An 18 Week Sabbatical

AuldManKing wrote: »

Looking fwd to this and seeing how Magness compares to Pfitz for you.

It'll be interesting, but if things work out for me, I think it's going to be hard to draw direct comparisons between the two plans. There's a lot more mileage in the Magness plan (so much, that I don't intend running the prescribed amount each week) than there was in the P & D plan I was following. I could have progressed to a higher mileage plan in 'Advanced Marathoning', but I wanted a change. The change alone has me more enthused about the training and I am very confident of setting a PB in Dublin. Should it happen though, it won't be just on account of switching plans. The training for Rotterdam has given me a much better base than I had at the start of December. My tattoo is finally finished and I'm going to be able to swim regularly once more. Without it impacting on running, I'm going to get the benefits of the aerobic conditioning that will come with swimming. And there a few more reasons I'll elaborate upon between now and October.

Keeks wrote: »

Not like you to be so positive :P
wheres the real Zico?

I'm a teacher and I'm just at the start of two months holidays. That's probably all it is.

Monday 25th June
8 Miles Recovery Totals;
Time: 1:05 - Distance: 12.88km


Tuesday 26th June
a.m.
7 Miles I wasn’t looking at my pace, but this was a bit slower than I would have expected. It hardly matters though, and it was simply about getting the first run of a double run day done.
Totals;
Time: 0:49 - Distance: 11.27km

p.m.
9 Miles Totals;
Time: 1:02 - Distance: 14.49km


Wednesday 27th June
9 Miles w. 20 minutes at LT If I had been sticking strictly to the plan, I would have run 20 minutes unbroken at threshold, but I think there is a bit of leeway in the program for when one’s not having the best of days, which was the case this evening. I’d been anticipating failure all day, so in some ways failing to hit my hoped-for pace of :30/km was self-fulfilling. I was determined to run to feel though and if that didn’t yield sub 3:30/km pace, then so be it. I wasn’t going to go over the edge just to be able to say I’d succeeded in running fast. When I saw I was off pace approaching the first 10 minutes at LT, I decided to take a break and ran easy for 3 minutes and started running the opposite directions around the Park’s Playing Fields. I thought this would be enough to ensure I ran the second half on pace, but this isn’t what happened, and it was rather disappointing to see I was even slower for this portion.
On the plus side, I wasn’t bunched at the end of the run, which is often the effect threshold runs have on me.
Totals;
Time: 1:03 - Distance: 14.49km


Thursday 28th June
4 Miles This single short run is all I did today, even though there was 10-mile run in the plan as well. The volume is ramping up and I don’t want to take the risk of overdoing things, so one run was enough.
Totals;
Time: 0:27 - Distance: 6.44km


Friday 29th June
Intervals - 8 sets of {400m @ 3K pace, 200m recovery, 200m at 3K pace, 200m recovery}
I ran the 400s with the wind at my back and all the 200s were into the wind, so this explains the faster pace I held for the longer reps. I’d sought advice off Krusty before doing this session and he stressed that the important thing was to sufficiently recover for the efforts, so as I could hold a similar pace for them all. I had been jogging the 200m recoveries up until the midway point. However, when I saw how slow I was for the eighth rep, I decided to start walking the recoveries. This helped and although there were a few mediocre splits afterwards, I never came near the worryingly slow pace I held for number 8. I’d been out with my staff last night and got a short night’s sleep, so on reflection, thing could have gone a lot worse.
Totals;
Time: 0:55 - Distance: 11.37km


Saturday 30th June
16 Miles I drove to Kilkee to spectate at a triathlon down there (and for a night out). When the race was over, it was time to go out for my own run. I was meant to do two runs of 8 miles each today, but this would have negatively impacted on my plans for a good night out, so I stuck the two runs together and found myself running 16 miles in very warm weather. I’d no fuel or drink, but I could have done with something given the conditions. Stuck in the middle of The Loop Head Peninsula, there was nothing to be done for it though and I just had to soldier on until I got back to my accommodation and glorious H20 in Kilkee.
Totals;
Time: 1:48 - Distance: 25.75km


