that I'm working back from probably the lowest fitness level of my life and that I need to be patient. Not even 3 months ago I struggled to break 30mins for the same distance.

On the plus side, body feels 100% after, and the foot is feeling grand again too. I'm not doing big mileage yet, and I know that's what I need to really build the stamina. Into my Wicklow half plan now, so focus will all be on increasing the volume and running easy. Trying not to get caught up in a goal time, but I'll be a bit disappointed if I can't go sub 2hrs.

passinginterest

First 5 run week. 11.5k@6.23/km or around 7 miles for the long run today. Started very easy and finished around HMP.

Overall a pretty steady week. Will start picking up the distance a bit next week. Maybe didn't improve my 5k time as much as I'd hoped in the 8 or 9 weeks, but it's definitely getting me back into the habit and hopefully in an ok place now to start picking up the distance.

Total for the week;
5 runs 31.4km (19.5m)

Total for the month to date;
9 runs 63km (39.14m)

passinginterest

Mid week sessions successfully ticked off.

Tuesday afternoon I had my follow up with Prof. Kane out in the Beacon. I was worried that the psoriatic arthritis inflammation might be coming back, I’m luck in that it’s isolated to the joints in two toes, but always worried it could get worse. I’ve had cortisone injections and started medication 3 months ago, I’ve had substantial improvement in my pain levels but still have some mild discomfort. Thankfully under the ultrasound there was no sign of inflammation, just a little fluid around the joints but nothing to worry about. Unfortunately there is a bit of damage to one of the joints, it’s shifted down a little and there’s a little bit of bone damage (less than a mm). That’s the source of the remaining discomfort, if the inflammation stays away it might well heal itself so fingers crossed. Overall went about as well as I could have hoped, while he wasn’t entirely happy he didn’t warn me off when I told him I’d signed up for DCM either! I’ll have to keep a close eye on it and may need more cortisone or a change in medication but the signs are positive for now.

Went out Tuesday evening for 4 miles easy, I hate running in the dark, my night vision is poor, so even with the street lights I worry about stepping into a hole and turning my ankle or not seeing a dog lead and going flying. Added the Lidl head torch for a bit of extra reassurance. Breezy evening and the fact that I feel like I’m running faster than I am in the dark meant it felt a little harder than easy at times.

In the end it was 4 miles in 39.32 or 9.51/mi avg HR 151 (much as I like km’s I’m switching seeing as DCM is main target).

Wednesday 16 Jan
Easy 3 miles at lunch. Easy start with gentle pick up. All in easy range.
29.25, 9.35/mi avg HR 150

Thursday 17 Jan
Bit of a session, 1 easy, 3HMP, 1 easy. Not trying to do any real speed work so this type of session and another with 1mi tempo intervals will be as hard as I push in the build up to Wicklow half.
Enjoyed it, although I felt it a bit in trying to keep to HMP, partly because a picked it up a bit too much in the 3rd mile. Much prefer this to all slow running though.

5m 46.33 (10.01, 9.02, 9.06, 8.31, 9.54) avg HR 156

Feel like I’m making a bit of progress. Building the mileage slowly and getting out consistently. The VO2 max has been creeping up steadily according to the Garmin so taking that as a good sign too. For a while it seemed to only be going down. In the last 4 weeks it’s gone from 44 to 48.

passinginterest

Saturday 19th January
Saturdays in my plan are 3 to 5 miles and pace depending on how the body feels between easy and tempo.
Decided to head to Tymon parkrun this morning and take it fairly easy. Was thinking maybe do a slight progression and start around 10min mile then 9 and finish around 8. Because it was pacer Saturday changed my mind and decided to follow the 28min pacer. Not sure if it was switching the pace to miles or what but it felt way too fast early on and by the time we turned at the top of the hill the watch was telling me we were low 8’s. I was expecting the first to be outside 9. I let him go at that stage and my feet were starting to feel really tight at the front top just below the ankle. I had a very short half hearted warm up and the original plan was to use the slow first mile to get warm so probably a symptom of that, I had compression socks on too and I think something similar happened the last time I wore them, so might avoid them in future.
First mile was 8.53, kept it steady for the second mile even though I was debating stopping to try and stretch some of the tightness out and went through second mile in 8.55. Gradually picked up the pace on the downhill in mile 3 and was pulling back the 28 min pacer, 8.29 for mile 3. With about 400m to go I was opening the legs a bit, if anything this felt better. Breathing was easy all the way, the discomfort was really just in the feet, really stretched the legs in the last 200m or so pace for the last .1 was 6.44. Finished just behind the pacer.

Final time 27.30, 8.39/mi, Avg HR 161. 68th I think. Big crowd there today. Didn't particularly enjoy it because of the feet situation, but even with the little push at the end recovered very quickly. Volunteered for next week.

Plans is 9miles tomorrow and I'll be trying to keep it around 10min/mi.

passinginterest

Sunday 20th Jan
9mi, 1hr 35mins, 10.33/mi, Avg HR 146

Determined to be really disciplined with this one and keep it all easy. Kept an eye on both pace and HR and probably managed it about as well as I've ever done on a long run.

As usual, for the first few miles I was feeling little niggles but they went away by the end. I made a bit more effort to stretch before heading out and when I got back. Because I kept it easy I then had to fight the inner temptation to extend it to 10 miles. I even finished about a half mile from home and walked back as a cool down rather than extend the running.

Hopefully I can stick with the patient approach and reap the benefits later in the year. I love being so close to Tymon now, it's great for the long runs, nice mix of gentle drags, short steep hills and flat sections.

Happy with the week overall. Five days completed again.

WK - 5 runs 24.2 miles
Month to date - 14 runs 63 miles

passinginterest

Ventured up to Tallaght AC tonight after popping into the club open day on Saturday. Session consisted of a 25 minute run around a figure of 8 taking in the Tymon hills beside the M50 roundabout.

There was a massive crowd and I had no clue where to position myself. Decided to start at a comfortable pace and see how I felt. Fell into a group of 4 or so for the first 10 or 11 minutes, then started to pick up the pace and pick people off ahead of me. Finished strong and covered 2.7miles in 24.15 9.13, 8.27 and 8.12 pace in the 3rd mile.

Seems to be a good mix of standards and plenty in or around a similar level to myself so I'll definitely try get to a few more sessions.

Overall covered - 1.9mi WU@10.27, 2.7mi session@8.43, 1.6mi CD@9.59

Total 6.3 miles

passinginterest

Tuesday 22 Jan
Club session above

Wednesday 23 Jan
3.5m@10.12 AvgHR 146
Harder and further than planned on Tuesday so cut the planned 4 a bit short and took it nice and handy around Merrion Sq.

Thursday 24 Jan
Back up to Tallaght AC. Couple of familiar faces from Tuesday suggested I join their group. When I heard it would be around 9 miles (1.5wu, 6, 1.5cd) I probably should have gone with another group. They said I'd be grand after I said what is been doing the last few weeks.
Ended up being a good bit harder than anything I've done recently, 6 in the group. The 6 mile was a sort of progression run. Started around 9 and I think the front few finished just under 7. Mine were mostly mid to high 8s.
Didn't feel as hard running in the group although I was wrecked after. Decided to drop my Saturday run and just do my planned 10mile long run on Sunday.

9m@9.01 AvgHR 164. Splits (9.39, 9.23, 8.55, 8.43, 8.51, 8.23, 8.41, 9.25, 9.11)

Sunday 27 Jan
10m@9.57 AvgHR 152

Decided to get away from Tymon for a change, headed to Terenure, cut back before Harold's Cross, along Sundrive Road and then back the Crumin Rd, Walkinstown Rd, Greenhills. Knew with that route it'd be down hill out and uphill back, after Wednesday I seemed to automatically get into a rythm a bit quicker than what I have been doing on the LSRs so went with it to make the most of the downhills. Kept an eye on the HR, it did start to creep up, especially with the hills on the way home, but overall was fairly reasonable.

Total for Wk 28.8 miles
Total YTD 92 miles

passinginterest

Tue 29 Jan
5.2m 50.02 (9.40/m Avg HR 155)
Knew I wouldn’t be able to make it to the club so headed out at lunch. A bit under time pressure so couldn’t take it too easy. Bit of a ramble around towards ringsend, grand canal basin and along the quays. Nasty breeze at times but a nice fairly easy run overall.

Wed 30 Jan
3.6m 36.33 (10.05/m Avg HR 151)
Had planned 5 but under time pressure and a couple of lads from work had asked to come out with me. Nice easy laps in and around Trinity. Was wrecked all week, I think the harder sessions last week really took it out of me, so was happy enough to go shorter and easy. This took me over 100miles for January. By far the most consistent running I’ve done in years and a pleasant surprise.

Thur 31 Jan
6m 56.14 (1easy 4hmp/tempo 1easy) (9.21/m Avg HR ??)
Still not feeling great and debated just doing another shorter easy session. Decided to give it a go, when I was planning this originally had the 4m as tempo, but then I decided I wasn’t really bothered with faster stuff because I’m just trying to base build so put it down as goal HMP (9min miles). Felt Ok doing the easy warm up mile (10.42), it was Baltic out and the breeze in Merrion Sq was cutting enough, meant it was pretty quiet out though and there was plenty of other runners taking advantage and doing a variety of sessions. Decided to not really look at the watch and try run that ‘comfortably hard’ pace (partly just to keep warm), got into a nice rhythm and was surprised enough to see 8.34 for the mile, worried it might be a bit quick, but I’d done similar for longer the previous Thursday so said I’d try stick to roughly the same effort, next mile was 8.46, I was a bit worried at this stage and the legs were a bit heavy, but thought it was mental more than physical. HR monitor wasn’t working for some reason, so I couldn’t use that to convince myself either way. Gritted the teeth a bit and just continued with the rhythm. Next mile was 8.47, and psychologically once I only had one left at that pace I knew I was grand. Picked it up slightly and finished the last quicker mile striding out up the incline for 8.37. Felt I could have kept going for another few miles if needed so effort was probably reasonable. Finished with an easy cool down (10.39). Felt much better heading back into the office.

