Chapter 2 - Finding Nemo

AuldManKing wrote:

Whats your 10m PB? Not that I'm bothered by that childish behaviour...........

I've only ever run one on a horrific Tuamgraney course. 63.09. Shur we all know it's the 10k that counts. Haha

AuldManKing wrote:

Ha - maybe I'll drop in for a pint next week on my way around and still beat 63

I thought a glass of wine would be more your style.

skyblue46 wrote:

Just agree a race ye will both run in and sort it out on the roads...too much bravado, feigned deference and general bonhomie going on! It's time for a showdown!

Haha. DCM 2019

In fairness S I'd be afraid to drag him to a pb. He seems like the kinda guy that would draft off me all the way.

All joking aside I'm mad to meet the crew on here in a race up the country before the end of the year.

ariana` wrote:

Just reading your race report now, I'm late to the party i know but wow what a race! No shame in being in the sub elite group at all especially when you end up at the front of it - you won your race with very clever race tactics and true grit. Impressive.

Thanks!
Haha sub elite was very much tongue in cheek.

skyblue46 wrote:

P do you think it helps or hinders you having a small group around you that you are in direct competition with and some of whom you have raced before? In the likes of the Raheny 5 mile you'd be in a train of runners. Do you think this would turn it more into a time trial than a race?

Hmm you do ask tricky questions that get me thinking. Haha

On the first question, being in a group absolutely helps me. My best races have all been in company. Running solo is no fun. You'll always get more out of yourself pitting yourself against other runners (obviously against people in or around your level. No point in me chasing 25min five miler lads).

In terms of the bigger races like Raheny 5M I'd be a small fish in a big pond there for sure. I see that as a good thing. I'm not interested in winning random small local races. I want to get better. A lot better. And I'll only do that by surrounding myself with better runners. So if I could run every race where I'm a mid pack runner I'd be pretty happy coz being around that level of runner and racing against that caliber would not only improve my times but would make me a better runner overall. You learn a lot of stuff watching these lads and how they respond to things. Even watching those lads going down the hills last Friday. The technique, turnover, heels flicking up almost hitting their backside. You don't learn that running solo.

I'm not even sure I answered your second question.

Ah now I get you. Absolutely I'd race random runners around me. I'll literally use those around me to get the max out of myself haha. But it's a bit more complex than that and it probably doesn't come across in my reports.

For most races I'm spending the first mile or two usually running on feel and settling into a bit of a rhythm and seeing where I'm at. If I find myself in a group that are pushing hard I'll try to slot in with them. As the race goes on I'll see how that group evolves and hopefully end up with a fight on my hands to drive me on. If the group tail off and effort drops I'll usually push on on my own like I did in Borrisoleigh and Ennis. With any luck someone comes with me and we have a battle, like Ennis.

I do think of you run as you feel and ignore others you'll rarely push yourself too far beyond your discomfort zone.

I'd never target any individuals. But in saying that if I was in a race like Raheny 5M I'd absolutely be racing people around me. It's something I think people don't do enough and I don't mean it to take offense. Just because you're not up at the pointy end does not mean you're not in a race. Everyone around you is your competition. Whether that be for 1st, 30th of 400th place. Racing people around you will usually give you a better outcome. As long as you do it smartly and don't start going Gung ho on mile 1.

hot buttered scones wrote:

I'm going to get this tattooed on my watch hand.

Unless you can hold on. Then gung ho away. Haha

Murph_D wrote: »

I just went into the running shop (Runhub) and tried on a few pairs. They all felt similar - very light and unsupportive for those of us used to heavy road shoes, so I just chose at random (Puma Haraka). They’ve been fine. It’s more about having the right length spikes than the brand of shoe, if you ask me. Get some 15, 12 and 9mm and you should be covered!

Cheers D. It was actually your answer in the Spotlight thread that reminded me to ask the question here.
Seems to be fairly limited supply of XC spikes in any of the local shops here in Limerick so not able to try any on. One of the downsides to not being from the big smoke!

I do like the look of the adidas blues that DD linked above and maybe just invest in 9/12/15mm like you suggested.

Another solid week down.

Monday - Easy 7M at 7.56
Felt great as I have done the last several Mondays. Followed by strides.

Tuesday - 2x8min/3x6min/4x2min
Targeting 6.15 for the 8min, 6.00 for the 6min, 5.50 for the 2min. All off 2min.

Did this session about 3 weeks ago and it kicked the crap out of me. Previous target paces were 6.10/6/5.45 so coach took pity on me and eased them back slightly this time. But I was having none of that. Fair is fair. Me vs the same session. Haha.
I made sure I was prepped for this one. Well fed the night before, well hydrated, well rested. You could say that should always be the case but it doesn't always work out that way. For this one I made an effort to do all of the above. Plus the adizeros made an appearance. A special day indeed. Lol. I don't like when a session gets the better of me so in my mind I wanted to right the wrong so to speak.

