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Year 4: "It's a game of inches"

Myles Splitz

Decided to chronicle a return to fitness as a reminder for the next year of where I am coming from and where I get to in terms of my running.

Currently injured and am unable to do any sort of running for the next few weeks so I am making due with what I can. Using this time as a pre-base phase doing what I can to boost the aerobic endurance before I get into base phase.

I upped my calorie intake dramatically out of necessity for injury recovery so I am eating like a horse but at the same time trying to not eat to excess given the decrease in activity levels.

Week 1

Monday - 30 minutes aerobic cross training at Z2 (approx 55-60% HRR)

Currently working off slightly outdated HR but I am unable to do any sort of testing in order to establish current values. Not ideal but only using as a reference for the time being till.

Tuesday - 20 minutes conditioning

Mostly body weight work with no upper limb movement. Again not ideal but good chance to focus on area's of interest before I return to ground impact stress of running.

Wednesday - 50 min aerobic cross training (alternating HR's between Z2-Z3, roughly 65-80% HRR for 25 min)

Despite the injury I am upbeat and have been taking my recovery even more serious than my training had been in the lead up. Hopefully the effort being put in to getting back on my feet will spill over into the training when I finally do get going.

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RayCun

Well done.

I won't even mention the eleven year old girls I know jumping that height ; )

Myles Splitz

RayCun wrote: »

Well done.
I won't even mention the eleven year old girls I know jumping that height ; )

Ha probably could have rounded up a few of the Juveniles in our club to out jump me to but too young to compete (16 minimum age)

Putting it down to the wrong shoes though steeple spikes probably cost me atleast 40cm

Duanington

You're some man taking on those events, sounds like it was a bit of craic too, well done !

RayCun

the leaving cert is a real killer for us too. We started drawing up a possible team a few months ago, but half of them were ruled out by exams. We'll be back... some day....

Chivito550

58.5 I got you at baton to baton. Wouldn't read too much into that though. I don't really know how to split time a relay leg.

Good day's work that's for sure.

annapr

Was there any event you didn't try? Great stuff, sounds like you had a great day.

ThebitterLemon

Well done, that's some variety.

You were only short of an egg and spoon race

TbL

Myles Splitz

annapr wrote: »

Was there any event you didn't try? Great stuff, sounds like you had a great day.

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Well done, that's some variety.

You were only short of an egg and spoon race

TbL

At this stage I am one shy of the complete athletics set (Pole Vault) Sadly though I don't see me completing that one any time soon.

TRR_the_turd

RayCun wrote: »

Well done.
I won't even mention the eleven year old girls I know jumping that height ; )

He cleared 1.40. As the wind dropped and the crowd sat back down, he pointed towards the main stand and motioned for the officials to raise the barrier to 2.46. A number of his admiring fans fainted, others gasped in awe, his team mate called him a dick. He failed to break the world record that day but he was the only person with the balls to go for a world record on the day!

Great stuff, I hadn't realised you had competed in so many events. Hopefully there will be more in round two!

Singer

Interesting - have you done any walking or high jumping in recent times, or is it just muscle memory from a mis-spent youth?

Myles Splitz

Singer wrote: »

Interesting - have you done any walking or high jumping in recent times, or is it just muscle memory from a mis-spent youth?

The walk, I have done once, last year 2 days after I broke my collarbone as I was unable to do steeple in same event (2nd round). Before this the only time I have done it was as part of my level one coaching qualification with the AAI where you had to go through the basics of each even but I seemed to get the hang of it pretty well.

High jump I think the last time I did this was about 6 years ago in the same event. Growing up however I did quite a bit of this as training twice a week was 45-60 min run followed by about 60 min consisting of circuits, hurdle work and high jump. Qualified for All Ireland a few times but people started growing taller and I didn't so my career was ended early on in my teens.

El Caballo

Well done man, some impressive standalone results, not to mind the amount of events, some going!

Murph_D

Enjoyed reading that, fair dues!