So 107 miles in January. Feel like I’ve lost a bit of weight and certainly starting to gain some fitness. Turned 36 today. Might treat myself to 4 miles tomorrow and 11 on Sunday to hit 30 for the week!

passinginterest

Saturday 2 Feb

4.47m (42.45) including Corkagh parkrun (25.22 8.07/m avg HR 168)

Woke up early enough so said I might as well do a parkrun. Tymon was cancelled with the ice so ventured to Corkagh. Took a bit of a wrong turn so didn’t have much time to warm up. Quick jog and a few strides and it was time to go.
Felt grand at the start, settled into the crowd, hadn’t really decided whether to run easy or something in between. Checked the pace and it was around 8.30/m, felt very easy so decided to just go with it. First mile in 8.24, nice enjoyable course, started to gently increase the pace and pick off runners ahead, had the issue with tightness around my ankles again though, this was uncomfortable but not enough to need to stop. Second mile in 8.03, I was working hard enough especially with the discomfort, but in wasnt out of breath or strugggling that way. Last mile and a bit felt long but I was still picking up places, through the third mile in 8.02, I could hear someone behind trying to catch me so that was incentive enough to keep the pace up to the end last 0.13 at 6.54 pace according to the watch.

Apart from the tightness in the ankles, I recovered quickly and set off for a very easy mile cooldown. Dodgy stomach slowed that to a walk, if the churning kept up things were likely to take a nasty turn! I’ve had some bad experiences in the past so wasn’t taking chances.

I’ll definitely head to Corkagh again, it’s a nice course, bit of drag in places but nothing really hilly. I’d say it’s very quick on a warm summer morning. Still feel like my quickest 5k is not going to be much better than 24mins at the moment, but then I’m not trying to work on speed and I know the stamina and endurance is improving.

passinginterest

Sunday 3 Feb
Plan 11 miles easy
Actual 60mins (5.6m easy @10.34/m avgHR 144)

I’ve gone from 15 miles the week before Christmas to nearly 29 miles last week. I was tired all week this week, the planned 11 miles would have seen me over 30, but I decided to listen to the body and just have a shorter easy run today. Completely uneventful but glad I didn’t try push on for the longer run. Still feeling a bit achy this evening. Hoping the step back will help and I can push on over the 30 mile week next week.

Week Total 25miles
January total 107 miles
Feb to Date 10 miles
Year to Date 117miles

passinginterest

I think I’ll call that one a reset week. Busy with work and family commitments, still feeling pretty tired and run down so only a 6mile easy run on Wednesday to show for the week.

Bounce back week this week. Possibly Superhero 10k on Sunday.

passinginterest

Back in the groove this week. Decided to get the runs in before starting work and it seems to suit me.

Tuesday 12 Feb
5m@9.50/m Avg HR 157
Legs felt very fresh after the break, took it very easy anyway and enjoyed the laps of Merrion Sq.

Wednesday 13 Feb
5m@9.51/m Avg HR 154
Same as the day before, still feeling good. Laps in the opposite direction around Merrion Sq again.

Thursday 14 Feb
Plan 2m warm up 3x1m fast with 1/2m recovery.

Decided to do 15mins rather than 2 miles for the warm up. Then started into the first quick mile. Wasn’t sure pace wise but targeting 8.30 a mile for 10k race on Sunday so thought I’d aim for around 8.00. Finished the mile in 7.57 and felt pretty good. Realised when the recovery started that I’d somehow programmed a 1/4m instead of a half. Decided I’d go with it anyway rather than try fix it. Just over 2.5 minutes later I was into my second quick mile, 7.47 this time, still feeling pretty good, although I wasn’t disappointed to hear the watch buzz. Similar time for the recovery and into the 3rd quick one, again felt OK, was a bit more careful with the pace and came in at 7.49. Again not dying but glad to hear the buzz at the end. Bit of cool down and back to another busy day in the office.

5.73m@9.05/m 7.57, 7.47, 7.49 for the ‘fast’ miles. Avg HR 156

Signed up for the Superhero 10k in Kill on Sunday. Should be able to run 52mins. I see there’s a 50min pacer though, so seeing as I’m running it as a ‘test’ race in advance of the target Wicklow half on March 24th I might just try push it for the 50mins and see what happens.

passinginterest

Sunday 17 Feb 10m@9.26/m including 10k in 52.30 8.27/m

Didn’t get out on Saturday, had thought I might do 3 or 4 easy miles to keep the legs moving before the race Sunday but didn’t manage to fit it in. Wasn’t feeling great that evening but headed to bed early. Headache woke me a few times during the night and wasn’t cleared in the morning, started getting myself ready anyway, but major bout of nausea as I was trying to eat breakfast and I puked in the kitchen sink! The medication I’m on for the arthritis does make me a little nauseous most mornings but I usually don’t eat until I get to work, with the headache added this morning it was a disaster. Still considered going to Kill and doing the run anyway, but popped a couple of nurofen plus and lay back down for an hour, wasn’t feeling well enough to chance driving down and giving it a go.

A few hours later I was feeling a bit better, met friends for brunch and wolfed down a stack of pancakes and by 4 o’clock decided I’d head out and do 10 miles with a 10k TT in the middle. Nice easy 2 mile warmup and decided to aim for my target race pace of 8.30 a mile for the 10k. Very windy in Tymon so not ideal. First TT mile, wind assisted and mostly downhill in 8.20, maybe a bit quick, still wasn’t sure I’d manage the full distance, mile two back into the wind and climbing, tried to avoid looking at the watch and was pretty pleased to see 8.33, back downhill and wind assisted again for mile 3 and 8.20 again, pretty much half way, legs felt pretty strong but was still doubting I could keep it going, mile 4 was the most ascent and happy to see 8.29 again, mile 5 started to slow a little bit not too dramatic 8.34 and mile 6 I was working hard to keep going but 8.31 and gave it pretty much everything I had for another .3 of a mile to what I hoped was 10k (should have programmed the watch!). Bit of a walk to recover and finished out the 10 miles.

Delighted to get it done after such a disappointing start to the day. According to Strava the 10k time was 52.30. Considering it was a TT in windy conditions I’m pretty pleased that I was within 30 seconds of my race target. Still a long way to go, but I was happy that the legs didn’t die completely and I could push myself for the full distance. Still seem to be on track for a sub 2 half.

Might finally hit a 30 mile week next week.

Week Total 25.7m
Month Total 41.9m
Year Total 149m

passinginterest

Tuesday 19 Feb
Plan 5m easy Actual 4.1m@10.14 AvgHR 145
Chilly morning, legs pretty tired from the hard effort on Friday. Felt ok but not great so decided to cut it a bit short.

Wednesday 20 Feb
Plan 5m easy Actual 4.3m@10.06 AvgHR 146
Very mild morning. Pretty similar to the day before. Feeling better but tight for time so cut it a bit short again.

Thursday 21 Feb
Plan 7m with 5HMP Actual 7.15@9.12 AvgHR 153
Unreal morning for a run. Felt great heading out, bumped into someone I knew for part of the first easy mile so that flew by. Into the HM pace miles, the first one always feels a bit weird, goal was around 9.00 or just under. First one was 8.55, started to get comfortable and second mile in 9.00, first time since starting to run regularly again where I got that old feeling that the legs were almost numb and just flowing along without even thinking, really starting to enjoy it, third mile 8.49. Soaking in the lovely morning and feeling like I was ‘running’ for the first time in years, mile 4 flew in 8.48. Felt like I was working a bit in the 5th quicker mile, but was also thinking I can definitely keep this going for a good few more miles. When the watch buzzed it was 8.33 for the mile, no wonder I was working a bit harder, that’s closer to current 10k pace, but it still felt really good. Finished off with an easy mile and a bit to cool down and a real feeling of satisfaction heading into the day. Finally feeling some fitness returning, a little bit of weight has been coming off, and I’m more confident I can hit my short term goals. Looking forward to what the next few weeks bring.

passinginterest

Saturday 23 Feb
Missed my Saturday run again. Had hoped to get in at least 3 miles. So another week that will drop below 30 total.

Sunday 24 Feb
12m @10.23/m AvgHR 150 2hrs 4mins 44seconds in total.

Would probably have only done 10 if I’d got the Saturday run done. Decided to push it out to 12. Lovely day for a run again. Decided to head down towards Bohernabreena Reservoir for the first time in ages. Didn’t feel great for the first few miles but got into a steady enough rhythm, had almost forgotten how lovely the reservoir is. Had also forgotten how steep some of the climbs are. Didn’t feel particularly comfortable but knew I was ok. Running beside the upper reservoir there was 4 deer casually lapping at the stream, very peaceful up that way and lovely to be taking in the fresh air. Loop around the top lake and then the lovely downhill. Picked up the pace a bit for a while to make the most of the descent but nothing hectic. Back up towards Tallaght and the legs were feeling the hills but the breathing was good and the HR was fairly controlled.

Overall another decent week. Next week hoping to hit the full 5 days and full planned mileage. I’ll hit 32 if I do. It’s pretty much a mirror of this week, I think I had an extra week in the plan and duplicated it.

I have a 14 mile pencilled in for the week after but not sure if it’s worthwhile. The 12 miles takes me to around 2 hours running and that’s my half marathon goal time. Suppose I’ll see how things feel. The longer term goal is DCM so it might be nice to have up to 14m in the bag for LSR.

Week Total 27.7m
Month to Date 69.7m
Year to Date 177.3m

passinginterest

Tuesday 26 Feb
4.29m@9.46 AvgHR 149

A bit pushed for time so slightly short and quick. Nothing really of note apart from the fact it was zero degrees.

Wednesday 27 Feb
5.25m@10.16 AvgHR144
Nice and easy zero degrees again. Happy with this.

Thursday 28 Feb 7.08m@9.25 AvgHR 156
Mile easy followed by 5@hmp. Had to work pretty hard for this, definitely harder than the previous week. Merrion Sq again but opposite direction, makes for a longer drag and that possibly adds difficulty. Splits of 9.06, 8.58, 8.59, 8.53 and 8.56 so nicely controlled at least.

February ends with a slightly disappointing 86.3 miles.

