So that's "your thing" now is it?

Unthought Known · 12-04-2018 7:21pm

skyblue46 wrote: »

That's already burrowing it's way into my brain :pac::pac:

Ooh, DCM pacing buddy? Have you signed up yet?

Unthought Known · 12-04-2018 7:28pm

scotindublin wrote: »

Great report Andy and by the looks of it some key learnings from the build up and day itself which I am sure you will build on for the next marathon tilt.

It is all a learning experience and that's still a great time....remember back to DCM 2016 and look at the improvement!

Let the body recover and plan for the next challenge.

Wise words, thanks C.

Unthought Known · 12-04-2018 7:31pm

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Brilliant report Andy, congrats on the PB!

Sub 3:30 isn't easy to achieve, as I know all too well

As Craig says, it's still a massive improvement from DCM 2016, and you've already processed a lot of the learnings from the weekend, so there's much better to come I'm sure. Recover well.

Thanks J. Disappointed for a few hours on Sunday, but if anything it's made me more determined now. I'm sure my wife will be happy to hear that!

skyblue46 · 12-04-2018 7:45pm

Unthought Known wrote: »

Ooh, DCM pacing buddy? Have you signed up yet?

No I haven't...I change my mind on an almost daily basis!

If I do it I suppose the 3:30 is the next logical target. As J says it's not going to be easy...then again that increases the pleasure of achieving it in the end I guess.

Murph_D · 12-04-2018 9:02pm

Hard luck. It can be a long road to reach the goal but it’s still just a road and you’ll get there. Haven’t followed your log closely but reduced mileage, as you suspect, could well have contributed to the lack of endurance - but then again most of us slow over the final six miles, it’s managing that fade that can be crucial! Well done on the PB.

Unthought Known · 23-04-2018 9:17pm

Took a whole week off running after Manchester. A whole week!

Monday 16 April: 3 miles at 8:33 avg. Avg HR 135. Started out easy, but increased pace each mile.

Tuesday 17 April: 7 mile run home from work at 9:06 avg. Avg HR 144. I'd normally take this run a little easier due to the climb. Felt good though and the weather was great.

Thursday 19 April: 3 miles easy at 9:22 avg. Avg HR 138.
.
Saturday 21 April: 6 miles at avg 8:59. Avg HR 136. Easy for 5 with a faster last mile.

Sunday 22 April: 9 miles easy at 9:09 avg. Avg HR 133. This felt easier than I expected, pretty effortless the whole way. Ran out through Stepaside towards Enniskerry for 4.5 miles before turning back. I think the lack of traffic/crossings helped as I just got into a nice easy pace and zoned out. Finished with a stronger last mile.

28 miles for the week

Thinking I'd like to run another marathon before the summer. Not a target marathon, just something to enjoy and hopefully get experience of pacing easy to finish strong. Limerick is too soon. Cork sounds interesting, but accommodation makes it pretty expensive. Wexford could be an option, but I haven't heard much about it. Lap of the Gap looks amazing, but I have tickets for a gig that night and not sure I'd be up for it after 26 miles. Of course I'd also have to run it by my wife and that could be the biggest hurdle!

Unthought Known · 30-04-2018 11:53pm

Tuesday 24th April: 7 mile run home from work at 9:01 avg. Avg HR 141.. The usual run, nothing to report.

Thursday 26th April: 6 miles progression at 8:34 avg. Avg HR 141. Started out easy, but had to pick up the pace to pick up the youngest. Very enjoyable, nice to work a little.

Saturday 28th April: 4.25 miles at 9:02 avg. Avg HR 138.

Sunday 29th April: 10.6 miles at 9:11 avg. Avg HR 141. Youngest had a party in Terenure so I decided to park up and run for a couple of hours before picking her up. Started off lovely, sun was out, so I picked up the marathon route in reverse. Plan was to loop down to the canal, through Ranelagh and Milltown etc. and maybe finish up with a lap or 2 Bushy Park.
Running up Fortfield in fine form, glanced at watch, left foot clipped a raised bit of path and I was gone. Not straight away. Half way through the fall I thought I'd recovered. I didn't. Eventually had to let gravity win and ended up flat out on the pavement, with a concerned guy asking if I was ok. Smiled at him, laughed about how stupid I must have looked, then got up and ran. Stopped at the next garage and bought water and tissues to clean up the blood. Felt the pain in my hand for the first time. Thought I broke 2 fingers, but it now looks like its only the pinky. It's ok just to tape it right?
After that it turned out to be a nice run, especially the last couple of miles running round Bushy.
Tried a torq gel on the run and found it ok. Still not sure about gels. They have tended to make me feel a bit sick near the end of the 2 marathons I used them. They are more convenient than mixing tailwind though so I'm going to try and teach my stomach to handle multiple gels on some long runs.

28 miles for the week.
90 miles for the month.
501 miles for the year.