Myles Splitz

Monday 5 miles easy (7.44 min/m)
Tuesday 4 miles easy (7.22 min/m)
Wed AM 6.1 easy (7.38 min/m) PM 6.1 easy (7.23 min pace)
Thurs AM 6 steady (6.36 min/m) PM 4 easy (8.07 min pace)
Fri 4 easy (8.06 min/m)
Sat AM 5 easy (8.01 min/m) PM 6.1 easy (7.22 min/m)
Sun AM 5 easy (8.08 min/m) PM 5.5 easy (7.16 min/m)

Weekly Mileage 57 miles

Highest Mileage since the mid of May. Just tipping along with a bit of easy mileage getting the bit back between my teeth. Away this week coming so this will be a break of sorts and then kick into proper training. With no formal sessions the easy paces have been a bit quicker as I am fresher and starting to feel better in myself.

Sleep patterns returning to normal and seem to be getting back to where I was before Sportsworld 5 mile when performances started going pear shape. I am still not sure what exactly it was be it just run down or the coinciding with the warmer humid weather and pollen causing it but what ever it was I am glad to have gone through it.

If I am honest with myself I probably was a bit too cautious in pulling back but I suppose it is slightly better than ignoring warning signs. When I get back I will kick on with training and start to major minor changes to the lifestyle to help with marathon training but overall I want to try and not over think it and keep things simple enough.

Despite no 10k PB from the 1st 6 months of the year I am still in a very good place regarding my training and know I can use it as a good platform to kick on from and hopefully take Dublin as a good learning experience.

Myles Splitz

Mon 3 easy (8.31 min/m)
Tues AM 4 easy (7.48 min/m) PM 7 easy (7.24 min/m)
Wed AM 6.1 easy (7.50 min/m) PM 4.1 easy (7.07 min/m)
Thurs 13.2 easy (7.39 min/m)
Fri AM 5.1 easy (7.56 min/m) PM 7.2 easy (7.42 min/m)
Sat AM 4 easy (8.18 min/m) PM 7 easy (7.31 min/m)
Sun AM4.2 easy (8.29 min/m) PM 8 w/6 steady (7.06/6.44 min/m)

Total Weekly Mileage 73 miles

New training cycle, new log name. A bit premature (by about a month) however wanted to change to reflect on where I am, last year I was coming back from broken collarbone and torn ligaments due to a fall off the bike so I was "Myles" from the kinda fitness I wanted to be in (truth be told despite a 5k pb last summer I was still a good bit shy of fully fit). This year is all about building the base and getting really strong.

The last 6 months training have gone really well, and , despite not getting the 10k PB I wanted, I still consider it a success. I am stronger than have been going into any training block, training was consistent averaging 60-65 miles a week for the past 6 months and having some of the races of my life (Great Ireland Run and Clontarf 10 mile come to mind). In hinsight I probably overcooked it a little bit too soon with the racing (8 races between March and May) but this was a circumstance of situation that I don't regret as it was designed with a grander end game in sight.

This week I was coming back from my 1st complete week off since last August after a trip to embrace my fair weather fandom in Lille for that incredible night in the Stade Mauroy. I embraced the mental break and came back a good bit worse for wear - sleep deprived, dehydrated, with a cold and after following a diet regiment that Ronald McDonald would approve of (Lille must have the highest ratio of Burger/Kebab places to people in the world)

The plan for the next few weeks is to just adjust training to be able to handle the marathon sessions. The last 6 months the easy runs have been super easy with focus on sessions, there will be a slight change this time round as the cumulative fatigue factor will be my friend. Also despite the fact that I was running 60+ average miles a week, very few ever exceeded 6 miles at any one time outside of sessions so will take a bit for the body to adjust.

1st few days were quite tentative given I was having achilles issues (non running related, antics from Lille taking their toll). After day one though knew that the tenderness would subside soon enough so kept ploughing on. I put it down to the consistency this year but got back into my running very quickly.

Thursday had planned to run with the Turd however in the spirit in trying to make some positive changes to the diet I had an order being delivered from Kerrigan Foods (turkey burgers are worth every penny for anyone interested) which of course was being delivered bang smack in middle of the training time agreed. Thankfully DocQ stepped in at the eleventh hour and agreed to run a bit later. Ended up swapping steady run for my long run for the week and worked a treat (due to time constraints at the weekend. Legs faded a little in the last mile or two a sign that there is still a long way to go yet.

Had the luxury of another run with company Friday morning with DocQ and DublinRunner so I made a decision to try and get a couple of miles of the DCM course in. I want to aim to try and do this once a week just so by the time October comes around I know the course like the back of my hand.