It's a big session so I took it out of the estate and on to the roads with a plan to end up back in the estate for some of the 6min and all of the 2min.

Well it was certainly a different experience this time. I felt strong and determined throughout. Effort levels were much better and was definitely not flogged at the end. It's a sneaky fecker of a session though. Clever as hell. Haha. Wear down the legs, wear them down some more and then get them to run fast. In the midst of all that some sneaky LT stuff in there. And some sneaky 10k specific stuff. A great session. Not sure if it's one that L designed or borrowed or stole but definitely one of my favorite sessions in a love/hate kinda way. It really works on everything.
No point going into too much detail about each split. The pace splits speak for themselves and the main thing is effort level was controlled for the 8 and 6 intervals and was working a bit harder by the 2mins.
Pace splits were;
6.06/6.10
6.00/5.54/6.00
5.37/5.46/5.38/5.40

Was very happy with that. All in all roughly 10.5 miles.

Wednesday was an Easy 7M
Thursday AM was easy 4M, PM was easy 7M
Friday was Easy 7M followed by strides. Session moved to the Saturday. I think coach wanted to throw some stuff into my long run. He passed it off as a reward but I knew the truth. It just meant my long run now became harder. Haha.

Saturday - Easy 3M, 7x1M at 6.10 off 3/2.30/2/90/60/30, easy 3M.
Deadly stuff. I had done this session previously too but less bulk either side of the session. I knew this would be tough. What I hadn't planned for was waking at 3.30am and not getting back to sleep. On the plus side I was so awake by 6am the usual grogginess was gone so I just decided to get up and out. Dark and pis*ing rain. One mental victory. Headed on a loop around North Circular. Another very controlled session despite the conditions. Quiet roads. Lovely. Really was happy with how this went. Even the last mile wasn't too much of a struggle. If I'm honest the second last of the 7 was the toughest. The pace felt OK. I seem to settle into that pace reasonably handy. Legs have out a bit at the beginning as they aren't used to early morning sessions. But once they woke up they weren't as angry with me. Jogged all the recoveries. Finished up the 7M and was determined not to reward myself with a walk. Another mental victory. Just kept going.
Splits for the 7M were;
6.06/6.07/6.08/6.09/6.08/6.09/6.04

Totalileage was around 14.5miles for the session. Total for the week was close to 58.

Sorry about the essay! Another decent week in the bank.

Monday - Easy 7M at 7.57 followed by strides. Nothing to report. Always feel good on Mondays. It's either the days rest or the calories consumed. Slight tiredness in the legs but nothing major. Could feel the hint of Saturdays session.

Tuesday - As Luke put it, he wanted to get one last good session out of me in this block and then promised we'd start the wind down for Charleville. I knew this one would be tough.

5x2k at 5.50 off 2.15 Jog. Sigh.........

So in mental preparation for this I reminded myself that I would have some bit of an easier time in the next week. Get it done. This is it lad. The last big tough session in this block.
There's no real point in breaking this down into describing each split. It was tough. I dug in and got it done. I considered it my last true test before Charleville. Again, proud of myself. It was controlled for the most part. The latter splits did feel somewhat like race fatigue. All splits were between 5.46-5.52 and all recoveries were between 7.50-8.17. A strong run. Good work and nice to have that in the bank.

Wednesday - Easy 7M
Thursday AM 4M, PM 7M followed by strides.
Nothing major to report on them. Felt a little groggy in Thursday but nothing unusual. Been under pressure at work and now baba is getting dropped off at babysitter every morning so a little bit more to think about.

Friday - (2M at 6.10) + 3min Jog + (4x3min at 5.45 off 75s)
It's funny. I thought Tuesday was the last of the hard sessions and on paper I though this one seemed OK. I just didn't sleep that great and had to run this a little earlier coz of work so it was a bit on the tougher side. Nothing desperate but just felt a little tired. Ran the 2M a little quick to be honest. 6.04 average I think. The 3mins were OK. 5.37/5.43/5.44/5.41 with recoveries jogged between 7.29-7.47.

Saturday - 12M at 7.59
This one was fine. Wasn't feeling it but got it done. Had indigestion all the way and was generally meh but they can't all be spectacular. Job done.

Enjoying my rest day today. I always feel better after a day off. A "lie in"and generally chilled. Charleville next weekend. I know a lot of what I've been logging about over the last few weeks have been with Charleville in mind and it is coming across as a big target race but to be honest I'm very happy with my work since May. I include the 5k block in this because I think the 5k training and the HM training have massively complimented each other. This is by far the best shape I've ever been in. The result in Charleville is almost irrelevant. This training is in the bank. Very happy.

Also, how about that frickin run by Kipchoge. Was an absolute joy to watch.