Sunday 1st July
17 Miles easy I was still down in Kilkee and decided to take the instructions to run “easy” very seriously. There were plenty of hills in today’s run and I backed off even more when the road rose. The slow pace I was running became almost painful long before the end, but I couldn’t muster the enthusiasm to push any harder and the whole run turned into one long plod.
Totals;
Time: 2:22 - Distance: 27.37km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 9:31 – 124.53km
Cross training: 0:00
S & C: 0:00

Monday 9th July
a.m.
2 Miles w. 6 x 10” accelerations This was just a short run with some strides ahead of a race tonight.
Totals;
Time: 0:14 - Distance: 3.33km

p.m.
Race
Howth Aquathlon Considering I’ve done SFA swimming of late, I had an okay swim and exited the water reasonably high up the field. By the time I reached the first marshal out on the run course, I was told I was in 5th place. I certainly would have taken this before the race started and I figured based on how multi-sport races usually fare for me, I had a good chance of making up a few more places before the finish.
The run was a two-lap affair and I was able to ascertain who was ahead of me before we were joined by slower swimmers starting their runs as we were on our second lap. I’d moved into second place by this point, but the guy in first had a good gap on me and there was no way I was going to catch him. I was still feeling fresh and the prospects of finishing with the fastest run split kept up the motivation to keep pushing. I duly finished in second, and happily, the fastest kilometre split I managed was the very last one. This is seldom the case for me and I’m taking this as a sign that I paced things smartly. It probably doesn’t matter too much in a race as short as tonight’s, but my pacing is something I think is essential I improve upon before DCM, and the more times I get it right, the better.
Cool down Totals;
Time: 0:38 - Distance: 9.12km


Tuesday 10th July
9 Miles I wasn’t sure what to do today as the race last night threw things out of kilter. All throughout this run, I thought I’d have to do a 7-mile run later in the evening, but when I got home and studied the program a bit more, I reckoned I’d be able to get things back in sync by leaving out a second run for the day.
Totals;
Time: 1:02 - Distance: 14.49km


Wednesday 11th July
a.m.
9 Miles Totals;
Time: 1:02 - Distance: 14.50km

p.m.
7 Miles Just a second mundane run ticked off for the day.
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.27km


Thursday 12th July
a.m.
8 Miles Totals;
Time: 0:55 - Distance: 12.88km

p.m.
7 Miles Just like yesterday’s runs, there’s not much to be said about either of today’s jaunts. Dublin 15 is not the most inspiring place to run and I can only hope the monotony of what I’m doing pays off on October 28th.
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.27km


Friday 13th July
10 Miles w. 2 x 12:30 @ LT This worked out a lot better for me than my previous attempt at an LT run when I could only average 3:34/km for two 10-minute stints. I ran the LT sections around The Polo Grounds, the first one in an anticlockwise direction and the second 12:30 spell in a clockwise direction. I’m not sure if the change in direction had any bearing on the increased pace I could hold for the second effort, but one thing that definitely impacted was deciding to take off my top and running shirtless. Even if the heat is proving a nuisance (as it was today), this is not something I usually do. This is mostly because I feel like a plonker running around naked from the waist up, but if such a simple thing helps me run quicker, I think I could deal with these issues.
Totals;
Time: 0:54 - Distance: 13.18km


Saturday 14th July
a.m.
8 Miles Totals;
Time: 0:55 - Distance: 12.88km

p.m.
8 Miles Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.27km


Sunday 15th July
10 Miles w. 4 miles progression I was targeting :58/km, :52/km, :46/km and :40/km respectively for each of the 4 miles progression. I was comfortably able to increase the pace each time, so today’s run can be chalked down as a success. The real test though will be if I can still run a 5:46 mile after having already ran 25 of them come October 28th.
Totals;
Time: 1:33 - Distance: 22.53km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 9:57 – 141.56km
Cross training: 2:58
S & C: 0:00

cgooner wrote: »

Great log and thanks for sharing, do you find it annoying using both kms and miles?!

I found it annoying trying to figure out why a book with "Science" in the title would refer to anything in miles, but once I got over that, things were fine.
Being serious though, it doesn't really affect anything for me. As the book gives the distance for each run in miles, I list them with the same heading. And I've my Garmin set to autolap every mile, but this is just to keep track of how far into each run I am. The watch still displays the pace in kilometres per minute and it will be the same for the marathon itself.