Sunday's steady run I was dreading all day after early start in work but ended up being quite controlled. Ran a loop up around Churchtown I know Sportsworld use for reps a bit, fairly flat for half with a hilly lap around Braemor Road a the end to beat up the quads a bit. Worked a treat for this one and the quads were screaming a little by the end.

All in all a solid week to kick things off now just have to keep that effort consistent and aim to try and make the little positive changes to the diet to ensure that I stay healthy. The Kerrigan Turkey Burgers have been bought in bulk for dinners/ lunches. I have also looked at best outcomes even for takeaways in work (which I can be a culprit for as canteen closes really early especially on weekends) Bombay Pantry do some pretty healthy options these days (on the dreaded Paleo menu :eek::eek::eek:) and aim to quash my sweet tooth a bit which seems to always kick in after sleep as blood sugar levels naturally lower by adding a little honey to my lemon and ginger tea in the morning.

Firedance

Would be really interested in the diet changes if you'll post them along with your training. I just bring salad (packed with lots of veg) & tins of tuna into work for the week - much cheaper option than Bombay Pantry (although admittedly not as tasty but probably healthier!) Lidl sells turkey mince which can be quickly turned into a burger

(actually I must make a few of those myself, sounds delicious).

I was recently at a 'Banting' talk in DCU based on these guys I lasted about 2 days then gave up again but must try and revisit it once I'm feeling better, so much of what the speaker said made sense, if only I could kick my bread addiction!!

Best of luck with this training cycle.

Myles Splitz

Firedance wrote: »

Would be really interested in the diet changes if you'll post them along with your training. I just bring salad (packed with lots of veg) & tins of tuna into work for the week - much cheaper option than Bombay Pantry (although admittedly not as tasty but probably healthier!) Lidl sells turkey mince which can be quickly turned into a burger (actually I must make a few of those myself, sounds delicious).

I was recently at a 'Banting' talk in DCU based on these guys I lasted about 2 days then gave up again but must try and revisit it once I'm feeling better, so much of what the speaker said made sense, if only I could kick my bread addiction!!

Best of luck with this training cycle.

To be honest there is nothing to revolutionary about my approach to diet.

I have mentioned it before I simply see a good diet as quality control (i.e aim to eat nutrient dense food). Won't get into the whole carb debate as it gets done to death but I think unless a) you are meticulous with your diet (which I am not) and b) really understand human biology on a grand scale (interaction of different systems in the body) you are going to screw up your recovery in training (affects on cortisol levels) or long term health implications (affects on insulin resistance which long term I do feel could be a real issue down the line following on from the current fitness diet trends, though not enough research has been done in this area to confirm or dispel my reservations here)

I am usually good for the salads in work myself (Feta Cheese or Tuna in the Lidl salad bowls) but the BP stuff is a alternative when I get lazy or treatments get in the way before work that my prep time gets severely hampered (prep is one of my downfalls). Can pick up a chicken/beetroot/chickpea "protein" box for 7.50 which has enough for 2 meals so not a bad alternative to have

The Turkey Burgers actually work out pretty good if bought in bulk (50/100) and come in a range of flavours (Sweet Chilli and Kale, Franks Hotsauce and Peppers and a few other flavours) Again they are handy so work well to have a couple of packs in the freezer.

In terms of changes just small things -

- Dicing spring onion and throwing into breakfast scrambled eggs
- Honey in herbal tea's to kerb the sweet tooth
- Green Tea bags into water bottle to give a bit of flavour
- Avoid the sweets press

Outside of that I generally eat pretty good so I won't be making any whole sale changes just simply doing better with the smaller things and letting the big things take care of themselves.