Saturday 2 March
3.04m@10.37 AvgHR 151
Easy leg loosener. Had skipped a good few Saturday runs so determined to get out. Timed it for the worst of the wind and rain. Trail runners on and stuck to the grass. Effort was a bit high due to the conditions and possibly a bit of a head cold. My VO2 dropped to 47 on the Garmin having hit 49 last week.

Sunday 3 March
12.02m@9.39 AvgHR 156
12 with 5hmp was the plan. Out about 1.20 in the cold and lashing rain. Headed for Tymon to do this on a not too hilly route. Real mental test, shorts and long sleeve T-shirt not the best choice, at least I had a bobble hat. Five easy miles and wondered if I’d be able to get the slightly numb legs moving. Picked it up and hit 8.45 on first goal pace mile. A tad quick but mostly downhill and got the blood flowing. Followed with 9.01 uphill, 8.49, 8.57, 8.51. Finished on a steep hill with strides. Happy with that and two miles easy back to the house.

Overall very happy with the week. First time over 30 miles at last.

Week Total: 31.7m
February Total: 86.3m
March to date: 15.1m
Year to date: 209m

passinginterest

Seem to have done something to my lower back over the weekend. Was pretty bad Sunday after the long run and uncomfortable all day yesterday. Took and extra rest day today and it’s certainly eased but not 100%. Don’t really want to skip another day but will see how it feels in the morning. Wondering if I tweaked something or if it’s the general wear and tear and not stretching regularly enough that’s catching up on me.

passinginterest

Bad start to the week, dodgy back, bunged up sinuses and a developing cough.

Sat out a planned 5 miles on Tuesday and Wednesday. Feeling a bit better Thursday so decided to try the planned session. 4x1m fast with 0.5m recovery.

Thursday 07 March
5.19m @9.41/m Avg HR 161
Felt grand warming up with an easy trot and picked up the pace to start the first quick mile, it was far too quick early on and despite pulling it back towards the end I was already struggling, 7.55 for the mile, into the second one and knew early on I wasn’t going to be completing 4. Started to struggle and lose form, finished it in 8.11, HR through the roof and decided to cut my losses and just run a couple more easy miles to bring the total over 5 for the day.

Saturday 09 March
3.62m@8.54/m AvgHR 158
Plan was to run a 3 mile tempo. Set out to run a mile warm up, the the tempo and a cool down. Wasn’t feeling too bad. Pretty cold and blustery out. Ran the warm up and started to pick it up, 8.16, 8.02 and then turned into the wind and felt like death so pulled the plug again. Trotted back home feeling sorry for myself after another disappointing run.

Sunday 10 March
13.22m@10.13/m AvgHR 154
Plan was somewhere between 12 and 14 miles. Longest run before the Wicklow half in 2 weeks time. Decided I’d aim for the half marathon distance. With impeccable timing I left the house just as the thunder snow was staring, so the first two miles were fairly uncomfortable to say the least. Actually brightened up after and was a pleasant enough jaunt. Took the hilly route and headed for the reservoir again to somewhat mimic the Wicklow race profile. Felt good enough with the wind at my back to pick up the pace to around Wicklow goal pace from miles 10-12. Recovered well enough too, back seems fine and just the expected fatigue elsewhere. I have ticked off the half marathon distance and at least I have a target to aim for! Feel like I’m still on track to go sub 2, depending on weather and just how much the hills hit me.

Getting out three times at least salvaged something from the week and Sunday was positive.

Weekly Total 22m
Month to Date 37.1m
Year to Date 230.5m

passinginterest

Tues 12 Mar
Plan 5 easy
Actual 3@10.39 AvgHR 140

Came close enough to doing nothing, just feeling a bit tired after the weekend. Glad I got out and did something at least, a few laps around Trinity.

Wed 13 March
Plan 5 easy
Actual 5.19@9.59 AvgHR 148
Up to Stephens Green. Very easy first mile,9.41-9.50 pace for the rest. Nothing remarkable. Glad to get it done.

Thurs 14 March
Woke at 5.30 in the morning and sounded horrific out so decided to have a bit of extra time in bed and postpone the session for a day. Was actually grand by the time I’d have been out but hey him.

Friday 15 March
Plan 7m with 5@hmp
Actual 6.57@9.12 AvgHR 159
Easy mile to wake up the legs. They were feeling fairly heavy. Down to Merrion where they were getting the festivities set for the weekend. Blustery but grand conditions for it. Bit of a grind but HMP splits were 8.55, 9.00, 8.47, 8.52, 8.37. Cut the cool down a bit short, just over an hour total and happy to get it done.

Sat 16 Mar
3-4m tempo
Actual 4.5m@9.02 AvgHR 158
Nice to stretch the legs a bit. Was pretty cool, windy and showery. Didn’t fancy a long warm up so after about 600 yards started to pick it up. Headed towards Tymon and did most of the tempoish stuff on the hilly figure 8 beside the M50 roundabout. Held around 8.20 to 8.30 pace for 5k and just over a mile easing down back to the house. Last bit of leg stretching before the Wicklow Gaol break Half next Sunday. Felt pretty good.

Sunday 17 Mar
Plan 8m easy
Actual 8m@9.52 AvgHR 153

Bit of a mini taper after my longest run of this cycle last Sunday. Slightly quicker than I’ve done a lot of my long runs but nothing crazy. Around and about Tymon. Windy again but mild enough. Nothing major to note. Body feels ok. Fairly optimistic about next week.

A goal for next week is 1.56 or better. B goal is 1.59.59. C goal is get around without an injury but with a disappointing time.

I’ve been fairly consistent with my running although only one week over 30 miles when there should have been a few more. In November I was flat out to run a 10k in 56mins so I know I’ve improved quite a bit, but probably not made the massive quick strides I’d have hoped for (optimistically). I tend to forget that I was extremely inactive for over 4 years before getting back into this.

Looking forward to giving it a lash and then refoccussing on some shorter and sharper stuff to target the Terenure 5 mile.

Runs this week 5
Runs this year 49
Weekly mileage 27.3
Month to Date 64.3
Year to Date 258.2

passinginterest

A bit more tapering this week than I really planned.

Tuesday 19 March
Plan 3 easy
Actual 2.37@9.27 AvgHR 155
Decided I’d run at lunch as I wasn’t feeling great in the am. Day got away a bit so pressed for time. Ran a bit quicker than usual but gear rate still higher than it should have been.

Wednesday 20 March
Plan 3 easy
Actual rest
Still feeling a bit ropey and HR seemed higher than normal so decided to just rest and hope it wasn’t something major coming on.

Thursday 21 March
Plan 3 with 1 tempo
Actual 3.24@9.30 AvgHR 160
Though it’d be a good idea to at least stretch the legs a bit before the weekend. 8.13 for the tempo mile. Felt ok if not great.

Thought about doing a few miles Saturday but just went for a stroll instead to stop the legs seizing up.

Sunday 24 March
Wicklow Gaol Break Half Marathon
Hadn’t been feeling 100% all week. Possibly a bit in the head. First real target race in years. Good sleep Friday night and not bad Saturday. Woke up feeling fresh. Porridge for breakfast and off down to Wicklow to collect the number and go for it.
Training was based on a target of 1.58. I knew with the hilly course that might be a challenge. Hoped if it went well I might hit around 1.56. Main aim was to be under 2.
First mile is mainly down hill or flat. Target was to hit around 8.50 for the mile, knowing that there was a good five miles of mostly climb to follow. Nice atmosphere around and I think I started in about the right spot. Happy enough with 8.42 for mile 1. I had made a pace band and accounted for the hills, main aim being even effort, conserve a bit on the climbs and use the wonderful gravity to claw it back on the descents. 8.54 and 8.53 for the following miles and I was alread getting ahead of target. Didn’t feel crazy though and I was determined to attack it rather than take it too easy. 4-6 brought me close to the highest point and there was some fairly serious hills, mainly passing people and seeing lots reduced to walking really pushed me on and I was flying as soon as there was any descending. 9.25, 9.02, 9.04. I knew the highest point was around 6.3 and the second half was mostly downhill so the fact I was ahead of target and feeing good pushed me on. Brought two gels and took one at the first water station just past 4 miles. Still rolling hills for miles 7 and 8 but a lovely steep descent from the top of the course helped to build momentum 8.40 and 8.44. Mile 9 must have been pretty much all downhill because it was my second fastest, a possibly dangerously quick 8.17, seeing as I’ve been finding it hard enough to hold that speed for a few miles in training. Took gel two around mile 9. Mile ten continued downwards and the pace kept up pretty well to clock in at 8.27. A look at the pace band told me there was hills coming in miles 11 and 12, but I was still feeling good and tried to push on as much as possible, still overtaking and nobody really coming back 8.46 and 8.33 and now I was ahead of my A goal by a fair bit and looked like 1.55 might be breakable. Mostly downhill for the last 1.1 miles, with a couple of nasty drags to remind you this was a hilly course! Kept building and driving on for an 8.09 mile. Now the sub 1.55 was definitely on. One surprise nasty little ramp in the last few hundred meters before turning down to the Gaol. Kept pumping the legs and 6.53 pace for the last .18 (by Garmin). Absolutely delighted to stop the watch at 1.54.49.

Well beyond expectations, especially given the course profile. Soaking some very weary muscles now. It certainly hurt but I also had a bit more left than I expected in the last mile. Looking forward to doing some shorter stuff now and targeting sub 40 for the Terenure 5 mile.

Given the struggles of the last few years with the arthritic foot it’s a great feeling to have finished a half marathon again. Foot isn’t feeling the best, but hopefully it won’t flair up enough to stop me running and progressing.

Week: 18.7m
Month to Date: 83.1m
Year to Date: 277m

passinginterest

A bit of reflection on the training cycle today. I completed 237 of 289 planned miles (82%). A bit disappointed in that, but I’m trying to be sensible and listen to the body so took some time off when I was feeling under the weather. Only one week where I was massively under the plan completing only 6 of a planned 32.

Coming from a starting point of barely breaking 30mins for 5k in late October I’ve made some decent progress. Started this plan on the 15th January having run two sub 25 5ks in Dec/Jan. Average miles per week and runs per week this year is 24 and 4. Hoping to get that closer to 30 and 5 or 6 days before the Dublin marathon block.