Unthought Known · 13-05-2018 11:45pm

Wow. First 2 weeks of May went by pretty fast.

1 May: 3 mile easy local loop at 9:01. Avg HR 132

2 May: 8.1 miles home from work at 9:14. Avg HR 140. Looped up through Stepaside to add some mileage. Pretty happy with the HR on these uphill runs.

5 May: 7.25 miles at 8:32. Avg HR 146. Having missed Thursday's planned run, not sure why, I turned this into a progression run. 1m w/u then 8:45, 8:15, 7:45, 7:15 followed by 2m c/d. Making it up as I run really. I need a plan!

Bank Holiday Sunday. BBQ, beer, sun. No running. Not even a thought. A massive 18 miles for the week.

7 May: 10:35 miles at 9:21. Avg HR 137. Felt a bit guilty about skipping Sunday. Enjoyable run. Tried to convince my wife that my route map looked like Bart Simpson blowing a bubble. Not impressed.

9 May: 7.2 miles home from work at 9:12. Avg HR 137.

10 May: 6 miles at 9:12. Avg HR 137.

12 May: 5 miles at 7:55. Ang HR 147. All over the place. Planned to run 5 miles steady at around 8:30. First mile a little too fast so for some unknown reason I went faster. Splits 8:23, 7:57, 7:46, 7:57, 7:34. Like I said, I need a plan. Making this sh*t up as I go.

13 May: 13 miles at 9:18. Avg HR 135. Lovely afternoon and a great run. Took a couple of the torq gels just to get used to them. No ill effects.

41 miles for the week.

scotindublin · 14-05-2018 7:24am

What's next on the hit list A? Should help you to get a plan formulated.

Unthought Known · 14-05-2018 6:19pm

scotindublin wrote: »

What's next on the hit list A? Should help you to get a plan formulated.

Not booked yet, but it will probably be the race-series 10k in July. 5 weeks until I go away so I'm thinking of doing the first 5 weeks of P&D 18/55 as a base for, erm, P&D 18/55

It has some LT sessions so it may help me target a PB in the 10K. And give me some structure.

Unthought Known · 03-06-2018 8:18pm

15 May:3 miles at 9:02. Avg HR 135

16 May: 7.2 mile commute at 9:07. Avg HR 139

17 May: 5.1 miles at 9:12. Avg HR 137

19 May: 4.2 miles with 2 at MP. Avg 8:35. Avg HR 143

21 May: 8.1 mile commute at 9:13. Avg HR 136

22 May: 6.6 mile commute at 9:11. Avg HR 130

24 May: 10 mile commute at 9:17. Avg HR 141

29 May: [Plan: 10m GA] 10 mile commute at 9:18. Avg HR 146

30 May: [Plan 4m recovery] 4.1 mile recovery at 9:47. Avg HR 129

31 May: [Plan 8m with 4m LT] 6.6 lunchtime miles including 3.4m threshold. Calculated LT pace range as 7:18-7:42. Pace for the 4 LT splits was 7:19, 7:26, 7:15, 7:32 so a bit erratic.

May: 125 miles
2018: 626 miles

2 Jun: [Plan 4m recovery] 3.1 mile recovery at 9:22. Avg HR 132

3 Jun: [Plan 14m LR] 15.4 miles at 9:22. Avg HR 137. Lovely hot/humid run. Down to Blackrock/Sandymount/town and back through Clonskeagh. Forgot bodyglide. Big mistake!

39 miles for the week.

General theme is more commutes. So busy it's the only way to get the runs in. Trying to follow the first few weeks of P&D 18/55, but this week was the first I've managed to just about hit all runs. Also trying to pay more attention to my HR during runs and to run according to the ranges in the book. I get the impression that's the key to getting the most out of the plan.

Anyway, my HR ranges for reference:
Max 192. Resting 49.

Rec: <145
GA: 134-155
LR: 142-161 (!)
LT: 157-174
VO2: 178-182

Signed up for the race series so the next race is the 10k on 22nd July.

aquinn · 06-06-2018 11:42am

I have always eyed up your HR with envy.

How did you work out your ranges?

I was given the following

220 (could be female only?)
- age
- RHR
=
*.75 + RHR = Easy
*.85 + RHR = Tempo maybe
*.95 + RHR = What's next, endurance?

Unthought Known · 06-06-2018 9:00pm

aquinn wrote: »

I have always eyed up your HR with envy.

How did you work out your ranges?

I was given the following

220 (could be female only?)
- age
- RHR
=
*.75 + RHR = Easy
*.85 + RHR = Tempo maybe
*.95 + RHR = What's next, endurance?

Aw thanks

I'm not sure if that 220-age thing is accurate as that would have my max as 173. I took my max HR from the end of Jingle Bells 5K and it seems close enough. For example, I hit around 170bpm (85% HRR) near the end of my tempo run last week.