Firedance

Myles Splitz wrote: »

Won't get into the whole carb debate as it gets done to death but I think unless a) you are meticulous with your diet (which I am not) and b) really understand human biology on a grand scale (interaction of different systems in the body) you are going to screw up your recovery in training (affects on cortisol levels) or long term health implications (affects on insulin resistance which long term I do feel could be a real issue down the line following on from the current fitness diet trends, though not enough research has been done in this area to confirm or dispel my reservations here)

Yeah I'm not meticulous either, those are very good points I hadn't considered. Had a look at the Kerrigan website earlier, they do sound very tasty! I would do my usual trick of putting them in the freezer and forgetting to take them out

jebuz

I don't do many FYP's but this was too obvious

Myles Splitz wrote: »

- Avoid filling the sweets press

Really looking forward to following your marathon journey Myles. I think you've taken a very pragmatic approach to this one, concentrating on your shorter times earlier in the year with a few PB's bagged and now switching to the heavier stuff 18 weeks out. Looking at last week, I'm assuming the current focus is building milage and strength before diving into the faster stuff?

Out of interest what sort of approach have you taken in terms of setting sessions and structuring the plan? Are you getting coached or working up your own ideas yourself, or a mix of both?

The very best of luck with it either way.

Younganne

jebuz wrote: »

I don't do many FYP's but this was too obvious

Avoid filling the sweets press
.

fully agree, when i am looking for something sweet, nut butter on an oatcake, Greek yogurt & a few berries also hit the spot.
For a nibble i have Brazil & cashew nuts......they all do less damage but you don't feel deprived!!

Myles Splitz

jebuz wrote: »

I don't do many FYP's but this was too obvious

Really looking forward to following your marathon journey Myles. I think you've taken a very pragmatic approach to this one, concentrating on your shorter times earlier in the year with a few PB's bagged and now switching to the heavier stuff 18 weeks out. Looking at last week, I'm assuming the current focus is building milage and strength before diving into the faster stuff?

Out of interest what sort of approach have you taken in terms of setting sessions and structuring the plan? Are you getting coached or working up your own ideas yourself, or a mix of both?

The very best of luck with it either way.

At the moment yes focus on strength building. Still a few weeks off being strong enough to handle sessions but couple more 80+ weeks and steadier runs and progression runs as sessions for the most part. Most sessions will be more marathon specific off the back of the 10k block previously as I always viewed both as part of a bigger overall plan.

In terms of plan I devised it back last august as a continuation of the 10k plan. The overall plan has not changed but odd tweak based on input from Tom from the club as well as following build up of a few Brits on Strava (Aaron Scott one in particular who trains odd time with Pollock and Seaward)

Plan was devised based off UK style training from few presentations from Martin Rush (NI Endurance Co ordinator)

I can email you on outline if you want? Nothing overly complicated but two big sessions a week and rest easy with Alternation style sessions and Daniels type sessions and progressions etc

Myles Splitz

Younganne wrote: »

fully agree, when i am looking for something sweet, nut butter on an oatcake, Greek yogurt & a few berries also hit the spot.
For a nibble i have Brazil & cashew nuts......they all do less damage but you don't feel deprived!!

Ha trust me if i could I would but sadly not only person in the house with sweet tooth and unlike a cross fitter aim to not force my lifestyle on others.

Just have to exercise some self restraint haha

RayCun

Myles Splitz wrote: »

Ha trust me if i could I would but sadly not only person in the house with sweet tooth and unlike a cross fitter aim to not force my lifestyle on others.

Just have to exercise some self restraint haha

Put a padlock on the press and give your housemates all the keys :pac:

Myles Splitz

Mon AM 4 easy (7.49 min/m) PM 6.3 easy (7.52 min/m)
Tues AM 4 easy (7.59 min/m) PM 11.2 w/ 5.4 MP (6.47/5.59 min/m)
Wed AM 4 rec (8.57min/m) PM 6 easy (7.29 min/m)
Thurs 14.2 easy (7.33 min/m)
Fri 6 easy + 5x8 sec max effort hills sprints (7.50 approx)
Sat 10 w/9 steady (6.33/6.26 min/m)
Sun 4.6 easy (8.06 min/m)

Total Weekly Mileage 70.4 miles

Another solid week down. Mileage was a little bit on the lower side after a solid start to the week but that was my own doing, still managed to keep it consistent and got a good bit of moderate intensity work done.