The race itself exceeded expectations, conditions were perfect, sunny, light breeze and not too warm. I’d say it could be torture on a wet and windy day. Really hoping this base will help me build some speed back up now and I can get the 5k to 10k speed up to a better level.

Plan now is easy week this week and then 6 or 7 weeks of focused training for the Terenure 5 mile on12 May. Follow that with another 8 weeks half marathon plan for Clontarf on 6 July and that will leave 16 weeks to DCM. Will include the race series in those weeks.

Body feels better today than I expected. Hoping to continue the improvements and the consistency now. From not being sure if I’d be able to run again at all last summer to where I am now I have to be happy. Even if I still have a bad habit of looking at where I was 5 years ago and thinking my times now are terrible.

passinginterest

Took my easy recovery week to the extreme last week. Just the one jog on Thursday 2.8 miles. Meant I didn’t make it to 100 for the month too.

Week 2.85 miles
Month of March 86 miles
Year to Date 282 miles

Won’t get too down on myself for taking the break. Still building from a very low base so I don’t think it’s doing any harm to let the body adjust. Plan for the next 6 weeks is to try get out 6 days a week with a tempo session on Tuesday and 400 meter intervals on Thursday. Loosely following the Hal higdon 5 mile training plan. Building to the Terenure 5 mile on 12 May.

passinginterest

Back at it and on fresh legs so really enjoyed the week. First time running 6 days, with the introduction of 3 recovery miles on Mondays. VO2 Max up to 49 according to Garmin from a low of 43.

Monday 1 April
3m at easy recovery pace 10.01/m AvgHR 148. Quicker than recovery but still easy having had nothing to recover from the previous week.

Tuesday 2 April
30 min Tempo
5.12 miles total including warm up and cool down. 8.57/m Avg HR 161. Target tempo pace is 8.13-8.30. I covered 3.6 miles in 8.23, 8.21, 8.21 and 8.15 pace for the .6. Definitelt had to work for it but felt pretty good.

Wednesday 3 April
3m easy. Bit of a plod around the city centre. Total of 3.07 miles at 9.43/m AvgHR 145. Nothing of note really.

Thursday 4 April
5x400@mile pace.
3.86m 9.15/m AvgHR 149bpm
Mile warm up and then into the 400s with 200 recovery jog after each. Target pace was 1.45-1.50 for the 400s. Actual splits were 1.47, 1.45, 1.46, 1.45 and 1.48. 200 recovery's varied from 1.09 to 1.17. They were around Stephen's green rather than on a track so relying on Gps. Happy with this. Legs just aren't used to the quicker paces nor are the lungs! But hoping this type of sessions helps get some pace into them.

Saturday 6 April
5 with 2@5m pace
5.02 9.06/m AvgHR 160
Two easy miles to warm up and then picked up to 5m pace. Goal pace for Terenure 5 is 8.00/mile. Found it hard to hit the 8.00 pace. The 2 goal pace miles both clocked 8.05. was happy enough with the second one because I was really under pressure and it was mostly up hill. A good way off running a bit quicker than that for 5 miles though.

Sunday 7 April
8m long run.
8.14m 9.56/m AvgHR 150bpm
Nice run taking in Bancroft Park, the west side of Tymon and Dodder Valley park. Felt grand the whole way. Going to keep the long run to 8-10 miles with the longer term marathon goal in mind. The plan calls for slightly shorter long runs.

Week Total: 28.22 miles
Month To Date: 28.22 miles
Year to Date: 308 miles

passinginterest

Two weeks to update. All going reasonably well.

Monday 8 April
3m recovery
3.15m@10.43/m AvgHR 141.
Nothing at all of note. HR good.

Tuesday 9 April
30 minute tempo with 10min warm up and 5min cool down
5.12m@9.14 AvgHR 153.
Around the grounds of Trinity. Quite busy so a bit awkward at times. 3.53miles covered in the 30min tempo. Split paces of 8.32, 8.19, 8.35 and 8.33 (.53). Should be between 8.13 and 8.30 so a bit slow for some of it. Partly down to crowds. Overall ok.

Wednesday 10 April
5m easy
5.04m@9.58 AvgHR 145.
Went with one of the lads from work at lunch. Nice jaunt out past the RDS and back via Leeson St, finish around the Green. Nice day and a nice run.

Thursday 11 April
8x400 with 200 jog recovery.
5 and a bit with short warm-up 2.44m@8.42 AvgHR 160.
Under time pressure as heading away for a few days. Lunch time flight so after getting everything packed I had a short window. Target of 1.45-1.50 for the 400s. Splits of 1.41, 1.44, 1.43, 1.46, 1.49 and 1.47 pace for the bit. Bit too quick for the first and found it tough.

Saturday 13 April
5m with 2@5m race pace
4.46m@8.51 AvgHR 160.
Staying beside the national indoor arena in Birmingham. As I'm away with wife and in-laws time a bit pressed again. Lovely out and back along the canal. Two miles 8.00 and 8.10. 8 is the target. Not too bad but couldn't hold the 8 pace comfortably.

Sunday 14 April
10m
Travelling back from Birmingham and a combination of tiredness from time away and laziness meant I didn't get out at all.

Week Miles 20.5
Month to Date 48.7 miles
Year to Date 328 miles

passinginterest

Monday 15 April.
3m recovery
3.12m@9.42 AvgHR 154.

Debated doing a longer run as I missed Sunday. Started out unsure but wasn't feeling it. So kept it to the 3miles at easy pace. Pretty big week ahead.

Tuesday 16 April
45 minute tempo
6.76m@8.52 AvgHR 168. Including 10 min warm up and 5 cool down.
Around the outside of Stephen's Green at lunch. 5.34miles for the tempo. Split paces 8.39, 8.27, 8.16, 8.22, 8.25, 8.23 (.34). Really pleased with this. Eased into the first tempo mile so it was a bit outside Target but the others were all in the right range. Wasn't sure I had the 45mins in me so really happy.

Wednesday 17 April
6m easy
6.02@9.42 AvgHR 146bpm.
Similar route to the previous week with a bit of extension. Again, pleasant and unremarkable.

Thursday 18 April
9x400 with 200 jog recoveries.
4.86m@9.37 AvgHR 153.
Down to Merrion Sq with the weather starting to warm up. Joined by one of the work lads. Mile warm up and then into it. 1.49 for the first, 1.46 for the second and 1.43 for the third. At this stage pal had to take a breather and waited for me to come back around. 1.44 for the 4th, rejoined by pal for the 5th and 1.47. I was under pressure and he was really struggling. 1.52 for the 6th, he was going to quit so agreed to walk the recoveries from there. 1.44, 1.43 and 1.40 to finish. I found the walking recoveries maybe a bit too much, but it was nice to have company and meant I finished them out strong. Half a mile of a cool down. Another good session.

Saturday 20 April
5m with 3@5m race pace.
Warm up 1.94m@9.38, 3.18m@7.41 AvgHR 168. Cool down 1m@10.47.
Jogged from home to Tymon for parkrun. Lovely warm and still morning. Aim of 8 minute mile pace. Knew I could beat my December parkrun of 24.14 if I pushed it a bit and was feeling good. Started a little far back and the first half a km ended up being a bit too easy. I should probably switch the watch to km for these pace tests as it's easier to keep track. First mile came in at 8.07. one of the lads I used to play ball with came up on my shoulder just before the first mile marker. He's usually a bit quicker than me these days so we had a chat and I decided to stick with him and keep winding the pace up. Around 13mins through the first lap so knew sub 24 was unlikely but sub 25 was still on. 7.51 for the second mile. And kept picking up the pace, feeling ok but knew I was getting fairly close to Max. 7.14 for mile 3, pleasant surprise, didn't think I had picked up that much. Made up at least 15 places on the second lap too. Didn't have an awful lot left for the final stretch and it measured a bit long at .18 but managed a bit of a spring to unkindly beat my old pal/Pacer, 6.54 pace. Crossed the line in 24.25. good sign to the sub 40 5 mile goal and pretty sure I've got that sub 24 in the legs now if I don't start too conservative. Nice to feel a bit of pace coming into the legs. Still hard to believe I ran 24.14 in December after so little running and I haven't managed to better it off the 350 miles so far this year! Jogged a mile of the way back home to cool down and strolled the rest, taking in the birdsong on a glorious morning. Pleasant surprise as the Garming bumped the VO2 Max up to 50 for the first time too.

Sunday 21 April
10m
8.02m@9.46 AvgHR 160bmp.
After a big week for me, and giving consideration to the heat, decided to keep the long run to 8 miles. Can't remember the last time I sweated as much. Going out in peak afternoon sun didn't help. Breezier than Saturday but lovely all the same. Mostly run around Tymon, taking it off path and onto grass and trail a bit. Heart rate was high enough for the effort and I've lovely blisters on my arches from the Hoka's last week.
Garmin decided the effort levels were high enough to cut the VO2 score back down to 48!

Overall a really good week. Just touching 35miles. The most I've done since starting back and that include a good tempo session and 400s session. Bit of a step back this week, then another big week and an easier week leading into the Terenure 5 mile.

Week Miles 34.9
Month to date 83.6m
Year to date 363m

passinginterest

I’m getting lazy with my updates.

Mon 22 April
3m recovery
3.18m@10.48/m Avg HR 142.
Easter Monday, don’t remember much about it at all. Nice easy jog anyway.

Tue 23 April
35 min Tempo
5.61m@8.55/m AvgHR 158
10 minute warm up and 5 cool down. Tempo pace miles came in at 8.28, 8.20, 8.21, 8.18 and 8.24 pace for the last .18. Really nice run, bang on with the tempo splits. Happy days.

Wed 24 April
3m easy
3.19m@9.51/m AvgHR 150bpm
Trail runners on and stuck to the grass in the local park. Not sure there’s enough support in the runners for me. Haven’t felt great any of the times I’ve worn them. Nothing else notable really.

Thursday 25 April
6x400 200 recovery
4.24m@9.27/m AvgHR 147bpm
Evening run so headed towards Tymon. Mile warm up and cool down. 400 splits came in at 1.53, 1.53, 1.44, 1.51, 1.44, 1.43. Felt pretty good and they were mostly on rolling hills, first couple a little too conservative.