The ranges I posted are based on max HR, but they're pretty much identical to my HRR ranges. I'm following the ranges from Advanced Marathoning so:

HRR range = % * (MaxHR - RHR) + RHR

Run|HRR|Max HR
Recovery|<70%|<76%
General Aerobic|62-75%|70-81%
Long Run/Medium Long Run|65-78%|74-84%
Lactate Threshold/Tempo|77-88%|82-91%
VO2|91-94%|93-95%
Marathon Pace|73-84%|79-88%

Unthought Known · 10-06-2018 11:00pm

5 Jun: [Plan: 8m GA with strides] 7.9 miles at 9:28 (HR 133) with a few, but not enough strides. Planned to run this in Marlay, but ended up running a local loop. Bad choice for the strides as I felt a bit stupid doing them on a path with traffic going by.

6 Jun: [Plan 5m recovery] 4.2 mile recovery at 9:41. Avg HR 132. Didn't get out until 9:30 and the whole run felt like a chore. Legs just didn't have anything.

7 Jun: [Plan 10m GA] 9.7 mile commute at 9:37. Avg HR 139. Definitely felt the heat on this so slowed don the last 6 miles. Felt better than recovery run.

9 Jun: [Plan 4m recovery] 4.6 miles at 9:14. Avg HR 134. Pace looks a little fast, but most of the run was downhill. Another glorious day.

10 Jun: [Plan 15m LR] 15.1 miles at 9:26. Avg HR 136. Ran the same route as last week. Another scorcher, but the legs felt great. Took 2 more gels and no problems.
Wore Nike Odyssey Reacts. Not the first time I've used them, but the other runs were all less than 10 miles. Have to say I'm impressed. I was worried they would feel a bit too soft and dead at the end of a long run, but they still felt like they were helping me move forward.

41 miles for the week.

Unthought Known · 29-06-2018 2:44am

12 Jun: [Plan 9 miles with 5m at LT]. Ran 8.85 miles with 5 miles at LT.
LT splits 7:33, 7:20, 7:19, 7:30, 7:20
Enjoyed this. Not sure the LT pace is correct, but heart rate is in line with O&D

14 Jun: 9.6 mile commute @ 9:23 avg. Avg HR 136.

BIG GAP! What did I do? Back to UK, drank too much beer, saw Pearl Jam, flew to Florida.

21 Jun: 3 mile plod at 9:09. Up early so a quick plod before the kids woke. Really hot.

24 Jun: 5.7 miles at 9:16. Plan has gone, it a just too hot to do too much. Found a nice 5 mile route.

27 Jun: 5 miles at 9:19. Same route. No point trying to stick to any plan, I'll just tick over until I get home. At that point I'll have 16 weeks of P&D before DCM.

Unthought Known · 01-07-2018 7:47pm

30 Jun: A quick, well not quick as in fast-paced, 3.9 mile run to test out my shiny new runners. 9:15 avg pace, avg HR 135. Really happy with the shoes, not happy that I already have smudged sand on them.

A very low, but expected, 96 miles for the month. Back on plan from 9 July.
729 miles for the first 6 months.

1 Jul: An early 5.9 miles at 9:26 pace to try and beat the heat. Mid 80's at 8am takes its toll on me after a few miles though. Avg HR 135. Tested the other shiny new runners and very happy again. Real test will come when I get home and increase mileage.

Unthought Known · 15-07-2018 9:53pm

4 July: 5.9 miles at 9:28 avg. Avg HR 136

10 July: [Plan 8 miles GA] 8 mile commute at 9:33 avg. Avg HR 143. Back home so picking up P&D 18/55 at week 3. Head cold meant I was a bit blocked up, but felt ok and legs felt surprisingly strong.

11 July: [Plan 4m recovery] Didn't have time at lunchtime and World Cup semi meant I had to forget about this one. Disappointing night, better team won.

13 July: [Plan 8m with 4m LT] 8 mile commute home with middle 4m at (not) LT pace. Middle 4m was uphill and HR was a bit high with the cold so I ran to keep HR around 165. Splits were 8:09, 8:16, 8:22, 8:17.

14 July: [Plan 4m recovery] 4.2 miles rec at 9:38. Avg HR 137

15 July: [Plan 14m MLR] 13.9 miles at 9:23 avg. Avg HR 138. It rained. It rained the whole run and it felt great. Felt good, picked up the pace to the faster end of my long run range for the last 3 miles.

34 miles for the week.

Unthought Known · 22-07-2018 8:50pm

17 July: [Plan 8 miles GA plus strides] 8 mile commute at 9:25 avg. Avg HR 138. Feeling better. Heart rate getting back to normal levels. Forgot the strides!

18 July: [Plan 5 miles recovery] 5 miles at 9:33. Avg HR 134. Felt really easy, but finding it hard to slow down (plan has my recovery pace around 10 min/mile).