Monday 16th July
8 Miles recovery Totals;
Time: 1:06 - Distance: 12.88km


Tuesday 17th July
Strength Endurance Hill Circuit I ran to The Phoenix Park for this, where I used The Khyber Pass for the hill circuit. It took a bit longer to get to the bottom of the Khyber than I thought it would, so I did the hill circuit of {10 squat jumps, 25” steady, 10” skipping, 40” steady, 10 hops, 35” steady, 10 ankle flips, 35” steady, 10 bounds & 10” sprint} x 4, later into my run than I’d planned. The length of time it took me to reach my chosen hill was one problem. Another was that The Khyber levelled out before I finished the circuit and the bounds and final 10 seconds sprinting were done on what was essentially flat terrain. This was annoying, but I got 90% of the circuit done going uphill and this was certainly better than the last attempt I made at a Strength Endurance Hill Circuit.
I wasn’t sure of the overall distance I’d do setting out and I was thinking 10 miles might do it. Like I said, it took longer than expected before I started the hill circuit and I had 13km covered by the time I was finished the circuit. I could have made it back home clocking 12 miles, but once the circuit was out of the way, my enthusiasm had grown and I took a longer route home to give me a total of 14 miles.
Totals;
Time: 1:43 - Distance: 22.54km


Wednesday 18th July
a.m.
7 Miles I didn’t think this was the best thing to be doing on the morning of a race day, but I wanted to stick with the plan as much as possible. So as a 7-mile run was scheduled for the morning, a 7-mile run is what it was.
Totals;
Time: 0:50 - Distance: 11.27km

p.m.
Race
Bray Aquathlon
After the aquathlon last week, I realised how much I miss the buzz of racing. As there was another aquathlon close by tonight, I made a last-minute decision to go along.
Warm-up
Race For the time I’ve been investing in it of late, I’d another reasonable swim. Once the run started, my plan was to start conservatively, hoping that would save my legs for the b*tch of a climb up Bray Head Cliff Walk we had to take on twice. The last time I did this race a few years ago, and although I remember the hill being a pain, it was tougher than I remember. It felt even tougher the second time tonight, but according to my Garmin, I got up it quicker on the second lap. I was making up ground on those ahead and I was in 4th place coming down the hill on the last lap. There was about 1km to go, but 3rd was in striking distance and with a bit of a push, I reckoned I would catch him before the finish. There was strong motivation to run hard, but this is often the case and I don’t always have the energy to do anything about it. This wasn’t the case tonight and I moved into 3rd place with just under 600m to go. I could see the guy in 2nd ahead of me, but I ran out of road and he finished 9 seconds ahead of me. It would have been nice to have caught him, but I’d podiumed and was happy with my lot.
Cool down Totals;
Time: 0:37 - Distance: 10.65km


Thursday 19th July
10 Miles Considering the race last night, I was happy with my pace for this run.
Totals;
Time: 1:06 - Distance: 16.11km


Friday 20th July
8 Miles I was in Clonakilty for a few dayss and after a day of sightseeing, I went out for a run. Part of me was thinking it might be a good idea to do a few miles at threshold, but when I realised how hilly it was down here, I thought ‘F*ck that!’ I’d worked hard enough for the guts of 5km on Wednesday and I told myself that would be enough for one week.
Totals;
Time: 0:55 - Distance: 12.88km


Saturday 21st July
20 Miles Easy I usually do my long runs on a Sunday, but I was still in Clonakilty and figured 20 easy miles down there would be less of a bore than 20 miles on overly familiar roads elsewhere. I was determined to keep the effort easy, so when any steep hills presented themselves, of which there were quite a few, I backed off and got up them without too much strain.
Totals;
Time: 2:35 - Distance: 32.19km


Sunday 22nd July
a.m.
10 Miles I’d two runs to do today and planned on running them as two 8 milers when. But once that marker drew near on this run, I decided an extra mile wouldn’t kill me. I took a similar decision when I got to 9 miles, but 10 was where I called a halt to proceedings, leaving me with only 6 miles to run in the evening.
Totals;
Time: 1:07 - Distance: 16.10km

p.m.
6 Miles I wasn’t really feeling it during this run and was glad I hadn’t an extra 2 miles to do. My pace was a bit down on the morning’s run, but I was just glad to get it done.
Totals;
Time: 0:41 - Distance: 9.67km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 10:41 – 144.29km I think this might be the greatest distance I ever ran in one week and I’m still holding up, thankfully.
Cross training: 0:52
S & C: 0:00

I was supposed to run a 15-20km race on 5th August, but I couldn’t find anything on that date. The closest suitable race I could find was a low key 10-Mile race in Ballynonty, Tipperary on 29th July. To accommodate racing a week earlier than I should have been, I had to swap week 8 with week 9.