The legs needed a bit of TLC at the start of the week so a early runs were confined to the grass pitches just to allow the legs to come around. Tuesday was a bonus session.
The club have a weekly race as part of an internal summer series and this weeks one was a 5.4 mile race in Tymon which is a great hilly loop so good for strength so I figured it was ideal for a tempo and to just have to tag on to people without thinking too much. Trying to use every mental trick I can to stay fresh for sessions and only need to tap into it the odd occasion to build myself up for session I dread when I have to run them solo later in the plan so tailing someone and not looking at the watch etc was ideal.
Immediately when race started two lads hit the front and I tagged in behind. despite a quick opening mile the effort was very controlled. As race went on one lad died off, and one lad kicked on. Kept effort same and despite his initial burst he slowly came back to me on the climbs in the 3rd and 4th miles. Had to resist the temptation to go in pursuit of him and thankfully my willpower beat out the ego to finish a very solid session though faded a little on the few miles home.

Next day I had planned to do a long one with TRR and DocQ but thankfully this plan fell by wayside so kept the morning nice and handy. Evening run however was a weird one. legs were fine and pace was fine but had that bonking feeling. I could have sworn I was running about 10 min/m so was pleasantly surprised when I saw the watch after the run.

Thursday managed to wrangle in someone for a few miles in evening so decided to do half the run myself and then meet him. A scorcher of a day I was a little worried about having no water with me but turned out grand and felt an awful lot stronger than the previous weeks Long run for some reason.

As the end of the week came around work constraints and sleep etc were getting in the way of doubles so mileage stagnated a small bit but a very solid steady run on Saturday which I was delighted with as I was straining at the leash pace wise despite it being quicker than planned (6.30-6.45 pace) little bit of muscle fatigue in the last mile or two but felt like I could have ran forever despite the wind and heat.

Sunday was a write off day with a horrible hangover from a family BBQ and rough day in work. Didn't get out till after 11 but I was determined to get out and hit the 70 mile mark for the week. Arbitrary numbers and mileage chasing are usually pointless but in this case it was the difference between getting out and not running at all so I suppose in some incidences they can be a blessing in disguise.

Definitely starting to feel stronger and a few more weeks of this style of base type work and I should be strong enough to handle sessions. Taking one week at a time however and not gonna get too carried away with myself.

Myles Splitz

Mon AM 7.1 easy (7.44 min/m) PM 6.3 easy (7.28 min/m)
Tues AM 10 progression PM 3 recovery (9.15 min/m)
Wed AM 4.1 easy (7.35 min/m) PM 5 w/ 3 MPish (7.00min/m)
Thur 4 miles easy (8.15 min/m)
Fri 14 easy (7.28 min/m)
Sat 11 easy (7.33 min/m)
Sun 5.1 easy (8.02 min/m)

Total Weekly Mileage: 69.6

Good start to the week but it petered out a bit towards the tail end for a few reasons. Got out of work early on monday evening so managed to get slightly longer done on my trek home than planned. Pace got a bit away from me foolishly with the session the next day.

Tuesday the plan was to meet TRR for this one and I kinda needed it as I wasn't feeling the love sadly something cropped up so I was by my tobler. Eased into it but found myself hitting my stride quite quickly than I though. Was in cruise control for most of this with the plan being 12 I hit 9 going into the MP miles and started to struggle a bit. Sweating a bit more than I should have and generally just feeling bad here and knew it would be foolish to try and gut it out for the sake of it so I pulled the plug.
Wednesday got a bit of an SOS call for a pacer so ammended my evening run from aa few handy miles to 3mile pacing gig. Funny how things go as earlier I wasn't feeling great on my lunch run @ 7.30ish pace yet felt like could go on forever (may have to see if the Lemon is around October 30th to chase me around the streets of Dublin

) splits were 6.10, 6.20, 6.20 so mileage down but decent little run. This run did have a casualty though as garmin died shortly after with the cradle for charging broke I am still waiting on new one to arrive.

Thursday took it easy with the bit of quality the two days in a row. Decided to bring the phone out to use the strava to log it. Having issues with that so resorted to the only other thing I could; Pokemon Go, handy recovery run to freshen up the legs proved fruitful as it kicked off my campaign into this highly addictive game (great to see kids actually having to get out and walk to interact with it. As long as Mario Kart Go doesn't come into the pipelines we should be ok, Dublin drivers are bad enough)

Friday and Saturday had the company of TRR, DQ and Dublinrunner to help me rack up some of the longer runs though I did leave the long run a little bit shorter than I originally intended this week. Well need to see that creep up in the coming months, still I don't think I have ever managed 3 weeks of consecutive 90+ min runs so going in the right direction anyway.