Saturday 27 April
6m with 3@5m race pace
7.08m including Tymon Parkrun 3.18m in 23.40 Avg Pace 7.27/m AvgHR 172bpm.

Decided to jog over to park run and attack sub 24. Faster than my 5 mile goal pace but wanted to give it a go. Happened to be a 24 min pacer too which helped. Horrible windy conditions with the tail end of Storm Hannah still blowing. Started fairly near the front to avoid the very slow start of the previous week. Got a surprise when the 25min pacer was on my shoulder after a few hundred meters of what felt like a quick start. Settled into a rhythm and pulled ahead of the 25 and the 24 pacer on the first drag. 24 pacer flew past when we turned downhill, took my time and came back to him. Ran more or less with the pacer to the end of the first lap. Pulled away from him again the second time up the hill. Kept the pace steady and passed a few people along the way, turned back into the wind for the last half mile drag to the finish. Thought I might tie up altogether and could hear the 24min pacer making back a bit of ground. Gritted it out though and held the pace reasonably well. Mile splits were 7.28, 7.33 and 7.18 with the last bit at 7.44 to finish in 23.40. Glad to finally get through the 24min barrier, it was starting to bug me. In better conditions I feel like very low 23s are in reach now. Seems like the more speed focused training is starting to work. Jogged the 2 miles home, or most of it, bumped into the mother in law on the neighborhood park clean up and spend the next two hours picking up rubbish in the park.

Sunday 28 April
8m LSR
7.86m@10.19/m
Made the mistake of leaving this late in the evening and after eating too much. Was also starting to feel a cold coming on. Sweated buckets and didn’t particularly enjoy it but got most of the distance done. Might have done a bit more but the stomach made the decision to hurry back to the bathroom!

Overall a very nice week.
Week Miles: 31.13
Month to Date Miles: 114.75
Year to Date Miles: 394

passinginterest

Monday 29 April
3m recovery
Missed this. A combination of missing my lunch window in work, feeling a cold coming on worse and just being lazy once I got home in the evening.

Tuesday 30 April
50 minute tempo
7.01miles, including 10min warm up and 5 cool down. @9.16/m AvgHR 160
This was always likely to be a tough one and I was feeling the full effects of a nasty head cold. Out at lunchtime and headed out past the RDS and into the leafy embassy belt, before coming back into town and doing a few laps of Merrion. Knew it would be tough and tried to ease into the tempo splits, 8.42 for the first tempo mile and I was sweating buckets and the HR was spiking, debates calling it a day but thought I’d preserve but accept I’d have to stay outside goal pace if there was any chance of completing it. 8.44 and 8.41 for the next two miles and I was pretty cooked, a 9.02 and a 9.03 to follow, more like marathon pace but felt like 5k race pace effort wise, managed another 0.65 of a mile at 8.56 pace to see out the 50 minutes. A very easy crawl back to the office then. Gear was sapping, like I’d been out in a monsoon. Not sure if it’s better to preserve when feeling that bad or to just give up, but this is meant to be a big week, and the last before the Terenure 5 mile so wanted to do as much as possible.

That also brought up the end of April. 121.8 miles in total. A fraction below my highest ever month, which was August 2014 during marathon training. Looking back now, it’s a miracle I completed that marathon at all I was so undertrained. Regretting missing the three miles recovery on Monday as that would have seen me to a new record month.

Wed 1 May
6m easy
3.6m@10.11 AvgHR 144
Still not feeling great and with another big session on Thursday decided to be sensible. Helped by the fact one of the lads wanted to do an easy 5k at lunch. Some of the same route out as the day before. Still sweating buckets and not breathing very well but was a nice easy pace and the company helped drag me around.

Thursday 2 May
10x400 with 200 recovery
5.73m@9.39 Avg HR 148bpm including a mile warm up and cool down.
Same running buddy as the day before. Helped to reign things in, agreed we’d walk the first part of the recovery and jog into the 400s.
Recover varied from 88 to 105 seconds. Most in the mid 90s. 400s went 1.47, 1.50, 1.47, 1.47, 1.46, 1.49, 1.48, 1.52, 1.47, 1.33.
Running them around the outside of Stephens Green but only one outside target, mainly due to traffic. Felt a lot better than expected, blasted the last one a bit just for fun. Delighted to get through the session and be feeling pretty good.

Saturday 4 May
6m with 3@5m goal pace
6.06m@9.05/m AvgHR 155
Didn’t get up early enough for parkrun but headed to Tymon anyway and did the goal pace miles on the parkrun route, just starting and finishing in a different spot. This was always a tricky one to do solo, conditions were lovely, but breathing was a bit trick at times with phlegm still sticking in the back of the throat from this cold. 7.59, 7.44, 7.57 for the goal pace miles and happy enough with that. Still not 100% how I’ll approach the race next week, toying between staring with the 40min pace group and trying to pick it up after a couple of miles if I feel good just trying to go hard from the start, aiming for around 39 pace or just under and seeing how it goes.

Sunday 5 May
8 miles easy
9.09m@10.05/m AvgHR 144
Another perfect day for running. Felt good, breathing much better and HR staying nice and low. Added an extra mile because I wanted to make sure I had over 30 for the week again. Really enjoyed this, felt like I could have easily kept going for another hour if I wanted to push the distance.
Bit of a taper now leading into the Terenure 5 mile. Hoping if it goes perfect that I can run around 39mins. Sub 40 was the original goal. I ran mid 38s back in 2014. If I get close to that I’ll be over the moon.

Weekly Miles: 31.5
April miles: 121.8
May to Date: 24.5
Year to Date: 426

passinginterest

Monday 6 May
3m recovery
3.08m@10.56 AvgHR 137
Proper easy recovery jog. Nothing of note other than keeping the HR below 140 is a rare enough thing so obviously got the proper recovery pace.

Tuesday 7 May
30min Tempo
5.35m@9.21 AvgHR 155
Ten minute warm up and cool down. 3.54m at tempo pace 8.24, 8.28, 8.31, 8.35 pace for the .54. Not too bad, started a bit quick and a bit frustrated at dropping outside 8.30 pace. Still not feeling 100% and breathing was a bit all over the place with the lingering effects of a cold.

Wednesday 8 May
3m Easy
3.05m@9.47 AvgHR 144
Evening run from home, headed up the Airton Rd and back down through Tallaght Village, reminded me why I hate running on concrete footpaths. Felt a bit harder than it should.

Thursday 9 May
5x400s
3.86m@9.19 AvgHR 150
Evening run again. Down to the park at the bottom of the road. Not perfect for the 400s as there was a couple of tight turns over little bridges. Just ran them on feel without checking the watch and slow jogged the recoveries. Mile warm up and cool down. 400 splits were; 1.41, 1.39, 1.42, 1.43, 1.41. Recoveries 1.21-1.25. Very happy with these after. All at the quick end of goal pace so happy with that.

Saturday 11 May
Rest
2.1m@10.35 AvgHR 144
Actually did two 1.05 mile easy runs. Two new pairs of runners arrived and I wanted to try them out. They were badly needed and was going to wear them for Terenure 5 mile if they felt good. All good with the test runs. Really liked the feel of the Hoka Gaviota’s so decided to gamble on using them Sunday.

Sunday 12 May
Terenure 5 mile Race.
Warm up 1.01m@10.41 AvgHR 154
Running a bit later than planned. Went to the wrong place for race HQ. Ended up jogging most of this in full tracksuit with my bag and the spiked HR shows the warmth and the worry at being disorganised. Got the back drop eventually and still had plenty of time.

Race Official Time 38.21
Garmin: 5.01m@7.38 (38.15) AvgHR 174
Slotted in just ahead of the 40min pace with a primary goal to keep him behind me. Started the watch a bit late because I was looking for a matt rather than the gantry. Just before the first turn after a couple of hundred meters the 40min pacer came steaming past. I could here his partner saying he was going too fast but it threw me a bit, the watch was showing 7.10 pace at this stage, I knew it was way too hot for me but didn’t want to let him go either so kept pushing beside them.
Eased a bit down the Terenure Road and I was determined to stay ahead of them. They were on my shoulder more or less for the first mile and it ended up being 7.33, I was planning on around 7.45 a mile if all went really well so I was worried, especially with the heat. Mentally decided to just try and settle now and not worry if I hit 7.50 or even 8.00. Saw the pace settling a bit but I didn’t want to get too comfortable so any time I felt someone in front was slowing a pushed past. 7.44 for the second mile and definitely feeling it, again thinking don’t worry you’re banking time, no harm running a 7.50 or 8.00, bit also thinking it turns downhill again in 3 so just relax into it. Remember seeing 8.00 on the watch at one point and then seeing 7.15 and thinking this is madness. I was annoying myself a bit with the inconsistency and really worried I’d just die once I passed 5k, 7.37 for mile 3, now I knew i had loads banked and again thought, save a bit, run 8.00 for mile 4 and save a bit for the last mile. But again I’d come behind someone, feel like they were slowing and push on again, pace fluctuating, definitely saw 8.00 but also 7.20’s again, eventually clocked at 7.40. I was working at my absolute limit, HR was in a zone I didn’t know existed but legs were still going and my breathing seemed less laboured than most around me. A lot of the last mile I was around female club runners from Crusaders and Rathfarnham. Stayed in this group swapping positions and pushing along each other. Didn’t have much left for the finish but put in a little spurt when the gantry eventually appeared, felt like the longest half a mile in history. 7.37 for mile 5. Absolutely knackered at the end don’t think I could have given anymore. Exceeded my best hopes. The Gaviota’s were lovely. Happy days. Great spread in the hall after.

Weekly Miles: 23.5
Month to date: 47.9
Year to Date: 452

passinginterest

Monday 13 May
Recovery
I take my recovery very seriously and skipped the jog. A habit I need to break.

Tuesday 14 May
5.24m@10.40/m AvgHR 141
Very easy run in the evening around Tymon, with some on the grass. Nice warm evening, body feeling grand.

Wednesday 15 May
5.36m@9.06/m AvgHR 155
Session day in the half plan, but sticking to all easy stuff for this week. Recalculated easy paces after the 5 mile result. Trying it out a bit on the Trinity grass, with a few strides each mile in the absence of a real session this week. Pretty sweaty one and HR shows it was probably more moderate than easy.

