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Just like starting over:The quest for a sub 18 5k

Back in Black

As the title says, feel like I'm starting over so time for a new long to mark a new start.

After getting patellar tendinopathy last June and a few aborted comebacks and a few setbacks, I finally feel like I'm ready to start a structured training plan and focus on a target.

The past few months have consisted of lots of physio work, pool training and some sporadic attempts at core work.

From the middle of March I ran 3 times a work and from April added 1 speedier and mainly unstructured day into the plan.

The focus was on the Run With Catherina 5k - the idea being to set a baseline time to set paces for the next training block. Ran a ok race but ran out of juice over the last few k and came home in 19:41.

The following week I answered the call from the club and ran a 100mtr sprint a 100mtr leg of a relay and a 3k as part of the county Track and Field Championship. Minded myself fairly well and was just making up numbers but knee was sore after it so took the rest of the week off from running and focused instead on the exercises the physio gave me.

Not ideal as last week was meant to be week one of the 10week 5k plan (Ryan Hall 5k plan) but I think it was right to be sensible.

So plan started today with a 25 minute easy run.

Monday 14th May: 25 minutes easy
Went down to the local gaa pitch after work and the young lad tagged along with me. The company meant the pace was nice and handy. It was as much a bonus to have the young lad run with me as to start back on plan. Hopefully this will become a regular thing with these short easy runs.

2.8 miles @ 9:23 avg pace (26:21) Avg HR: 128

Am also going to track the core work to keep me honest and chart how I'm doing.

Got up early this morning and done following:
3 x 45 second single leg wall sits
50 x one legged squats
40 sit-ups
30 push-ups
50 crunches
25 raised knee crunches
2 x 25 side crunches
25 ankle touches
20 leg raises
25 bicycles
60 second plank

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Back in Black

Tuesday 7th August: 4.3 miles @ 8:54 avg pace

Started the day with an 6am core workout (50 reps of usual stuff)

Got out for a run with one of the lads from the club in the evening. Time was short so stuck to an urban route. Miles flew by with the chat.

Wednesday 8th August: 5.5 miles with 10x400 w/200mtr jog recovery

Went down to the local gaa pitch track for this just after breakfast.

Started out with a 1 mile warm up and plenty of stretching before the 400's.

Target for them was 1:29

Splits were as follows:
1:28
1:29
1:29
1:28
1:28
1:27 1:30 break aka pit stop after this

1:26
1:26 Walked recovery after this.
1:30
1:30

Once again I ran out of juice on this. Was badly in need a toilet break from the 3rd rep and held on as long as I could but finally had to go after the 6th rep. It was tough to get going again and needed to walk the recovery after 8 reps. Stubborness kept me going and was glad to finish this. Wasn't keeping a close eye on splits so delighted with the consistency and that there wasn't a bit tail off.

Finished with a mile cool down before a quick shower and off to work!!

OOnegative

Well done in Castlepollard last night, it tells you where you are fitness wise J. We know you are way faster.

Back in Black

OOnegative wrote: »

Well done in Castlepollard last night, it tells you where you are fitness wise J. We know you are way faster.

Sorry I missed this until now!! That was my slowest 5k race ever so hopefully that's not where I am fitness wise or I'm taking up tiddlywinks :pac::pac::D.

I aggravated the quad over the weekend but had already committed to doing Castlepollard as was taxing someone there. Decided to do it as a tempo run as I had a 4 mile tempo run on the plan. The quad didn't like it when I tried to speed up so didn't overly push it.

OOnegative

Aha!! Explains it alright J.

Back in Black

Didn't realise I had left this so long

Thursday 9th August: 4 mile @ 8:55 avg pace

6 am run around the local football pitch

Friday 10th August: 5 mile @ 9:08 avg pace

Same time and place as previous day.

Friday/Saturday/ Sunday:

Worked 16 hour days each day and walked over 15 miles each day. Followed by a late night session wrote these days off. Managed to aggravate the quad injury too!!:mad:

Monday 13th August: 4 mile @ 8:50 avg pace

Had the day off work to make up for working all weekend. Caught up on sleep and then went down to the pitch for a few mile. The main purpose was to see how bad the quad was. Thankfully there was no real issue although I didn't push it too much.

Tuesday 14th August: 2.55 mile @ 8:27 avg pace

Was committed to Castlepollard so went for a wee exploratory run to see if the quad was up to the faster stuff. Went reasonably well and no reason not to run Castlepollard

Wednesday 15th August: 5.5mile incl Castlepollard 5k- 20:20 something or other.

Quad wasn't up to speedy stuff so turned this into the tempo run that was on the plan. Not the most comfortable or enjoyable 5k I ever done.

