Wind, waves and miles of road

pconn062

So it's 2020 and about 3 years since I last updated my last training log on here. I'm still not entirely sure why I'm here starting a new one. My last log ended on a pretty tough time in my running "career" where I was struggling a lot with injuries and updating it felt like a bit of a chore. And also, I felt I was depressing everyone with yet more tales of injury woe. I've managed to steady the ship a bit over the last 18 months or so and I've had a pretty consistent, if unspectacular run of training and performances. A lot has changed in that time too. I've gotten married, lost a wonderful father in law, and gained a wonderful 8 month old daughter who is staring at me now as I type this. I've also started my own company with all the ups and downs that go along with that.

I also used to post here much more consistently but a combination of a lack of time and a bit of a decline in the site meant I drifted away. However I have drifted back recently as a lurker and enjoy some of the logs here. It's great to see some middle distance logs now here as well such as Sacksian, Ivory Tower and Dubh Greannain and it is always good to see what others are doing and avoid navel gazing. Also, some of the logs here are very well written and I love reading about running when done well. I've been reading shotgunmcos's log and although I have very little interest in marathon training, the writing about running is so wonderful and descriptive, it really engages me.

I've have stopped using Strava temporarily as well as I am an obsessive type and was getting wrapped up in tracking mileage and my four week mileage average. So this log will also be used as a record of my training, with all the warts included. I run with a club but do a lot of training with my brother or on my own. I do enjoy being in a club I need to be in control of my own training and pacing so I find it difficult doing sessions with large groups.

I've learned the hard way in the past not to make plans that are too long term. But then again we need a goal in training to keep us focused and to shape our training direction. So after a disappointing XC season, I spent December and some of January mostly running miles with the occasional bit of tempo running. I am now in week 2 of a 12 week 5k focused plan before switching to more 3k type training for the summer. Currently I am running 6 days per week with a weekly 5k effort session and a tempo/hill sesson. I am also prioritising strides and hill sprints.

I have raced very sparingly recently with a 10k race in November, that I was very happy with running 35.17, being the last thing of substance. I raced a NIA live mile a few weeks ago but pulled out at 1100m. That was disappointing but after spending three months running easy miles with the odd tempo run, the shift to mile pace was too much of a shock and combined with a bit of a dose, I was struggling to breath and had to pull the plug.

If people asked me what type of runner I was in the past I would have said a 1500m/miler but I feel myself leaning towards the 3k as a primary event. Last summer when I had the chance to run a 1500m or 3k, more often than not I went for the 3k and enjoyed it. So this summer will largely consist of trying to improve my 3/5k times. I have two old PB's of 9.45 and 16.59 that I would like to revise downwards. I will do some 1500's as hard workouts but they won't be the key focus.

So after all that, I hope some of you enjoy the log. In my previous log I was more focused on the "what" of running: what I ran, how fast etc. I hope to make this a bit more about the why and get some discussion going. I am open to all comment, good and bad. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with running. I love being fit and racing when you know you are fit and lean. But sometimes I struggle with the monotony of getting to that point. So I'm hoping this log gets me out the door too. I will post an update of my training so far this week in a separate post.

Thanks for reading.

PS. The title relates to my location. I live and train right beside the sea and the factors that always influence my runs are the wind and the waves breaking over the wall onto the road. It's a great place to train.

pconn062

So another weeks training done, week 2 of the my 12 week schedule. It was a tough week as I tried to get the balance between getting a little more volume done and maintaining the intensity of the sessions. One of the good things about this current plan is that although there are two sessions a week, they are not too intense with decent recovery between the reps.

Monday: Rest

Mondays are generally a rest day, both psychologically and physically.

Tuesday: 11.5k in 55 mins

Easy run with my brother. Meant to get strides done after but was tight for time and had to go to work.

Wednesday: 14k w/session: 10 mins tempo/5x2 mins @ 5k effort off 3 mins recovery

I had planned on doing this session on the road to make it a bit more race specific but life got in the way so I did it during the clubs booked time at the Lourdes stadium track. The plan I am following is loosely based on Pete Magill's 5k training ideas which I have modified. The plan calls for weekly 5k effort sessions to adapt to race pace but have lots of recovery to make sure the sessions aren't too hard in the early stages of the plan.

I add 10 mins @ LT effort to the start of each sessions in order to increase the overall volume of the session and as a way to warm up for the more intense work. I was doing this session alone as a lot of the guys I coach were doing a tapering session for the Trim 10 mile and my brother was working. 10 minutes @ 3.50 per k pace was comfortable but there was a considerable wind from 150m-300m on the track.

5 mins reocvery and I did 5x2 mins @ 5k effort. I slightly overcooked these covering each lap in 80-82 seconds, but there was ample recovery in the three mins jogging. That's another reason I want to aim to do these sessions on the road to give more realistic paces.

Thursday: 9 ish k in 45 mins

I've shortened my recovery runs on a Thursday to try and give the legs a break especially as the Wednesday sessions get more intense. I can't remeber much about this, but I think I felt good.

Friday: 11.5k plus 6x8 secs hill sprints

Usual loop down to the along the coast. The wind was picking up and would become a big factor in the weekends training. Came to our spot for hills and did 8 second hill reps. These are to increase stride power and efficiency and hopefully help a little with leg strenght. These are short but tough and need 2 mins recovery. Time is a precious commodity these days and it's tough with these little supplementary things to be added in.