Thursday 16 May
5.36m@9.45/m AvgHR 145
This was more experimentation with the new easy pace, this time heading out via Ballsbridge and back into town via Donnybrook. Slightly slower than the calculated paces in parts. Average should be closer to 9, but felt good and kept the HR much more reasonable.

Friday 17 May
7.25m@9.56/m AvgHR 143
Usually my rest day but with a Saturday communion and the Tallaght 5k on Sunday this was my only real chance for a longer run. Late enough (for me) heading out Friday evening. Mostly Tymon again making use of some of the grass and trail to mix things up. Felt good

Sunday 18 May
Tallaght 5k - Chip Time 21.58. Garmin: 3.1m@7.05 (21.59) AvgHR 174
Couldn’t have been any more local for me. It’s an 8 minute walk from my house to the clubhouse. Strolled up to get the number about 10.15. Wandered home, no need to drop a bag, attached the number and back out for a warm up about 10.35. 1.12miles with a few strides and dynamic stretches @9.52/m. At the start with about 10 minutes to spare. Bumped into a few people I knew. Quick chats and try to figure out where to position myself for the start. Lots of club vests around, position myself maybe 10 rows back, well away from the speedsters! Obviously had a pretty good idea of the route, although I’d never run through the college campus. Airton road is a bit of a drag and with a 2 lap race it was going to be crucial to pace it right. Didn’t want to be too much of a slave to the watch, debated not having the pace visible and just running by feel but I bottled it.
Start was pretty much bang on time and fairly hectic. Passing a good few people but trying not to get too carried away. Looked at the watch before the turn into Airton Road and pace was low enough 7s. Goal had been between 7.20 and 7.24/m so it was a bit fast. Settled into a rhythm along the Airton Road and was picking up places. Feeling it but also feeling pretty good when when we turned down the Belgard Rd. I knew the downhill was coming one we turned into the college again. Guy in an orange vest with a very distinctive bandanna passed me just before the roundabout turning in, mile beeped around here too and it was 7.16. Felt good and as soon as I hit the downhill the turnover picked up, I passed bandanna man again and was feeling good, think I saw 6 something pace at this stage and was a bit worried, but decided to just keep attacking it.

Back out of the colleges and into lap two. Found myself a bit isolated around the astropark and wasn’t sure what to do, didn’t want to use too much energy trying to close those in front. Then bandanna man appeared again and as he eased past I decided I’d try and latch on. This was a big help and I followed his heels for the whole Airton Road. Gap quickly closed on those ahead and recognized a couple of the Tallaght runners we passed from the nights I’d gone training up there during the open week. That gave me another boost and the fact the pace was still looking no worse than 7.20 along the drag, I knew I was well on track to hit my sub 23 target. The second mile buzzed before the end of the Airton Road and it was 7.06. Was getting really worried now but knew that even if I was tying up the majority of the last mile and a bit was downhill.

Heading back into the college I pushed past my bandanna toting rival and picked of another 2 or 3 runners before we exited and crossed the road to turn into the club and run the last 300 meters or so on the track. I was wrecked at this stage and knew I wasn’t going to be able to kick on the track. I could hear steps coming up on me and I left a gap in the inside lane for bandanna to pass me again. Another runner also came by on the outside, but I really didn’t have anything left to pick up the pace more. Mile three buzzed on the top of the bend, 6.58, not surprised I didn’t have much of a kick. Into the straight and someone coming behind was getting great support. That encouraged me to pick it up a little, as did spotting the fact the clock was still in the 21’s. Held it together to the finish, held my place, and stopped the watch at 21.59. 6.10 pace for the final 100 yards. The strava upload gave me 22.00 but was delighted to see the chip time give me 21.58. Exceeded expectations again. I was properly gasping at the finish, definitely didn’t leave much out there. A minute faster than I expected so all around delighted.

Lovely spread in the clubhouse after. Scoffed a banana and an egg sandwich, had a chat with bandanna man and thanked him for dragging me around, before jogging a slightly extended route home to cool down 0.54m@11.27.

Weekly miles: 28
Month to Date: 76
Year to Date: 477

passinginterest

Monday 20 May
20 min recovery
2.05m@9.46 AvgHR 140
Nice easy stuff on the grass in Trinity. Could have even been a bit slower for pure recovery but felt grand.

Tuesday 21 May
60 min very easy
5.93m@10.07 AvgHR 146
Bit of a wander around, again prob more easy than very easy going by the HR although well outside the easy pace my current predicted training paces suggest. Trinity was in use for cricket so did a bit of a loop around the campus then headed for Merrion Sq, good few laps of Merrion, can’t remember feeling so bored on many runs, decided to head for Stephens Green for a change of scenery, couple of laps there and back to the office. All very uninspiring.

Wednesday 22 May
7m with 5@hmp
2.65m@10.04 AvgHR 147
3.12m@7.15 AvgHR 174 (5k leg time 22.36)
1.5m@10.50 AvgHR 163
Total 7.27m
Work social club had decided late enough to enter a team in the PWC Staff Relay. We got in on the additional night so while there was a decent crowd it wasn’t close to the numbers on the Thursday night.
We actually had two teams in the end roughly divided by quicker and slower. Knew we had one sub 20 runner in our team and the rest of us aiming for 22-25. Other team were all in the 25-30 range.
Good craic in the build up. I decided to take leg 3 so I’d have time to get my planned 7 miles in. Saw off our lead runner and headed for a few miles with our organiser who had decided to give up his place to let someone else run. Nice trot around and back into the changeover pen with about 5 mins to spare before the leg two runner came in. As it turned out our leg one and two runners both arrived ahead of expectation and clocked in the 22s. I didn’t know their times when I was starting out. In my head before I was thinking don’t race it, aim for a fast tempo, something in the 24s. As soon as the baton was in my hand though I burst into a sprint. There was another team handing over at the same time and the guy on my leg was wearing the same Terenure 5 Mile top as me. Immediately I had a target and thoughts of not racing were pretty much gone.
Yer man took off at a good gallop and once he passed me I let him go a bit. I knew most of the first mile was downhill so I kept the effort up and made the most of it. Target was getting away a bit, but I was happy with my progress, mostly making up places and only passed by a couple of very strong runners. First mile clocked at 6.56 and then the course ramped uphill. It hit me pretty hard and there’s a very obvious spike in the HR and slowing of pace. I kept working though, if maybe not quite pushing to the limit. Still making up ground, although wasn’t sure where my target was as it’s a pretty twisty part of the course. Nice boost from the music at half way and seeing 11.26 I think it was on the watch. I knew it was stead climbing to the finish and lots of it on grass, but the steep bits were done.
Not much further on and who do i spot with hands on hips and slower to a walk, only mr rival. Great boost. I know I’m working hard, but I also know I won’t be walking. Drive on past and mile 2 is 7.28.
Mile 3 is pretty much all grass and gradual climb towards the tented village. I’m definitely working hard, but keeping a steady pace and making up places. The 1k to go banner is another boost, although it looks like miles away to the finish. Into the tented village with 500m to go, see the team cheering at about 300 to go so raise a bit of a pick up in speed, round a corner just beyond them, realise there’s still 200 to go and almost die a death. Sprint finish definitely wasn’t happening! Pretty much exhausted crossing the line and handing over, but really pleased to see 22.36 on the watch. 7.22 for mile 3 and 7.13 pace for the finish.
Grab a banana a juice and water and make my way back to the team for the post mortem. All in good spirits and find out our first two leg runners ran very similar times to me. The I head out for a cool down jog. Run along side of the course and spot my mate coming into the last Km, give some encouragement/abuse while trotting alongside for a bit and cut back to join the cheer squad as he comes by.
Just before our final runner heads out they announce the first finishers crossing the line. We had our best out last though and he came in just under the 20 for his leg to bring us home in 39th. Better than expected, even if we did get lapped. Our other team had a couple of surprises with one of them clocking in the 22s also and the slowest around 28, so everyone was delighted after.
It’s a really well run event, even if it’s pricy (we paid for ourselves with a contribution from the social club). We also pirated into a sister organisations tent. Would definitely do it again.

Thursday 23 May
60 mins very easy
4.06m@10.24 AvgHR 132
Down to the Trinity grass again and with company for most of it. Decided to cut it a bit shorter after the hard run the night before. Pleased to have kept it properly very easy and the HR in the 130s.

Saturday 25 May
30 min Tempo
5.66m@8.50 Avg HR 155
Left this to the evening, after a busy enough day in the garden cutting grass and filling a skip. Dominos for dinner too so feeling bloated and lethargic. Would have been an easy one to skip, but dragged the gear on and out the door. Felt dreadful for most of the 10min warm up jog. Decided I’d try to build to the tempo pace gradually and see how it felt.
Picked up the pace and started to feel ok. Tempo pace should be just under 8 and goal HMP is 8.12. Went through a mile in 8.32 so in the moderate range i suppose, kept the natural build of pace going and clocked 8.08 for mile two, so getting there and managed to keep it going and hit the desired pace for mile three, coming in at 7.51. Eased off a little again then and finished the 30 mins with 0.68 of a mile at 8.06 pace.
Inevitably stomach cramps and very uncomfortable cool down after, but delighted to have got it done having come close to writing it off.

Sunday 26 May
90min Long Run
9.25m@9.48 AvgHR 145
Breezy and quite warm, headed out just before one. Felt fairly decent and tried to keep the pace between 9.30 and 10.00. Overall happy enough with it. Mixed in some running on grass and trail to break things up.

Week miles: 34.22
Month to Date: 110
Year to Date: 512

Delighted to pass 500 miles for the year this week. Making some nice steady progress and good consistency coming into the marathon block.

passinginterest

Mid week update seeing as I won’t be running today and it’s the end of the month.

Some notable events, I think, this month. First time ever recording over 200k in a month (including 2014 marathon block). Better pace progress than expected with a 21.58 5k in there too.