One more week of this base phase and then we will start to bring in a bit more quality work that is a little more specific. Happy with how it is going though.

This Fat Girl Runs

Myles Splitz wrote: »

Thursday took it easy with the bit of quality the two days in a row. Decided to bring the phone out to use the strava to log it. Having issues with that so resorted to the only other thing I could; Pokemon Go, handy recovery run to freshen up the legs proved fruitful as it kicked off my campaign into this highly addictive game (great to see kids actually having to get out and walk to interact with it. As long as Mario Kart Go doesn't come into the pipelines we should be ok, Dublin drivers are bad enough)

Funny you mention that. I was thinking if anyone at work plays the game (I don't myself), I'd offer to take their phones with me on a lunchtime run to hatch their eggs...for a small donation, of course. :P

kit3

Myles Splitz wrote: »

Having issues with that so resorted to the only other thing I could; Pokemon Go, handy recovery run to freshen up the legs proved fruitful as it kicked off my campaign into this highly addictive game (great to see kids actually having to get out and walk to interact with it.

As excuses go this is right up there with the best

I foresee a new category in this year's awards .........

Myles Splitz

kit3 wrote: »

As excuses go this is right up there with the best I foresee a new category in this year's awards .........

This Fat Girl Runs wrote: »

Funny you mention that. I was thinking if anyone at work plays the game (I don't myself), I'd offer to take their phones with me on a lunchtime run to hatch their eggs...for a small donation, of course. :P

@TFGR The way the popularity of the game is going you could soon become a professional runner with a Pokemon Go hatching service on the side. Just hold out till the boss starts playing and all of a sudden you should have all the training time you need each day

@Kit sadly I can't stand running with phone to often so it only came out the once on this recovery run. Now that new Garmin charging cradle is here will have to just resort to evening walks with the OH (she is even more into it than me)

Oddily enough the demographics of the game seem very skewed towards nostalgia judging by the droves of people you see around the place. Hopefully the kids catch on soon enough and we could have and exercise boom to revive the 80s road running standards for the next generation.

Myles Splitz

Mon 8 easy (7.27 min/m)
Tues AM 10 Steady (6.33 min/m) Tues PM 3.1 rec (9.06 min/m)
Wed AM 14 easy (7.55 min/m) PM 5 easy (8.01 min/m)
Thurs AM 6 miles easy (7.34 min/m) Thurs PM 4 v.easy (8.26 min/m)
Fri 8.3 easy (7.32 min/m)
Sat 3.3 easy (8.04 min/m)
Sun 13.6 easy (7.14 min/m)

Total Weekly Mileage: 75.9

Bit of a week of up and downs (though more equipment related) and some silly decisions.

The body was making a few grumblings making me aware of the more consistent higher mileage but have been managing as best I could. With that in mind when I went to get new shoes for training (other ones have reached their end with the sides splitting sadly) I made the conscious decision to get something with a bit more of a heel raise and support than the Kinvara's I normally use for my every day mileage so opted for the Saucony Guide.1st mistake of the week was opting to bin the Kinvara's and crack on with a session without breaking them in.

Session itself went great. Did this in the height of Tuesday's sunshine yet despite this I was able to hit steady effort, probably should have dialed it back a little bit I felt good for majority of the run and even by the end I was working hard but feeling good despite being slightly overcooked in the midday sun. Made the decision to just do 10 rather than 12 though even before I started the run.

Wednesday's morning run ended up being a bit longer than planned as met DrQ and TRR for this one and hit the trails in Phoenix park. Fairly tired for this one so the pace was handy and just ended up getting time on the feet. Happy to get it done but it lead to mistake #2. Rather than say okay you did a longer run in the morning bail on the evening run I figured would keep the structure of the week and decided to go out for 5 in the evening anyway. Left it as late as I could and stuck to the grass to try and be sensible about a stupid decision but the legs were extremely tired on these 5 miles.