19 July: [Plan 10 miles GA] 10 mile commute at 9:33 avg. Avg HR 140. Ran via Rathmines to get the 10 miles. Always a busy place Rathmines, hard to get into a rhythm. Now there's a ridiculous word, "rhythm". Convinced myself I had the wrong spelling. Anyway.......

21 July: [Plan 4 miles recovery] 4.2 miles at 9:41 avg. Avg HR 129

22 July: [Plan 10k race] 1 mile warmup plus South Dublin 10k. A bit of a wake-up call today. I had sub 45 in mind, but made my first mistake in changing the watch settings to km. Fine if I'd have stuck to 4:30 splits, but the heat took me by surprise and I was all over the place pace-wise. By the 7km marker I'd made up my mind that I'd coast home as I thought I was too far off a PB. Turns out I finished only 13 seconds out, 46:19, but to be honest it felt like I was struggling to maintain pace from the start.

34.6 miles for the week. I at least hit all the planned runs, but this needs to continue if I'm to hit my DCM target. A lot of work to do.

Splits: 4:40, 4:23, 4:23, 4:35, 4:29, 4:39, 4:39, 4:52, 4:47, 4:37

Unthought Known · 25-07-2018 11:28pm

24 July: [Plan 9 miles with 5m LT]: 9.1 miles with 5m at LT. Legs felt a bit heavy on the warmup and the first mile at LT. Splits were a bit erratic, but that always seems to be the case on this route due the steady climb and descent. Not exactly hills, but the drags do have an effect. LT splits 7:38, 7:06, 7:17, 7:43, 7:37.

25 July: [Plan 5 miles recovery]: 5.1 mile lunchtime run along the canal. Avg 9:19, avg HR 134. Really warm run. The pace felt fine, very relaxed, but according to what I've read it's too fast. Still slightly confused with the paces in P&D. Recovery HR should stay below 76% of max which means I should stay below 145. However the pace was at the fast end of my GA pace range according to P&D (15% slower than marathon pace). Suppose I'll find out soon enough if I'm running these too fast.

Unthought Known · 28-07-2018 9:03pm

26 July:[Plan 10 miles GA]: 10.1 mile commute at 9:34. Avg HR 142. Really warm evening so took it pretty easy.

28 July: [Plan 5 miles recovery]: 5 miles at 9:32. Avg HR 125. The cooler weather made this a super easy run. Nice to have a bit of rain.

Unthought Known · 29-07-2018 9:43pm

29 July: [Plan 16m with 10m at MP]: 16 miles with last 10 at MP. Average 8:21, avg HR 146.
My first marathon pace long run of the plan (missed the one in week 2) so I was looking forward to this as an indicator of where I am endurance-wise. Last week's 10k struggle had put a dent in my confidence, but then I've had a great week of feeling pretty good on my runs.
Ran down to the canal via Roebuck Rd/Fosters Ave/Donnybrook. Ran the first 6 miles at the faster end of my LR range (re-read that chapter tonight and I should have been gradually increasing the pace over the first 6 rather than flicking the switch at the start if mile 7. Oh well, I'll remember for next time) and started the MP section around Donnybrook. Followed the canal and picked up DCM route from Dolphin's Barn to Milltown. Like last year, I'll aim to run my MP runs on parts of the marathon route to get used to the drags etc. at race pace.
Legs felt good the whole way and HR stayed in the right range for all pace miles. Tried 2 Torq rhubarb & custard gels at race pace. Very nice. Sweet, but not too much.
MP splits: 7:56, 7:54, 7:46, 7:58, 7:56, 7:55, 7:49, 7:53, 7:50, 7:55

45 miles for the week. Next week is a step-back week, the last of mesocycle 1.

Unthought Known · 05-08-2018 11:10pm

Week 6 P&D 18/55

31 July: [Planned 8 miles GA with strides]
Ran: 8 mile commute at avg 9:33. Avg HR 140. Usual route home from work. Kept it slow after Sunday's long run. Skipped the stride again. Really should start doing them.

134 miles for July

1 August: [Planned 5 miles recovery]
Ran: 5 mile recovery at avg 9:36. Avg HR 130. Late lunchtime run.

3 August: [Planned 8 miles GA]
Ran: 8.1 miles at avg 9:17. Avg HR 138. First run at Marlay for months. Nice to get away from traffic. This is where I should do strides.

4 August: [Planned 4 miles recovery]
Ran: 4.2 mile recovery at avg 9:42. Avg HR 128.

5 August: [Planned 12 miles MLR]
Ran: 12.2 miles at avg 8:59. Avg HR 136. Felt strong. Didn't really think too much about pace, just ran.

37.6 miles for the week.