It was September 18 when I finally got a diagnosis and started treatment for the psoriatic arthritis that had trouble my right forefoot since 3 weeks before DCM 14. In that time I’d made a few half hearted attempts to run and play a bit of casual football but each time the pain and discomfort got too bad. The main consequence was a complete loss of fitness and a fair amount of weight gain. I was just under 11 stone after DCM 14 and was probably over 13 by September 18 (the scales got ‘lost’ when we were moving house that summer).

In a wave of optimism I got a new Garmin in July 18. But apart from a short test run really only got back into running after treatment started in September. Interesting things from a progress perspective - Average HR has gone from a peak of 163 to 149, Resting HR has gone from 61 to 54, VO2 max has gone from 43 to 50.

Monthly mileage, starting in Sept, has gone; 10.5, 24.66, 49.6, 50.2, 107.63, 86.30, 85.98, 121.79, 126.59.

I’m starting to feel more like a runner now. I think I’m learning to keep the easy stuff properly easy and when the body needs a rest, rather than when I’m just feeling lazy. I’ve gotten into a good routine with 5-6 days running every week since the start of April. I’ve definitely lost a decent bit of weight, although the diet needs work if I’m really going to get in shape. The feeling of being somewhat fit is also returning.

Hoping I’ve now got a good enough base to run a good Clontarf half and then attack the DCM plan.

Monday 27 May
Meant to be a few miles recovery, but felt some tightness in the hamstring and decided to go for a full rest day

Tuesday 28 May
Plan: 60mins very easy
Actual: 40.42 4.06m@10.02 AvgHR 138
For this half plan I’ve sort of taken bits from a couple of plans to tweak the plan I used for Wicklow. Don’t want to push it too much and after feeling the niggles on Monday decided to keep this a bit shorter. It was on the Grass around the perimeter of the cricket pitch in Trinity and felt good. Just the right side of easy. No niggles and legs felt better for it.

Wednesday 29 May
Plan: 3x1 mile tempo with half mile jog recovery
Actual: 6.5m in 58.57 Avg Pace 9.04 AvgHR 155

Trinity again. Warm up on the outskirts and onto the very quiet track for the mile intervals. 7.44, 7.43 and 7.34 for the tempo miles. With the recovery taking just over 5. Really pleased with this. Was working for the tempo splits but nothing crazy. Legs really felt the benefit of doing this on the grass too.

Wednesday 30 May
Plan: 60 mins very easy
Actual: 1.01.18 5.87m@10.26 AvgHR 144

Missed my lunchtime window and knew the wife was out for the evening and I had no plans so decided to do it then. Late enough getting home, tired, hungry etc. Eventually dragged myself out after 8.30. Long bottoms and Lon sleeve too, looked like it might be chilly out. I was very wrong. Extremely muggy and between that the hunger and tiredness the whole run was a bit all over the place. HR was higher than it should be for the pace, pace was up and down too, tried to time it so I’d hit the hour mark and the chipper so that I could reward myself with junk. Got that wrong too (no harm). A tin of tuna with some soy sauce and a bowl of Lidl’s finest crunchy nut cornflakes was the ultimate reward! And Garmin took my 50 VO2 max that finally seemed to be stable for a week and dropped it back to 49!!

Weekly Miles to Date: 16.43
May Miles: 126.6
Year Miles to Date: 528

chickey2

You're making great progress there, well done.

I follow Steve Magness on twitter and he recently posted a tweet:
"One of the most wonderful parts of being an athlete is when your sport becomes not just something you do but something you are."

I was reminded of it when you said you "feel more like a runner now". I'd say you ARE a runner!

passinginterest

Just to finish off last week.

Saturday 1 June
4x10@hmp w/2 rec

7.3m in 1.06.29 avg pace 9.06 AvgHR 156

Ten minute warm up and then into the session around Tymon. It was pretty humid but not too warm and pretty good conditions for it overall. Target HMP is around 8.12. I jogged the first couple of recoveries, looking at the analysis I should have walked a bit on the second because my HR never really recovered. Walked a bit of the others. Had to work pretty hard to hit the pace but managed them all pretty well, averages coming in around 8.14, 8.13, 8.13 and 8.12.

Sunday 2 June
1hr 45 long run
10.26 miles in 1.44.37 Avg pace 10.12 AvgHR 142

Very much a run dictated by the wind. Did more or less an out and back route up to the end of the lower reservoir and back. Mostly into the wind on the out leg and wind assisted on the way back. Was worried about how hard it felt at times, but it was only on the way back that I really felt how strong the wind was. Happy enough in the end.

After the Saturday and Sunday runs I had a bit of a think about how I was approaching things. I realized that in he last 4 weeks I’ve done 3 races quite a few hard sessions and upped my goal training paces. The body was feeling a bit beaten and it was feeling a bit too much like hard work. I’ve made some big advances but not really allowed the body to adjust and soak up some of it. Decided to take an extra rest day and to at least drop one session this week. So took Monday and Tuesday as total rest. Today I’ll run but keep it 5 or 6 miles easy with maybe a few strides. I’ll still aim for the planned 2hr long run on Sunday but I might do just easy and very easy on Thursday and Saturday. I think I was getting a bit too caught up in trying to hit targets that are not the goal at the moment. As one of the great logs on here says, it’s about keeping the main thing the main thing. For me that’s getting through DCM in one piece. Something that this time last year I wouldn’t even have been able to imagine with the amount of pain and discomfort I was having with my foot. I’ll still aim to complete the plan I have going into Clontarf, but maybe with less sessions and more easy miles. I plan on continuing to run for the foreseeable future so there’s plenty of time to get faster and push the limits, but this cycle is about completing a marathon.

Weekly miles: 34
Month to Date: 17.5
Year to Date: 545

Mr. Guappa

Seems like a very sensible decision to dial it back a touch this week - I like it. It will do you lots of good.

Belated congrats on the 5k too, very nice racing

passinginterest

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Seems like a very sensible decision to dial it back a touch this week - I like it. It will do you lots of good.

Belated congrats on the 5k too, very nice racing

Thanks. I was starting to feel like I might burn myself out before I even hit the marathon plan. I was getting carried away with getting faster over shorter distances, but that’s not what I really need at this stage at all. I’m more than happy with where I’ve got to with the 5k time for now. Back to slow and steady to ‘win’ the race!

Mr. Guappa

passinginterest wrote: »

Thanks. I was starting to feel like I might burn myself out before I even hit the marathon plan. I was getting carried away with getting faster over shorter distances, but that’s not what I really need at this stage at all. I’m more than happy with where I’ve got to with the 5k time for now. Back to slow and steady to ‘win’ the race!

Smart move I think. You've built the mileage up quiet quickly over the past 9 months, so giving the body a chance to adapt over the next few weeks would be no bad thing. You're in a great position heading into the marathon block, some very good training under your belt.

passinginterest

Really embraced taking a break last week. Did a bit of reevaluating and with 20 weeks to go to DCM I’ve decided to scale things back a bit on what I’d previously planned for the lead into Clontarf half. I’ll still run Clontarf but don’t think I’ll race it. I’ll probably do it as a long progression run or something.

I’ll be back at it tomorrow and looking to do 5 days this week, mostly easy but bringing back in some session stuff, just maybe broadening the goal pace brackets a bit and reducing the distance.

Body feels really good for the break. I’m glad I did it now and looking forward to hopefully putting together 20 consistent weeks.

Wednesday 05 June
3.77m@10.13 Avg HR 135

Just a lunch jog down to Merrion Sq. Nice and easy.

Thursday 06 June
4.53m@10.00 AvgHR 141

Evening run over to Tymon. Nice evening and a nice free run. Barely looked at the watch and ran at whatever pace felt nice.

A few evening strolls over the rest of the week but no running.


Weekly miles: 8.3
Month miles to Date: 25.86
Year miles to Date: 554

passinginterest

Two weeks to update.

The plan was to take one week of rest and recuperation and then to run at least 4 or 5 days the week after. But I slipped a bit from rest I felt was needed into making excuses and being lazy.

Tuesday 11 June
3.14 miles 32.53 (10.29/m AvgHR 142)
This was around the grounds in Trinity. Felt really bad, calves were cramping a bit and generally not a good run.

Took Wednesday off even though I had planned on doing something.

Thursday 13 June
4.06 miles 41.22 (10.05/m AvgHR 151)
Trinity again on the grass. GPS coverage was dodgy so not sure exactly on the distance and HR seemed a bit off too. Threw in a 400m at pace just to try give myself a shake. Didn’t feel great again.

Planned rest day Friday. Meant to run Saturday but had a lie in and we were heading to Bon Jovi so out early for food and into the RDS to get a spot near the front by 6.30. No running but loads of jumping around and hours on the feet.
Sunday was another easy write off, had a few bits on, wrecked from standing and jumping around all evening. Easy to make excuses.

Week miles: 7.23
Month to Date: 33.09
Year to Date: 561

Monday 17 June
No more excuses, back to six days a week.
3.12m 29.40 (9.31/m AvgHR 152)
Bit quicker than some of the very easy runs I’ve been doing. HR a bit spiky. Too much sand bagging the last few weeks so need to push on a bit.

Tuesday 18 June
4.91m 51.50 (10.33/m AvgHR 139)
Evening run around Tymon. Kept an eye on HR to keep the effort really easy. Enjoyable plod around.

Wednesday 19 June
5.02m 43.30 (8.40/m AvgHR 162)
Decided to do some sort of session to shake the body into some sort of life. Ran a progression from Easy to PMP to HMP to Tempo with a very easy mile to finish. This was on the Trinity grass with he tempo mile on the grass track. Splits were 9.09, 8.32, 8.06, 7.33. Probably a bit quick for MP and HMP but felt really good to give the legs a proper stretch.

Thursday 20 June
4.16m 41.00 (9.51/m AvgHR 144)
Trinity grass again. Nice and easy in the sunshine. Nothing major of note, all felt pretty good.

Saturday 22 June
10.02m 1.42.31 (10.14/m AvgHR 152)
Went out in the hottest part of the day. No hat, dodgy tummy issues. All spiked the HR a bit. Not my favorite run ever. Felt awful later in the evening, had taken plenty of fluid so not really dehydrated, more just the sun exposure. Common enough occurrence for me and a reminder to get myself a cap or something to keep the sun off my face.