Took the rest of the week off to let the quad and body recover.

Monday 20th August: 4.8 mile @ 9:20 avg pace

Started the day with a 6am core routine - 50 reps of usual stuff.

Followed up with this run with one of the lads from the club.

Felt fresh after the break and not too much complaint from the quad.

Tuesday 21st August: 4 mile @ 8:29 avg pace

A very rare lunchtime run - enjoyed this.

Wednesday 22nd August: 4.4 mile @ 7:42 avg pace including 12 minutes tempo

A toughie with one of the lads from the club. Nice to have company and kept me honest on the tempo bit.

Also fitted in the 50 reps of the core routine

Thursday 23rd August: rest

Friday 24th August: 4.55 mile @ 8:50 avg pace

6 am run around the local pitch

Saturday 25th August: 4 mile including 8x200mtrs with 200mtrs recovery

Spent the day at Tayto Park so was proud of myself for sticking to the plan - even if it did mean running at 9pm after a long day with lots of walking.

Happy with the consistency of these - all were either 39 or 40seconds

Sunday 26th August: 8.4 mile @ 8:39 avg pace

Early morning long run around forest trails with one of the lads from the club in the rain.

Weekly total: 30.15 miles with 2 core workouts - a decent first week back

Back in Black

Monday 27th August: 3.7 mile @ 8:16 avg pace

Nice handy run around the football pitch track.

Also got a 6am core workout done

Tuesday 28th August: 5.3 mile @ 8:01 avg pace

Met a few lads from the club for this and threw in 5 x 15 seconds strides at the end. Enjoyed this run

Wednesday 29th August: 5.7 miles with 12 x 30secs hill repeats @ 3k pace

This was a real toughie. Had spent the day doing hard manual labour which the body is definitely not used to!! Was feeling stiff and sore heading out but managed to get this done and pace was reasonably consistent for the hill repeats.

Thursday 30th August: 4 mile@ 8:31 avg pace

A magical mystery tour with one of the lads from the club who took me onto roads I'd never been on before. A very hilly course which zapped the legs but still enjoyed the run.

Friday 31st August: Rest

Back in Black

Saturday 1st September: 6.5 mile incl loop the lakes 7km race:

A few obligatory excuses to thrown in first :P
Body was in bits as I had spent the week doing manual labour, I got home from the pub at 2am and got 4 hours broken sleep, headed to this straight from football training intending to run with the young lad who then bailed on me, the course is a pig of a course.

Anyhow all excuses out of the way. This wasn't really on the agenda but was for a great cause and running buddy was doing it. Decided before the start to try and stay with him for as long as possible and see where that took me. Answer was 1 and a bit miles

and then I died a death and it became a real slog to get home in one piece.

Splits were as follows: (watch was on miles)
6:16
6:46
7:18
7:52
1:42 for last bit (6:59 pace)

Total 29:54
The splits tell the tale of how the race went and felt!

Sunday 2nd September: 9mile LSR @ 9:09 avg pace

Joined running buddy for the second half of his 3 hour long run around the forest trails. The legs weren't too bad after the race and livened up after the first few miles.

Weekly Total: 34.2 miles

Back in Black

Monday 3rd September: 3.55 miles @ 9:01 avg pace

Started out with a 6am core workout with 50 reps of the usual stuff.

Headed out straight after work and headed down to the local gaa pitch for a few laps. Nice and handy pace.

Tuesday 4th September: 5 miles @ 8:56 avg pace

An early 6 am start for this and the first morning since last winter that I had to turn on the lights at the pitch!! Cold enough starting out too. Still it was nice to be running as the sun came up. Pace was nice and handy.

Wednesday 5th September: 8 miles with 4 x (8mins tempo w 2 mins recovery)

Got a late call the previous evening from running buddy to do this at 6am. I couldn't come up with a good excuse not to do it so decided to join him:p.

Started out with a 10 min easy run and followed it with plenty of stretching. I surprised myself and really enjoyed this despite thinking it was beyond me.

Pace for each block was as follows:
6:52
7:03
6:47
6:54

Happy with this as a decent workout.

Back in Black

Thursday 6th September: Rest Day

Friday 7th September: 5.1 miles @ 8:06 avg pace

Easy run around Cavan town with one of the lads from the club. He set the pace, which was faster than my easy pace of late, so I just went with and no issues.

Saturday 8th September: 4 miles @ 9:02 avg pace

This was a real tick box exercise!!

Was up at 6am and spent the day volunteering at a Triathlon event. They even let me marshall the mount/dismount line which was great craic altogether!!