Monday 23rd July
10 Miles Recovery Totals;
Time: 1:27 - Distance: 16.10km


Tuesday 24th July
a.m.
9 Miles Totals;
Time: 0:59 - Distance: 14.49km

p.m.
9 Miles This felt like a decent run and that enjoyable feeling that I was just gliding along was present at times. This morning’s run was the highest pace I’ve held for these bog standard runs in quite some time, so even if it is only by 1 second per kilometre, to go quicker again this evening bolsters the confidence.
Totals;
Time: 0:59 - Distance: 14.49km


Wednesday 25th July
Intervals - 3 sets of {800m @ 5K pace, 40” recovery, 400m at 5K pace, ,[/B] 40” recovery, 800m at 5K pace}, 3 minutes easy between sets The intervals were all done in an anti-clockwise direction around The Playing Fields in The Park. I hoped/expected to run all the intervals quicker than 3:20/km. The first set was done without too much strain. But by the final 800m rep in the second set, holding the pace was taking more out of me than a 5k effort should. It was hard to accept not hitting my desired for pace and I decided to keep fighting it. Whether this was a wise move, I’m not sure, but I was happy to finish the combined 6 kilometres of work with an average pace of 3:17/km.
Totals;
Time: 0:59 - Distance: 13.92km


Thursday 26th July
a.m.
7 Miles Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.27km

p.m.
7 Miles Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.27km



Friday 27th July
8 Miles w. 8 x 10” hill sprints Outside of the hill sprints and recoveries, I held an average pace of 4:13/km for the run, which was perfectly acceptable.
Totals;
Time: 0:56 - Distance: 12.89km


Saturday 28th July
6 Miles Easy The first mile was desperately slow (9:20). It then registered that this was meant to be an easy run, not a recovery. I picked things up a bit and ran the remaining 5 miles at a more appropriate pace.
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 9.66km


Sunday 29th July
Warm-up
Race
Ballynonty 10 Mile I was very disappointed with my time today. There’s no other way to put it. The only previous 10-mile races I can remember running are Trim in 2016 and again in 2017. I ran 57:10 and 56:10 respectively. I thought training was going well and I felt certain I was in better shape right now than I was for either of those races. To be so far off 3:29/km pace I ran on my way to the PB, is rather humbling.
The most obvious thing to point out would be that I started too fast, but I still don’t think that was the case. Bettering my opening split in the second mile was a sign that I’d started sensibly, and from here I thought I’d be able to hold sub 3:30/km pace until the end. That never happened, and it left me deflated for a few days afterwards.
It was a disappointing end to the week; a week that I thought was building up to me being in with a great chance of PB-ing. I didn’t even come close and I knew the game was up before I even reached the halfway point. I can think of a few reasons that could go someway to explaining my subpar performance, but I think just forgetting about the result and moving on is probably the best course of action. That’s what I’ve chosen to do and hopefully there’ll be more positive indicators in the next race I do.

Cool down Totals;
Time: 1:25 - Distance: 21.00km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 9:09 – 125.09km
Cross training: 1:33
S & C: 2:20 I went back to a Bikram Yoga class for the first time in a long time. There’s money at stake if I don’t attend the classes on a regular basis, so it should become a more frequent part of my training.

Monday 30th July
Nothing; The plan gave me the choice of “off or short recovery”. I spent the day wallowing in self-pity over yesterday’s race, and in keeping with this, I opted for “off”.