Unthought Known · 12-08-2018 10:09pm

Week 7 P&D 18/55

7 August: [Planned 10 miles 5 miles @ LT]
Ran: 10 miles with 5 at LT pace. Avg HR 146. Ran this at Marlay as I wanted to use the path by the house which measures an almost perfect 1k. Started off with an easy 3 mile loop of the park before grabbing a bottle of water from the car. Left that on a seat before starting 8 laps at LT. Found it easier to maintain a more even pace as oppose to stopping to cross roads etc. Third mile was a little fast, but I did stop for water at halfway.
LT splits: 7:23, 7:20, 7:09, 7:14, 7:16

8 August: [Planned 4 miles recovery]
Ran: 4 miles recovery at 9:36 avg.

9 August: [Planned 11 miles GA with strides]
Ran: 11.2 mile commute without the strides. Avg 9:07, avg HR 138. Had to add on a bit for the mileage so I ran this via Terenure. It's a nicer route, not as busy as Rathmines so less weaving. Felt very strong on this one.

11 August: [Planned 7 miles GA]
Ran: 7 miles at 9:19. Avg HR 141. A few pints after work on Friday meant I ran this with what I thought was a raging hangover. Not sure it was though as I was completely drained and full of aches for the rest of the day. Bed early.

12 August: [Planned 18 miles LR]
Ran: 13 miles at 9:29. Avg HR 132. Woke up late and still not great, plenty of toilet vists. By 2pm I was feeling a bit better though so decided to head out, but to keep to a relatively local loop. Ok for the first 7-8 miles, but the body was just feeling weaker so had to finish up after 13 miles.

45 miles for the week.

The Black Oil · 13-08-2018 8:30pm

What's your impression of the P&D plan?

Nice to see Pearl Jam, never got into them hugely. Someone I was in school with in the late 90s managed to get injured at one of their gigs - leg injury.

Also learning new words from ye - mesocycle.

Unthought Known · 13-08-2018 9:26pm

The Black Oil wrote: »

What's your impression of the P&D plan?

Nice to see Pearl Jam, never got into them hugely. Someone I was in school with in the late 90s managed to get injured at one of their gigs - leg injury.

Also learning new words from ye - mesocycle.

Yeah their gigs are a bit mad all right, well they used to be when i was younger.

At the moment P&D isn't as hard as I imagined, plenty of recovery runs, generally 1 LT session and 1 long run per week. It's due to ramp up a bit now though with 35 miles including an LT session this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Mesocycle

I only know that from reading the book.

You're doing great on the Meno plan. I see you've increased your paces, something I did on that plan, so it looks like it's working great. Have you signed up for the Irish 3/4 on 7th October? I ran that last year for my last long run, 14 steady and 5 ish at MP, and it was a massive confidence boost.

The Black Oil · 16-08-2018 7:22am

Just the FD10 on Sept 2nd.

I see there's a memorial 5k in Waterford a few weeks after that. Maybe another time. http://www.dfrun.ie

Unthought Known · 19-08-2018 10:28pm

14 August: [Planned 7 miles recovery with strides]
Ran: 7 miles at 9:07. Avg HR 142.
Definitely not recovery pace. Ran home from work, taking the straight route. Not really sure what I was thinking with the pace, especially as I knew this was going to be a tough week. Anyway what's done is done. No strides again, becoming a bit of a theme.

15 August: [Planned 12 miles MLR]
Ran: 12 miles at 9:13. Avg HR 134.
Planned to run home from work, but that didn't work out. Ran 3 and a bit long loops round Sandyford on an empty stomach. Felt really sluggish for the first 5 miles, heavy legs and just not feeling it. Stopped at a Centra and bought a bottle of own-brand "Powerade", orange flavour. Maybe placebo, but it was like rocket fuel. The last 6 miles were the complete opposite of the first. Seriously considering having a bottle of this stuff waiting for me at Milltown for DCM! I don't want to see the sugar content though.

17 August: [Planned 10 miles with 6m @ LT]
Ran: 10 miles with middle 6 (.2)m at LT pace. Avg pace 8:05. Avg HR 151.
A Friday LT run? The plan must be getting serious. Ran this at lunchtime, 2 miles warm-up to Sandymount then 6 miles pace out to Blackrock and back, followed by 2m cool-down back to work. Ended up running an extra .2 miles at pace as I realised I was close to unofficially beating my 10k PB. Turns out I did.
New runners, Pegasus 35's, my DCM shoes. Very impressed.
LT Splits: 7:23, 7:16, 7:26, 7:28, 7:17, 7:26, (1:32)

18 August: [Planned 5 miles recovery]
Ran: 5 miles recovery. Avg pace 9:34. Avg HR 129.
Made an effort to keep the pace down.

19 August: [Planned 20 miles LR]
Ran: 20 miles LR. Avg pace 9:12. Avg HR 144.
Luas to Charlemont then ran the DCM route to Milltown. I was expecting to feel the effects of Friday's run, but didn't really notice any fatigue until mile 20. That was a bit of a struggle. Very quiet around town due to the match. That and using a hydration backpack meant this was an almost uninterrupted run. Pegasus 35's again, no issues there.