It was lashing rain when I got home, hungry and tired with a ceiling to paint. So had something to eat and painted the ceiling and then decided to go for a run at the pitch in the lashing rain. Pace was very slow but in a perverse way I enjoyed this but not fully sure why I headed out

Sunday 9th September: 1 hour easy, 30mins at HM pace.

Being off plan, I decided to join running buddy for this which meant a 6:30 am start when my body was craving sleep!!

We headed off on a very hilly route for the easy hours bit in the rain and legs were dreading the HM bit and I really was struggling to see myself getting 5 minutes at HM pace, nevermind 30 minutes.

The 30 minutes came around way to quick and the first mile was all about easing into it and trying to control the form and breathing - my mantra was that I should be able to keep the effort and pace for 90 minutes. 2nd mile was a lot easier and I found my groove! Unfortunately that didn't last and I died a slow death over the next two miles and even told running buddy to plough on alone after 23 minutes. He didn't hear me correctly and I managed to get back to him over last few minutes.

Was in bits after this but delighted to get the 30 minutes done - had a good laugh after as running buddy thought I was shouting at him not to get too far away from me!!

Still it shows how much of the hurt/ want to stop is in the head as the pace never really dropped over the last few miles even though I felt it had significantly dropped away. Average Pace for the HM bit was 7:11 which is about right in terms of my HM pace at the minute:

Total: 6.7 miles @ 9:14 avg pace; 4.2 miles @ 7:11 avg pace

Weekly total: 36.55 miles (biggest mileage in a long while)

Also stepped on the scales for the first time in a while and happy to see a 4lb weight loss - all going in the right direction!!

Back in Black

Monday 10th September: 3 mile @ 8:4 avg pace

Handy evening recovery run around the local pitch

Tuesday 11th September: 5.82 mile with 5 x 3mins with 90 secs recovery

Joined running buddy for his planned session at 6 am at the pitch track.

15 minutes warm-up and then the reps.

Pace for splits were as follows:
6:35
6:28
6:22
6:37
6:45

Followed by a 10 minutes cool down.

Happy enough with this - a decent workout

Wednesday 12th September: 5 miles @8:54 avg pace

A solo easy run at 6 am - just kept the pace nice and easy.

Thursday 13th September: 5.1 mile @ 8:24 avg pace

Went with a few of lads from the club for this. Enjoyable run and felt strong

Friday 14th September: Rest Day

Saturday15th September: 5 mile with 11 minutes at Threshold pace

This was a real spur of the moment thing. Had a late night out the night before and was struggling for time with a busy day of family stuff planned. Decided to put on the running gear and do something while the young lad was at gaa training if there was enough people to help out with coaching. There was plenty of people to help so I decided to do a bit of a session. The original plan was to do 20 minutes at Threshold pace but that was probably a bit ambitious. Held 6:37 pace for 11 minutes and called it a halt at that as I was dying a death!!

Sunday 16th September: 8.25 miles @ 8:31 avg pace

A solo LSR early this morning. zoned out listening to podcasts and enjoyed this.

Weekly Total: 32.17 miles

Another reasonably solid week but I need to come up with a plan now as I've been drifting along making things up on the hoof or following other people's plan. First target next week is to pick a race and start following a plan.

Back in Black

Monday 17th September: 3.4mile @ 9:11 avg pace

Very easy recovery run around the local pitch.

Tuesday 18th September: 6 mile with 10x400 w/200 jog recovery

This was a rare late evening session. Was trying to find reasons to put it off but couldn't come up with a decent excuse so just got out the door for it.

Started off with a nice and handy warm-up and a few stretches.

I was loosing the light at the pitch so decided to ignore the watch and just run on feel alone and try and keep the effort up and form good.

The reps flew by and felt nice and relaxed throughout.

I never checked the watch but thinking about it on the cool down I felt I was probably slower than the target 5:55 per mile pace.

Was nicely surprised when I checked later on that the pace was quicker than that.

Splits were:
5:53
5:42
5:47
5:42
5:44
5:39
5:42
5:43
5:45
5:52

Finished off with a nice and easy cool down to take it to 6 miles.

Wednesday 19th September: 5 mile@ 8:21 avg pace

Done this with one of the lads from the club when the young lad was doing athletics training. Stuck to the roads around town examining the damage from the storm.

Enjoyed this and legs felt fresh!

Back in Black

Thursday 20th September: Rest (at a wedding)

Friday 21st September: 6 mile easy @ 8:37 avg pace

Day off work and wasn't in bad shape after the wedding so headed out at lunch time for laps of the local football pitch.

Saturday 22nd September: 5 mile with 3 x 1:45sec hill sprints.

Young lads birthday so time was tight so left him at the pitch for football training and found a good steep long hill for this.

Started out with a nice and slow warm-up.