Tuesday 31st July
a.m.
11 Miles w. 10 x 10” hill sprints I’d no fixed idea of the overall distance I’d do starting out. I figured somewhere between 10 and 12 miles would be appropriate, so I settled on 11. I used a gentler slope than I’ve been using up until now for the hill sprints and I took much longer recoveries as well, which were taking 2:15 or thereabouts. I really tried to work for the sprints and whatever I was doing seemed to work, as I got faster the more I did.
Totals;
Time: 1:21 - Distance: 17.72km

p.m.
9 Miles Totals;
Time: 0:59 - Distance: 14.49km


Wednesday 1st August
a.m.
8 Miles Totals;
Time: 0:53 - Distance: 12.88km

p.m.
8 Miles Totals;
Time: 0:55 - Distance: 12.88km


Thursday 2nd August
11 Miles w. 30 minutes split LT My pace for the LT sections was where I wanted it to be, but they took more out of me than I would have liked. Ideally, I have broken the 30 minutes into two 15-minute blocks, but 10 minutes into the first effort, I decided a more prudent approach would be to take two recoveries instead of one. It was too late to split the 30 minutes into even blocks at that point and struggling to think of a smarter way of breaking up the half hour of work, I came up the above splits.
I was running on grass, which I’m hoping goes some way to explaining how hard I was finding it to hold speed.
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.27km


Friday 3rd August
a.m.
9 Miles Heavy legs; still feeling the effects of yesterday’s tempo run.
Totals;
Time: 1:01 - Distance: 14.49km

p.m.
6 Miles Just for a change to running outside, I did this on a treadmill.
Totals;
Time: 0:41 - Distance: 9.66km


Saturday 4th August
a.m.
9 Miles Totals;
Time: 1:00 - Distance: 14.49km

p.m.
9 Miles Totals;
Time: 1:01 - Distance: 14.49km


Sunday 5th August
18 Miles w. 8 miles as 800m LT/800m MP I was in The Phoenix Park for this and ran the 800m efforts up and down Chesterfield Avenue ad nauseum. My watch was set to auto lap every 800m and this also served as a signal to turn around and begin the next 800m of work. Part of Chesterfield Avenue was closed to traffic, which I thought would make it ideal for what I had to do. But I lost momentum every 800m, so I tried to be smart and made sure the turns were performed during the slightly slower MP efforts. So I only executed the U-turns after the 800m at LT was over and about 760m into the block at MP. This meant I was getting 60m closer to the end of the closed section of road at the end of each second effort and I was going to run out of road if I kept going. When I finished above 3:40/km for the sixth stint at MP, I stopped my watch and took a short walking break. It set a bad precedent and I took another short break before finishing the work. It was cheating, but I’ve convinced myself I wouldn’t have had to resort to this if I didn’t have sixteen about-turns to perform. It also solved the problem of the ever-shortening stretch of closed road I had to run on.
Totals;
Time: 1:24 - Distance: 20.81km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 9:09 – 125.09km
Cross training: 1:33
S & C: 2:20

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Thought that was you alright. It would definitely have been more to your benefit if there was anyone to push you along. Luck of the draw when you go to Porterstown I'm afraid - it's not that often we get two or more runners of your standard out together.

Hi, were we talking to each other after the race?

If I had been looking for a faster 5k, it would have been better to have somebody to run with, but the way things were I think I was better off just running by myself. The laps got progressively quicker. It's nearly always the opposite when I'm racing. Had I someone to chase in Porterstown, I think it would have been a case of me starting too fast and then damage limitation until the end.

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

That progression has to be a positive sign when running on your own.

I should have warmed up, is what I took from it.

Monday 20th August
10 Miles w. 2 Miles MP, 1 Mile LT + 6 x 10” Hill sprints I began the 1-mile at 10k pace immediately after finishing the 2 miles at LT. Having not taken any recovery, I was happy with the pace I held for that mile. It’s hard to know if I would be able to run a full 10km at that pace, but I wasn’t anywhere near redlining and the effort seemed about right.
Totals;
Time: 1:17 - Distance: 16.41km


Tuesday 21st August
a.m.
7 Miles My pace was up and down throughout this run. I felt tired and empty, which won’t cut it for Saturday’s race. Maybe I should have expected this though, as the hard running I did both last Saturday and again yesterday were closer together than planned.
Totals;
Time: 0:49 - Distance: 11.27km

p.m.
7 Miles I felt a little more fluid than I did this morning and my pace was much more consistent.
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.28km


Wednesday 22nd August
a.m.
8 Miles w. 6 x 30” surges I was happy with how this went. The surges worked out well and once I got the legs turning over, I was able to hold a respectable pace for the 3 minutes recovery I did between them.
Totals;
Time: 0:51 - Distance: 12.89km

p.m.
6 Miles Easy My pace was remarkably consistent for this, which is always pleasing, even if it was only an easy run
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.28km