54 miles for the week. All is good again.

scotindublin · 19-08-2018 11:01pm

Great week A!

Unthought Known · 20-08-2018 9:46am

scotindublin wrote: »

Great week A!

Thanks C.

The Black Oil · 21-08-2018 9:48am

Probably a marketing slogan in there somewhere, re the rocket fuel and not reading the label!

aquinn · 22-08-2018 4:36pm

5 days running and 54 miles, bloody hell well done.

Unthought Known · 22-08-2018 8:48pm

aquinn wrote: »

5 days running and 54 miles, bloody hell well done.

Thanks, nice to get that week done.

Unthought Known · 23-08-2018 11:11pm

21 August: [Planned 6 miles recovery]
Ran: 6 miles at 9:33. Avg HR 129.
More like a proper recovery run. Started easy and kept it that way. Legs felt a bit heavy, but loosened up after about 3 miles.

22 August: [Planned 14 miles MLR]
Ran: 13.9 miles at 9:24. Avg HR 134.
A 14 mile run home from work meant I had to take the long way home. My favourite little site RunGo helped me plan a route via the canal/Kimmage/Terenure/Milltown. Ran this by effort and kept the heart rate steady. Strava tells me I passed the 1000 mile mark for 2018.

23 August: [Planned 6 miles recovery]
Ran: 6.2 miles at 9:40. Avg HR 126.
Again, felt pretty tired for the first 3 miles. I can see now why they stress the importance of running the easy days easy.

Unthought Known · 26-08-2018 9:48pm

25 August: [Planned 6 miles recovery with strides]
Ran: 6 miles at 9:30 + strides. Avg HR 131.
Two laps of a local route plus some strides on the green. Legs felt great, but managed to keep the pace down.

26 August: [Planned 16 miles LR with 13 miles at MP]
Ran: 16.1 miles at 8:00 avg. Avg HR 152.
The longest MP long run of the plan. Took the same route as the last 16m run, but this time I did it by the book, increasing pace over the first 3 miles to marathon pace. You can tell we're at the serious stage of training as I saw quite a few runners following the DCM route from Crumlin.
The legs felt great today and I felt more controlled/relaxed at marathon pace than last time. I think that's a benefit of the LT runs as 8 minute miles obviously feel way easier than 7:20-30.
Splits including miles 1-3: 8:53, 8:21, 8:08, 7:53, 7:55, 7:52, 7:46, 7:51, 7:51, 7:58, 8:02, 7:52, 7:52, 8:02, 7:50, 7:43.
A bit fast on a couple, but I seem to remember I had the wind at my back. The Crumlin drag was into the wind though (mile 11) so I probably should have backed off a bit.

48.5 miles for the week. Following the plan over the next 5 days will get me to 198 miles for the month. Think I'll have to throw in a short recovery run on Friday to hit 200.

Huzzah! · 28-08-2018 11:07am

Unthought Known wrote: »

26 August: [Planned 16 miles LR with 13 miles at MP]
Ran: 16.1 miles at 8:00 avg. Avg HR 152.
The longest MP long run of the plan. Took the same route as the last 16m run, but this time I did it by the book, increasing pace over the first 3 miles to marathon pace. You can tell we're at the serious stage of training as I saw quite a few runners following the DCM route from Crumlin.
The legs felt great today and I felt more controlled/relaxed at marathon pace than last time. I think that's a benefit of the LT runs as 8 minute miles obviously feel way easier than 7:20-30.
Splits including miles 1-3: 8:53, 8:21, 8:08, 7:53, 7:55, 7:52, 7:46, 7:51, 7:51, 7:58, 8:02, 7:52, 7:52, 8:02, 7:50, 7:43.
A bit fast on a couple, but I seem to remember I had the wind at my back. The Crumlin drag was into the wind though (mile 11) so I probably should have backed off a bit.

13 miles at MP must be a real confidence boost. Nicely done!

Unthought Known · 28-08-2018 9:41pm

Huzzah! wrote: »

13 miles at MP must be a real confidence boost. Nicely done!

Thanks. Nice to include the Crumlin drag in it as well.

Unthought Known · 31-08-2018 11:55pm

To finish off August....

28 August: [Planned 8 miles GA]
Ran: 8 miles at 9:15 . Avg HR 133.
Not much to report here except a bunch of teenagers shouting something at me as I passed.

29 August: [Planned 8 miles with 8x500m @ 5k pace]
Ran: 8 miles with 5x800m at 5k pace . Avg HR 141.
Ran this one at Marlay, on the 900m loop by the house. First time I've I've set my watch up with pace alerts, but I thought I might as well give it a go. 5k pace for me is around 7 min miles so 3:30 for each interval. For recovery, P&D says to allow your HR to decrease to 70% max, or to take 50-90% of the interval time (1:45-3:10). I set my watch up to get me going again at 70% HR.