Thursday morning was a panic run. Had felt odd niggle in the shin since Tuesday night (no doubt not breaking the shoes in before my session had an impact there) but it was nothing more than a slight dull ache on touch so didn't think of it too much. Thursday morning however and I was feeling it on my run with every step which had me very panicked (shin pain along the bone always sends of alarm bells) came home and did a bit of an assessment on it though and thankfully all signs were leading to a tendon issue rather than bone. loosened out over the day though and a handy jog that night with no ill effects

Spent Thursday evening and all day Friday working event massage at Morton Games so time for training was a little bit strapped (got out Friday morning with DrQ and Dublinrunner for a few) but always a great experience working on world medallists and professional athletes in a very laid back setting. The fanboy in me always shines through a little when I can tell who someone is before they introduce themselves or I can say how they got on in there last race

. Seemed to have the magic touch a well as got the opportunity to work on the mens and womens mile winners (all down to the treatments of course, nothing to do with their years of hard work

)

I did however get a chance for a bit of an assessment on the niggle and treatment. Thankfully he backed up my initial thoughts that it was tendonous coming from peroneals and Tibalis Anterior. My tight calves however had them ironically in a position of easy so free to run away on it till it clears up in about 7-10 days fully.

The two days however absolutely wiped me as I was comatosed by the time I finished. I was fit for my bed Friday and even Saturday after work shift I had very little energy to get anything done.

Sunday was testing out new Garmin and the HR features and like the shoes earlier in the week the Forerunner 220 had stopped taking a charge (initially thought it was the cradle) was cruising along on the run and happened to bump into DrQ randomly along the canal which helped big time for a bit of company.

Overall mileage is there or there abouts but the long runs still a little shy of where I want them. Over the last 4 weeks however I have managed to shift to longer single runs in general so all in all things continue moving in the right direction. Start to add a bit of quality now over the coming weeks and get really into the throngs of marathon training.

Myles Splitz

Mon AM 6 easy (8.23 min/m) PM 7 easy (7.45 min/m)
Tues 12 w/ 5x6 min (2 min rec) - (5.47, 5.44, 5.37, 5.37, 5.38)
Wed 7.2 easy (7.40 min/m)
Thurs AM 4 easy (8.09 min/m) PM 6 easy (7.21 min/m)
Fri 16 easy (7.43 min/m)
Sat AM 6.2 easy (8.01 min/m) PM7 hillyish steady (6.54 min/m)
Sun AM 5 easy (8.21 min/m) Sun PM 4 easy (7.31 min/m)

Total Weekly Mileage: 80.6

A solid week all round this week. Body settled down after the bit of giving out last week.

Tuesday was my first proper session in a long while and the first bit of quicker than marathon effort stuff since probably early June. Plan was to start out at just under marathon pace and progress down to LT. Had Dublinrunner for company on this one.

Aerobically this went well and felt pretty controlled though the legs were heavy from the off so was delighted to see the paces going to plan and the HR seemed to corroborate with the paces in terms of me running at the right effort. What was more was the recoveries were the biggest surprise as I was hitting low seven pace in what felt like a crawl. Last rep was tough and humidity made it a little tough but all in all very happy to see the paces being hit.

Friday's long run was one of those runs that you get maybe three or four of in a training cycle (anymore and your mind just is having none of it). Due to time constraints I had one one 2 hour window in the weekend to fit this in and that was between 7.30 and 9.30 Friday morning. It took every fibre of motivation to get out that early as with my irregular work hours morning are just a killer for me at the best of time. Thankfully DR once again came to save the day and agreed to meet me at Fosters Ave just after 8 so I did a couple of miles on the DCM loop for the 2nd time this week and met him and finished up with the longest run of the cycle so far.

Saturday night was feeling great and pushed to steady pace for my run home. working a good bit on the climbs but absolutely cruised with ease on the downs felt pretty good and wouldn't have been able to tell I had 32 miles done in the previous 36 hours. Delighted to finally break the 80 miles first time this cycle without feeling like I really did have to push it.

Monthly stats
Total Monthly Mileage 332
Total Days Run 31/31
Time Spent Running: 42 hours
Time Spent running per day 1 hr 22 min

Highest ever month mileage definitely shows consistency is going well and I think that is down to the build up on the first half of the year and the consistency that I had throughout those 6 months. The last part was the really interesting part that despite all the time I felt that was invested in my running this month it pretty much came down to 2 decent length netflix episodes a day. Not a whole lot in the grand scheme of things (especially when I run as commutes to work so cuts out that travel time.