Thursday 23rd August
a.m.
6 Miles 90% of this was done in Waterville Park and consisted of loops and loops of the same 700m circuit again and again. There was a bit of a drag on one side of the circuit, so the elevation gain added up over the run. Without going for it, several kilometres were coming in quicker than 4:00. While that’s still a long way off my hoped-for marathon pace, I’m taking it as a sure sign that I’m getting fitter and faster.
Totals;
Time: 0:39 - Distance: 9.66km

p.m.
4 Miles After the morning runs of yesterday and today, I didn’t feel I needed to prove anything to myself and I wanted to run these 4 miles towards the slower end of the pace range I deem acceptable for these “General Distance Runs”. The best way of guaranteeing this would happen, would be to use a treadmill, so that’s what I did.
Totals;
Time: 0:28 - Distance: 6.44km


Friday 24th August
6 Miles Easy Totals;
Time: 0:46 - Distance: 9.66km


Saturday 25th August
20 minutes w. 1’ steady, 1’ @ MP, 1’ @ LT An early morning leg loosener 4 hours before my race
Totals;
Time: 0:20 - Distance: 4.14km

Tullamore Half Marathon
Warm up Race I was confident heading into this race, but I felt the same way about the 10-Mile race 4 weeks ago and that didn’t work out so well. So, there was also an element of doubt about whether I’d manage to hold the sub 3:30/km pace I’ve used for my LT runs for a full 21 kilometres.
Sub 74 minutes was the target, but anything under my previous standalone half-marathon PB of 1:15:10 wouldn’t have been the end of the world. I don’t think there’s too much lucky about running, but at the same time it’s very easy make mistakes in a race and I didn’t want to have to resort to that excuse today. I was hoping I’d fall in with a group of runners who had similar targets to me. Doing this, would stop me from tearing off like a hare from the traps and give me the best chance of taking advantage of the downhill finish in today’s race.
Happily, this is exactly how things played out and I quickly settled into a group with about six others. We were tipping along at a sustainable pace and I didn’t dare surge ahead. I’d let someone else do that and should it happen, I’d wait and see how the group would react.
Nobody seemed overly keen to launch a solo attack though and despite the odd change of leader, most of the group were still together when my Garmin registered the tenth kilometre with 34:39 on its display. This was faster than all three 10k races I’ve done this year. Ordinarily with another 10k plus still to run, this wouldn’t have boded well. Rewind the clock to last March, I don’t think this would have ended so well. I thought I had ran smartly up until now though and although I knew I was going to have to work for it, I didn’t feel like another 34:39 10k split was beyond me.
Unfortunately, I got dropped from my group and I was going to have to do it on my own. The group hadn’t put much too much distance into me and although it became more and more obvious I wasn’t going to latch back on, having them in my sights helped. We had gone through halfway at this point and although a few people passed me before the finish line, the splits on my Garmin told me I wasn’t slowing. Their tactics were their business and I didn’t let any of the passes bother me. I was still moving well and he longer the race went on, the more confident I became of finishing with a time below 74 minutes.
I got to the outskirts of Tullamore with two others who had chased me down over the second half. Each of us led for a few hundred metres apiece in the final 2km and we got back to the gates of the stadium still neck and neck. I pushed as hard as I could, but the two others did likewise, and I had no answer to their turn of speed. I was easily distanced once we made it on to the track, but I finished in a time well under my sub 74-minute target.
It’s no exaggeration to say it’s the first time in over 4 years that I have been happy with a standalone running race. I’m not sure what the finishing time entitles me to aim in DCM, but it’s the best indication I’ve had all year that a sub 2:35 marathon is within my capabilities. With almost two months remaining until 28th October, it still feels like there’s a long way to go until my A-race and I hope there are further improvements to come between now and then.

Cool down Totals;
Time: 1:40 - Distance: 28.42km


Sunday 26th August
No running; A “Short recovery/Day off” was scheduled. I didn’t run, but I didn’t take the day off either and went for a 2-hour cycle instead. After no proper cycling, there’s probably SFA I’ll be able to catch up on in a single week, but I don’t want to rock up in Kenmare without having done any cycling all year. Today was the first day of a week in which I hope to get my legs somewhat re-accustomed with what it means to pedal a bike.