Splits (and rec):
3:31 (1:58)
3:36 (2:20)
3:25 (1:52)
3:25 (2:22)
3:23 (1:15)

Not really sure what happened with the last recovery, maybe wrist-based HR just isn't accurate enough. Happy with the session though, if anything it felt a little too comfortable.

31 August: [Planned 5 miles recovery]
Ran: 6.7 miles at 9:06 . Avg HR 133.
An easy lunchtime run, but maybe too fast to class as a recovery. and a little longer to hit the 200 mark. I'm planning to skip tomorrows planned rec though,hoping that helps me feel a little fresher for FD10 on Sunday.

200 miles for the month.

The Black Oil · 01-09-2018 9:54pm

Good hunting tomorrow.

Wubble Wubble · 02-09-2018 12:52am

Unthought Known wrote: »

To finish off August....

28 August: [Planned 8 miles GA]
Ran: 8 miles at 9:15 . Avg HR 133.
Not much to report here except a bunch of teenagers shouting something at me as I passed.

29 August: [Planned 8 miles with 8x500m @ 5k pace]
Ran: 8 miles with 5x800m at 5k pace . Avg HR 141.
Ran this one at Marlay, on the 900m loop by the house. First time I've I've set my watch up with pace alerts, but I thought I might as well give it a go. 5k pace for me is around 7 min miles so 3:30 for each interval. For recovery, P&D says to allow your HR to decrease to 70% max, or to take 50-90% of the interval time (1:45-3:10). I set my watch up to get me going again at 70% HR.

Splits (and rec):
3:31 (1:58)
3:36 (2:20)
3:25 (1:52)
3:25 (2:22)
3:23 (1:15)

Not really sure what happened with the last recovery, maybe wrist-based HR just isn't accurate enough. Happy with the session though, if anything it felt a little too comfortable.

31 August: [Planned 5 miles recovery]
Ran: 6.7 miles at 9:06 . Avg HR 133.
An easy lunchtime run, but maybe too fast to class as a recovery. and a little longer to hit the 200 mark. I'm planning to skip tomorrows planned rec though,hoping that helps me feel a little fresher for FD10 on Sunday.

200 miles for the month.

Big PB coming. Be sorry you went for it rather than sorry you didn't ðŸ‘

scotindublin · 02-09-2018 7:21am

Good luck today A you seem to be in great shape so put all that effort on the line today for PB

Unthought Known · 03-09-2018 12:32am

The Black Oil wrote: »

Good hunting tomorrow.

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Big PB coming. Be sorry you went for it rather than sorry you didn't ðŸ‘

scotindublin wrote: »

Good luck today A you seem to be in great shape so put all that effort on the line today for PB

Thanks guys, really enjoyed that today.

2 September: Frank Duffy 10m
A chance for redemption after I failed miserably to PB at the race-series 10k. A solid block of training and a 10lb weight loss over the last 8 weeks meant I was pretty confident. Goal for today was sub 75. Test for today was micropore tape rather than bodyglide and a compression top.

Parked up next to Woodies (thanks to Dealerz2.0) at about 8:45 and wandered down to the start just after 9. I did start a warm-up, but quickly came to the bridge and that was that. I got into the start area around 9:15 so was able to move up to a decent starting position.

Miles 1-3 (7:19, 7:20, 7:26): For the first half mile my legs felt dead. I was already telling myself I was running on tired legs, but I actually think it was lack of a warm-up. After the initial short climb there's a lovey downhill stretch so the pace felt pretty comfortable. First water station I got more water up my nose than in my mouth.

Miles 4-6 (7:28, 7:39, 7:29): Moving at a steady pace. Slowed a bit on mile 5 as it was a steady climb, not sure I needed to. Second water station was much better as I squeezed the top of the cup properly. Still feeling pretty strong,but not confident enough to push on.

Miles 7-9 (7:29, 7:23, 7:21): Mile 8. I loved mile 8. They said at the start that it was a straight, flat mile. It was actually downhill and I felt really good running it. This was the point I should have really gone for it, kicked on and emptied the tank. I didn't.

Miles 10 (7:11): Naturally increased the pace over the last mile, but so did everyone around me. I did manage to pass a few runners over the last 400m though. Stopped the watch at 74:19 (74:17 chip time) so a 4 minute improvement on my previous PB.

Micropore tape does not work for me! Thankfully it didn't get to the bleeding stage, but the nipples weren't happy. Checked when I got back to the car and both bits of tape had disappeared during the race.

33 miles for the week.

The Muppet · 03-09-2018 7:53am

Congrats on the PB A

skyblue46 · 03-09-2018 8:53am

Great running and PB. From the sound of things there is a bit more to come too. Well done.