Sunday 23 June
5.16m 45.43 (8.52/m 152bpm)
Felt good on Sunday. Decided to be a bit more experimental with the run. I’ve been doing a fair bit of very easy running which doesn’t really fit the novices plan or the McMillan paces. So the idea was just run at what felt reasonable effort bit sustainable. Tried not to look at the watch, apart from mile splits and didn’t look at HR at all. Knew the effort was a bit too much in mile 4 but was surprised that I’d sped up in mile 5 when I though I dropped the effort back a bit. It was a really nice run overall and made me feel like the easy paces suggested by McMillan are reasonable.

Week Miles: 32.39
Month to Date: 65.48
Year to Date: 593

I had been sort of following a plan to race Clontarf half but I’ve scrapped that idea. I’m switching to the boards novices plan, with just a few extra miles this week, rather than stepping back more from where I’m at. Plan for Clontarf now is to run it as a long run, maybe around 9.00/m a bit quicker than normal, but within the McMillan range. Aim will be to really race the South Dublin 10k to get a real picture of where things are at.

passinginterest

DCM 2019 18 week plan

Week 1
Monday 24 June
3.17m 31.14 9.52/mile AvgHR 143
Will usually be recovery but started a bit more like easy this week. Nothing really notable.

Tuesday 25 June
4.15m 39.23 9.29/mile AvgHR 146
Because my mileage is a bit ahead of plan I did 4 rather than 3 at easy pace. Consciously a bit quicker than I’ve done some easy runs lately, to take it more in line with the McMillan paces used for the novices plan.

Wednesday 26 June
4.88m 48.00 9.51/mile AvgHR 146
Plan called for 4miles easy with 5x100 meters strides. Did the strides on the football pitch in Bancroft with walk back recoveries. Maybe sprinted them a bit more than I should and hamstrings were a bit tight the next few days.

Friday 28 June
4.05m 40.01 9.53/mile AvgHR 148bpm
Supposed to be Thursday but a busy one in work and a day off Friday facilitated the move. HR a bit up. It was very humid.

Saturday 29 June
3.15m 33.17 10.34/mile AvgHR 142
Another slight shift of plan. Sunday suited better for the LSR so recovery only. Mostly on grass and legs felt good after.

Sunday 30 June
10.09m 1.41.59 10.06/mile AvgHR 151
Kept putting his off all day so didn’t eat properly. Eventually getting out after watching Wexford do the business. Felt good for the first 4 miles or so but energy levels dropped big time. Took a gel after an hour and finished out ok. Recovered well.

Total Weekly Miles: 29.49
Total June Miles: 95
Total Year to Date: 623

Great to have the first official training week for DCM in the bag. Sunday’s run took me past a few milestones, hit 1000km for the year, 100 hours and 5000 meters elevation gain.

Happy enough to hit 95 miles for the month considering I had an 8 and a 7 mile week in there. Body feels in a good place to see the training through. Clontarf half on Saturday. Plan now is to run it as a relatively quick training run. I think I’ll aim to run with the 2hour pace group. If I was racing it I’d be aiming for 1.47 I think so 2 seems like reasonable compromise. If it feels like too much effort I won’t have a problem slowing down. Open to other suggestions or views of anyone has them.

passinginterest

DCM Novices Plan Week 2

Monday 1 July
3.12 miles 32.17 (10.21/mile AvgHR 141)
Recovery run, mostly around Merrion Square on a warm lunchtime.

Tuesday 2 July
4.28 miles 42.00 (9.48/mile AvgHR 148)
Lunchtime again with one of the lads from work. Pretty humid out, nice relaxed and chatty run. HR a bit spiky, possibly due to the chat and humidity combined.

Wednesday 3 July
5 miles 46.12 (9.14/mile AvgHR 152)
Same company again at lunchtime. Warm and sunny. The company helped keep the pace about right. He’s trying to get running regularly and fitness is a bit off still so it kept me sensible. Plan was mile easy warm up, 3 miles PMP, mile easy cool down. Warm up came in at 10.15, PMP miles of; 8.43, 8.29, 8.35 and cool down 10.10. Felt really strong and controlled for the PMP miles, comfortable work was how I’d describe it.

Thursday 4 July
3.01 miles 30.43 (10.11/mile AvgHR 143)
Recovery run, another warm lunchtime with the majority in Merrion Square. Nothing remarkable about it, body was fine after the PMP session the day before.

Saturday 6 July
Clontarf Half Marathon.
Was a bit unsure how to approach this, but had settled on running with the 2 hour pacers for a faster than normal LSR rather than trying to race it and to push on to HMP if I felt really comfortable in the later stages.
Wasn’t expecting it to be quite so damp and drizzly. Forecast had been just for cloud. Felt chilly enough hanging around. I jumped out on the Alford Byrne road while my wife went off to park the car. Made use of the thankfully plentiful portaloos and had a scout around the start area to see what was in store. A few gentle dynamic stretches and strides to get the heart pumping a bit, but nothing major, the about five to 10 made my way over to the 2 hour pacers.

Start was relatively calm given how narrow it is. Took a bit too get up to pace and thought it felt a bit quick at times early on, but that’s probably because I’m used to running my slow runs around 10mins a mile. Heart rate seemed to hit the 160’s very quickly which had me a bit worried when added to the fact it was feeling quick. As soon as we were moving the soupy humid heat was a lot more evident too.
Once we hit the wooden bridge things had settled into more of a rhythm and I was feeling more comfortable. 9.03 and 9.06 for the first 2 miles. Bit of confusion at first water station (was meant for return journey but pacer spotted it last second thinking it was the first proper one, quite a few made last second jinks to grab bottles and it could have caused someone to go down but I think everyone got away ok). Not long into mile 3 and we were turning onto the beach, some loose sand to cross to the firmer stuff, but with loads of slimy seaweed washed up there was little more than single track to run on. A step right and it was a slip nightmare, a step left and it was soft loose sand. Was chatting a bit to one of the pacers and we had slowed a bit with the conditions and lost a bit of ground on the other one. Eventually the more firm section widened and we closed the gap, very soft sand turning off the beach again and glad to see the back of it at mile 4. 9.19, 8.59 for miles 3 and 4.
I was quite enjoying running in the group and being comfortable. Others were obviously working harder chasing time, there was a nice atmosphere with everyone and the pacers were very encouraging. I think it was just after mile 5 we met the leader on the way back. A bit of excitement with meeting the front runners and pace picked up a bit as a result I think. Miles of 8.54 and 9.01.
I think I like the out and back, it was nice knowing exactly what was coming when we turned. Pace was nice and calm around the turn, and now we were meeting people still on the way out. Found myself running right behind the pacer coming towards the 8th mile and his balloon kept bopping me in the head.Feeing really good now and in a nice comfort zone. 9.09 and 9.04 for the miles.
It was somewhere just after mile 8, I think, that I found myself ahead of the pace group, the balloon must have been annoying me. I was in a nice groove and started to pull ahead a little without intending to. As I opened a little gap I decided to just keep going rather than ease off, logic being to give myself room to take it handy on the beach and let them come back to me if necessary. Also needed a pee and was debating using the portaloo but two girls with the same idea beat me to them so that made my decision for me to keep going. Back onto the beach just after hitting mile 9. The soft sand was a bit of a shock to the system but I was moving well and better than others around me. Onto the firmer stuff and as things were pretty strung out now there was no need for moving off the line. Mile 10 hit about half way through the beach section. 8.59 and 8.59 for miles 9 and 10.

I stayed a bit wider than others for a bit when we hit the seaweed, it was ok for a while but kept getting more slippery so cut back to the single track rather than risk landing on my ass and pulling something. Passed a couple more here but didn’t have to spend long on the soft sand. Back off the beach before hitting mile 11. Feeling good and heart rate had stayed solid in the low 160s all the way so decided to pick it up for the last 2 and a bit miles. Felt like I was eating up the ground over the bridge and heading for home. Passing loads of people and concentrating on using my arms and striding properly. 8.56 and 8.26 for mile 11 and 12.
Into the last mile and could sense the donut waiting for me. Got a bit carried away really. Passed one of the lads I used to play ball with, quick hello and chat having passed each other down in Wicklow back in March too, he’s made big strides since. Pushed on again was obviously having to work now. Didn’t look a the watch until the finish. 7.55 for the last mile and 7.07 pace for the .1.
A bit silly picking it up to what’s more like my 10k pace, risking an injury for no real benefit. It felt great to have that much energy and strength though. If I’m finishing DCM and have the energy for a finish like that I’ll be ecstatic (and also probably a bit disappointed that I haven’t run the rest hard enough!).
Chip time of 1.56.34. Overall really happy. I was recovered pretty well by the time I collected my donut. A bit achy getting out of the car when we got home but no ill effects, an odd little blister behind my toes where I must have had a sock wrinkle but otherwise all good and out to do the Time Warp at Rocky Horror in the Bord Gais that evening.

Sunday 7 July
2.02 miles 22.15 (11.00/mile AvgHR 134)
Proper recovery run. Mostly on grass in the park, absolutely glorious day. Body all feels fine, no more aches than to be expected.


Total Weekly Miles: 30.5
Total Month Miles to Date: 30.5
Total Year to Date: 653

passinginterest

Log is suffering from neglect!

DCM Novices Week 3

Monday 8 July
Recovery
3.12m 31.32 (10.06/mile AvgHR 136)
Nice run with a couple of the lads from work.

Tuesday 9 July
Unplanned rest day. Work and other plans in the way.

Wednesday 10 July
5 miles with 5xhill sprints
5.58m 55.33 (9.57/mile AvgHR 154)
It was warm, felt the effort a bit more than I’d like at times. Sprints on the hill at Christchurch were good.

Thursday 11 July
Another one of those days and unplanned rest the result.

Saturday 13 July
Recovery
3m 30.32 (10.10/mile AvgHR 149)
Was going to be the LR but it was warm, I wasn’t feeling great and dodgy tummy kicked in early so headed for home. The HR says it all really.

Sunday 14 July
Long Run
13.11m 2.13.05 (10.09/mile AvgHR 152)
Got out in the late afternoon. Never felt great and it was really a slog. Only positive was getting it done.

Week Miles: 24.8
Month to Date: 55.3
Year to Date: 678