Weekly Totals;
Running: 8:18 – 119.83km
Cross training: 3:30
S & C: 1:30

Monday 3rd September
7 Miles Although Monday usually sees me doing a recovery run, after taking the day off yesterday, I didn’t think I needed more recovery today. When starting, I was also planning a 9-mile run in the evening. It occurred to me later in the day, that a second run would ramp up my weekly volume by too large a percentage, so I took the evening off.
Totals;
Time: 0:48 - Distance: 11.36km


Tuesday 4th September
a.m.
7 Miles I was running hither and thither around Waterville Park. It’s quite lumpy and I held a faster pace than yesterday morning, which I’m taking as a good sign.
Totals;
Time: 0:46 - Distance: 11.38km

p.m.
9 Miles + 1 Mile Recovery Pace A 9-mile run is what was on the schedule, and that’s all I was going to do until halfway into the run, I decided a 1-mile cool down would be appropriate. However short the extra mile might be, it’s one way of upping my weekly volume, something I think I should be aiming for.
Totals;
Time: 1:02 - Distance: 16.10km


Wednesday 5th September
a.m.
4 Miles Recovery This wasn’t in the plan, but I wanted to do something before work and neither weights nor swimming appealed to me.
Totals;
Time: 0:36 - Distance: 6.44km

p.m.
16 x {200m 5k-1 Mile pace/200m jog} I did this on the track in Dunboyne and although the GPS data probably isn’t 100% accurate when running bends, I’m satisfied that it at least shows evidence that I was picking up the pace from the start to finish of each rep. There were a few reps that were sub optimal, but this had more to do with short lapses in concentration than anything else.
Totals;
Time: 1:19 - Distance: 15:15km


Thursday 6th September
12 Miles Easy As well as the pace, the route I took was easy; a simple out and back along the Royal Canal Way from Clonsilla to Leixlip. It’s a run I often do after a day’s teaching but having been on holidays for the last two months, this is the first time in a while I did it. It was good to be back on what is usually a serene route.
Totals;
Time: 1:30 - Distance: 19.32km


Friday 7th September
a.m.
1 Mile Easy, 8 Miles steady, 1 Mile Easy I drove to and parked at my school before this run. It’s approximately a mile from there to Porterstown Park, where I planned to start the 8 miles at pace. Although I was more concerned with holding a steady effort, I was strongly hoping this would yield a <4:00/km pace. I was comfortably under this for each mile and I’m starting to think that maybe I can afford to be more ambitious with my training paces from here on.
Totals;
Time: 1:07 - Distance: 16.10km

p.m.
6 Miles Easy Totals;
Time: 0:44 - Distance: 9.66km


Saturday 8th September
a.m.
10 Miles I only started this at 11:51, so to record it as an a.m. run is stretching the truth. It’s a bit late to be starting the first of two runs on a double run day, but feck it, I was tired, and it was the weekend.
Totals;
Time: 1:07 - Distance: 16.10km

p.m.
8 Miles Starting the morning run later than I should have, had a knock-on effect on the rest of my day and meant I also started this run much later (20:22) than I ideally should have. It would have been nice to have been faster, but I was conscious of a tougher and more important run tomorrow and ran conservatively with this in mind.
Totals;
Time: 0:56 - Distance: 12.89km


Sunday 9th September
5 Miles Easy, 14 Miles Progression to MP, 1 Mile Cool Down I was in The Phoenix Park and heeding dublin runner’s advice to run more hills, after the opening 5 miles, I stuck to the hillier sections of The Park south of Chesterfield Avenue. I could manage the hills, but the wind was a real cnut today and I was often quicker going uphill with the wind at my back than I was running downhill but into a headwind. This sort of skews the numbers above, but my intention and indeed execution was to increase the effort every 2 miles. Although, the instructions for the 15 miles of progression were to finish at MP, I decided to push it out to LT for the final mile. My speed for this ultimate mile was looking very good, until about halfway through, I turned 180° and started running uphill and into a horrible wind. Despite the resultant drop off in pace, my effort went up, but to little avail. It was a disappointing end to what otherwise had been a satisfactory run, but I quickly got over that and all things considered, I knew I could reflect on a run well executed.
Totals;
Time: 2:15 - Distance: 32.32km



Weekly Totals;
Running: 12:13 – 166.91km
Cross training: 1:30
S & C: 3:00