Unthought Known · 09-09-2018 11:21pm

4 September: [Planned 7 miles Rec + stride]
Ran: 7.7 miles at 9:22 . Avg HR 129.
20th wedding anniversary, 20th!, so ran this early afternoon before going out for a meal. No strides again. Legs felt a bit heavy. Pace was a bit fast for a recovery. Meal was great.

5 September: [Planned 11 miles MLR]
Ran: 10.1 mile commute at 9:25 . Avg HR 134.
Original P&D plan had 11 miles with 7 @ LT. I didn't want to take a chance after FD10 though so changed it. Still felt tired though and ended up taking a shorter route home.

7 September: [Planned 12 miles MLR]
Ran: 12.1 mile commute at 9:13 . Avg HR 134.
Amazing what a rest day can do for you. This run was the complete opposite of Wednesdays. The legs felt strong, even on the climb over the last 4-5 miles.

8 September: [Planned 5 miles recovery]
Ran: 5 miles at 9:35 . Avg HR 128.
Took this one nice and easy in preparation for the long run on Sunday. A couple of uneventful loops around Sandyford.

9 September: [Planned 20 miles LR]
Ran: 20.1 miles at 9:20 . Avg HR 135.
Ran this from Sandyford to Clontarf and back. A super-easy first 6 miles down to Sandymount meant that the last 6 miles was going to be a long steady climb. Pretty windy in places this morning, especially around Clontarf. Last 6 was tough enough, but I did feel in control of the pace so that's promising.

55 miles for the week. Hard to believe it's only 4 weeks until taper!

Unthought Known · 16-09-2018 10:35pm

11 September: [Planned 8 miles inc 5x600m @ 5k pace]
Ran: 8 miles with 5x600m off 1:30
A nice easy 2.4 mile warmup down to the local GAA pitches meant I could run the intervals on grass for a change. Aimed for 6:50 pace and decided beforehand on 1:30 recoveries. Found this pretty easy, but they were short intervals so not unexpected.
600m splits: 2:34, 2:32, 2:32, 2:33, 2:34

12 September: [Planned 12 miles MLR]
Ran: 12 mile commute at 9:21. Avg HR 132
Legs felt good. I think I'm used to these long-ish midweek runs now.

14 September: [Planned 5 miles recovery with strides]
Ran: 3 miles at 9:24. Avg HR 126
It looks like this pace was too fast, but it really did feel like a recovery run. I cut this one short in preparation for the session on Saturday.

15 September: [Planned 10 miles with 6m @ LT]
Ran: 10 miles with 6m @ LT. Avg HR 141
Really pleased with this run. Plan has my LT pace 7:18-7:42. I've run this LT session a few times, but really felt in control of the pace on this. One of those runs where you physically smile on the cool-down.
LT splits: 7:27, 7:23, 7:24, 7:22, 7:29, 7:20

16 September: [Planned 17 mile LR]
Ran: 17 miles with at 9:14. Avg HR 133
Ran this later than planned so I could watch the Berlin marathon. Other random stuff meant I didn't get out until after 1pm. Took me 2 miles to get used to the heat, found it really warm, but as I got nearer the coast the breeze made it feel more comfortable. Legs felt tired for the last 6 miles, pretty much all uphill, but I think that's intended with the tempo >> long run weekend. Anyway, tired, but not to the point where I couldn't maintain the pace. That seems to be the theme for the rest of the plan.

50.3 miles for the week.
Plan for next week is currently rest, 8m GA, 9m with 5x1000m 5k, 12m MLR, rest, Dublin HM, 5m Rec. Planning/hoping to PB the HM so I'll cut back the LT and MLR for a mini taper.

skyblue46 · 16-09-2018 10:42pm

That's a good solid week made even better by being in great form for the LT run. What's the target for the half?

Unthought Known · 16-09-2018 11:31pm

skyblue46 wrote: »

That's a good solid week made even better by being in great form for the LT run. What's the target for the half?

Thanks S. Targeting 1:38 which would be a 5 minute PB. Not sure if that's soft or out of reach. Time to find out.

skyblue46 · 16-09-2018 11:32pm

Unthought Known wrote: »

Thanks S. Targeting 1:38 which would be a 5 minute PB. Not sure if that's soft or out of reach. Time to find out.

I'll wager soft!! Not too soft but you'll beat it. What pace will you head out at...1:38 pace and see how things are after 10 miles?

Unthought Known · 16-09-2018 11:47pm

skyblue46 wrote: »

I'll wager soft!! Not too soft but you'll beat it. What pace will you head out at...1:38 pace and see how things are after 10 miles?

I'll start at 1:38 pace, 7:30-ish. I think I'll know after 7 if it's soft and maybe push on for the last 10k. I'll give this one a decent lash though. Hopefully the weather plays ball.

scotindublin · 17-09-2018 6:06am

Great week A; good luck in the half commit to it from the off and that PB is there for you

So that's "your thing" now is it?

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