Saturday: 14k w/session: 10 mins tempo/8x1 min hills

I mentioned the wind in the title of this log as it really is a big factor in our training where we live. It was very strong today and we had to change our route to try and get a decent stretch for the tempo anyway. Motivation was low for this and I was tired starting. Did 2 mile warm up and then 10 mins tempo @ 3.50 per k which heart race wise was comfortable but tough with a strong wind on our sides. For the hill reps we were straight into the power of the wind and I nearly pulled the plug after two due to the ferocity of the wind. But we plowed on and did the required 8 reps. The recovery was generous at 2.30-3 mins as this is intended more as a leg strenght/power session as opposed to a cardio sessions. By the last 20 secs of each rep the breathing was relatively controlled but the legs were heavy so the effort was right. Tired after this.

Sunday: 21.5k in 1hr 45 mins

I detest long runs, they really suck the fun out of running for me. But endurance is usually a week point so I need them. So we slogged around in windy conditions, me feeling sorry for myself for 105 minutes. No real issues apart from fatigue towards the end and some blistering as I need new runners.

So a good week. I'm quite tired as I've increased my volume a bit but that's to be expected and hopefully I will adapt to that. I also need to sleep better but with an 8 month old that's not always possible.

career move

Good to see you back logging

Swashbuckler

Will follow with interest. Your times look like where I'd like to be in the next two years

shotgunmcos

Welcome to logs and thank you for reading and complimenting Shotgun 2020. Most kind of you sir. Good indeed to have another middle distance log here. Will follow and see how you guys rock!

Sacksian

pconn062 wrote: »

I love being fit and racing when you know you are fit and lean. But sometimes I struggle with the monotony of getting to that point. So I'm hoping this log gets me out the door too.

SAME!

pconn062

Sacksian wrote: »

SAME!

Must be a middle distance thing!

KSU

Delighted to see this one back you been doing great work with coaching the brother and that and good to see you putting strength behind the wheels you have.

Seems like long slow comebacks are the fashion of 2020 round these parts

pconn062

KSU wrote: »

Delighted to see this one back you been doing great work with coaching the brother and that and good to see you putting strength behind the wheels you have.

Seems like long slow comebacks are the fashion of 2020 round these parts

Seems to be that way alright man! Good to see you back, might see at a graded over the summer.

pconn062

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 11.5k around Dunleer village

Didn't get a chance to get out during the day so just tipped around under the lights in Dunleer. Was cold and a bit smoggy but a nice change of scenery from the rural roads.

Wednesday: 14k w/session: 10 mins tempo/5x3 mins@ 5k effort off 3 mins jogging

An eerily calm night, very cold and smoggy. Out to the track in Drogheda again which is a bit of a nightmare on calm nights due to the bizzare location of it in the middle of a housing estate. The outcome of this is lots of smoke from fires in peoples houses leading to very poor air quality. Anyway, the session was a small step up from next week. 10 minutes tempo went by smoothly @ 3.50 per k which was comfortable. 5x3 mins @ 5k effort is a big effort but again the 3 minutes recovery made it managebale. Had a bit of a wobble on the 3rd rep where I got a bad stomach cramp and had to bail halfway through but managed to complete the last two reps trouble free. The track actually started to freeze during the tempo part and was quite treacharous during these faster reps. Averaged 80-82 secs per lap without going into the red too much. Did a full k for the last rep instead of 3 mins and hit 3.22 which was promising. Good session.

Thursday: 9k recovery run

Dialled back the effort a lot on this and jogged around @ about 5.10 pace keeping the effort at a minimum.

Friday: 11k w/8x8 sec hill sprints

Headed out in the mid afternoon between work and the wind had picked up noticeably. Again, this could get repetitive but kept the pace easy. I always tend to run my easy days easier than a lot of my clubmates or other guys and girls running similar times to me. But I'm injury prone so as long as it feels easy, I'm happy. Did some hill sprints for power but my right hip tightened up on the 6th rep so backed off on the last too. No harm done but these are quite demanding on the body.

Saturday: 14k w/session: 10 mins tempo/6x75 second hills.

The first effects of Storm Ciara were making themselves known this morning and the wind once again played a big factor in the weekends training. We chose a route that meant we had a nice tailwind for the tempo part down along the sea front and 10 mins went by well @ 3.47 per k pace. We jogged the 10 minutes or so to the hill and the wind was strong here. Not as head on as last week but some severe gusts stopping us in our tracks at times. This is the 3rd of these sessions with a little step up this week from 60 to 75 seconds. Felt good doing these getting faster on each rep but the generous recovery meant it was more of a leg rather than lung workout. Tired but pretty satisfied after this.

Sunday: 22.5k long run @ 4.49 per k.

Ugh, the dreaded long run now with added storm. Through a stroke of good luck I missed the worst of the rain as I was on parenting duty in the morning as I couldn't get out until 1pm. Was very gusty but I chose a favourable route for what I planned on being my longest run in years. Was doing this solo and enjoyed it a lot more than last week. The route I chose protected me for a lot of the route until 15k or so when I hit the seafront. I then had a pretty nasty headwind for 5k but survived and got home OK. Legs were heavy and tightened up a bit over the last 3k but surprised how good I felt.

Another good week, now my third one in a row over 50 miles. That is not a lot amongst some of the mileage monsters but it's good for me and I can run well off that. One more week of similar training and then I will drop the mileage slightly for a week and I'm considering a local 5k race as the end of that week to test the waters.

MY BAD

All the best with your log. Great to have a metric middle distance to 5km runner logging looking forward to see how you progress

pconn062

Mellow Yellow 26.2 wrote: »

All the best with your log. Great to have a metric middle distance to 5km runner logging looking forward to see how you progress

Thanks, the change to metric still pains me but I'm coming around to it!