1st rep : avg pace 6:20 - way,way too fast for this as was nearly goosed half way up and legs were screaming for me to stop!

2nd rep: 6:36 avg pace: This was probably closer to the right pace but still felt very tough.

3rd rep: 6:50 avg pace: Was blowing a head gasket half way up and the legs nearly gave way on me. Just about gritted it out.

A bloody tough workout despite being over fairly quick!

Sunday 23rd September: 11mile @ 8:05 avg pace

An early morning long run in glorious sunshine. Was feeling good so decided to up the pace over the last few miles and legs reacted well.

Starting to feel like a bit of strength and form is returning!!

Splits were
8:33
8:24
8:11
8:09
8:09
8:40
8:07
7:53
7:25
7:42
7:42

Weekly total: 36.4 miles

Back in Black

Monday 24th September: 3.5 miles @ 8:48 avg pace

Usual Monday evening recovery run around the pitch

Tuesday 25th September: 5.13 miles @ 8:57 avg pace

Late evening run with running buddy around town

Wednesday 26th September: 6 mile @ 8:09 avg pace

Usual Wednesday evening run with one of the lads from the club while young lad was at athletics training

Thursday 27th September: Rest
Was due to do speedwork but an emergency popped up so had to reschedule and ended up not getting out.

Friday 28th September: 6 mile with 4 mile @ goal 5k pace +15min per mile

Events nearly conspired against me again but eventually got away from work and decided to do this at the track before I went home.

To be honest I was dreading it and felt that there was no way I can do it but decided to give it a go anyway!!

Done a nice and easy warm-up mile before starting into it. The head and body quickly got into the right space and the laps ticked by. It definitely got tougher over the last mile but always felt in control and even felt as if I could have added on a few more miles!! A nice one for the confidence!!

Splits for the faster miles: 6:22; 6:20;6:15; 6:16

Saturday 29th September: 3.25 mile @ 8:28 avg pace

A nice and handy recovery run.

Sunday 30th September 6 mile including masters xcountry

County masters cross country day and was looking forward to this. I always enjoy the cross country when I'm fit and field was in great condition with plenty of long grass and very little mud.

For various reasons the field was very thin and had a feeling I would be out on my own for most of this!!

That proved to be the case quicker than expected as first guy (usually at 16XX 5k runner) shot off into the distance leaving the pack behind. I made a half hearted attempt to keep him in sight which meant that I was left on my own soon afterwards. The chasing pack were well behind and making no attempts to chase me down. So this ended up being a 5 lap tempo run for me on my own. I had zero chance of catching the quy ahead of me and he was long gone in the distance but tried to hold a decent pace and keep myself honest.

Managed to do this and finished the last mile as the quickest of the three and got home in second place. However, it was more of a decent workout than a race.

Done a few km cool down with one of the lads from the club.

Weekly total: 27.88 miles

September total mileage: 149 miles
A good month's work and some endurance and form is starting to come back!!

OOnegative

Well done on the county medal J, they are not just given out for turning up.

Back in Black

Monday 1st October: 3mile recovery @ 8:55 avg pace

Obligatory Monday recovery run from the house down to local pitch, few laps and back.

Tuesday 2nd October: 7.5 miles including 6x1km @ 10km effort

First run with new runners that arrived today - usually break them in but old ones were in bits so took the risk of changing straight away for this.

Done this with my marathon training running buddy as it nearly synced with my planned run of 5 x 1mile. It was later than planned when we got out to the forest park and knew we might be struggling for light over the last few.

Started with a 15 minute warm-up @ 8:45 pace, some stretches and then the fun stuff. There was plenty of rolling hills and trails so had roughly 4min kms in my head as a rough target but deliberately avoided looking at the watch and ran off feel and keeping each other honest. 90sec recoveries between the kms with 3mins between 3 and 4.

Splits were:
3:54
3:53
3:53
4:02
4:05
4:13

Last two were pretty much in darkness with visibility an issue so had to take it handy in places.

Happy with this nice and honest workout.

Wednesday 3rd: Rest

Thursday 4th: 5.4miles @ 8:38 avg pace

A late evening run with head torches with two of the lads from the club. Enjoyed this.

Friday 5th: 4 mile with 8x200 w/ 200 recoveries

One of the lads for the club joined me for this which meant it flew by and he made me work harder than I would have on my own!

Splits: 37;38;39;39;37;39;39;38

Saturday 6th: 5.2miles @ 8:38 avg pace

Run with running buddy around the gaa pitch while the kids had football training.

Sunday 7th: 10mile LSR @ 8:28 avg pace

Solo long run around town. Body felt a bit creaky to start with but soon hit my stride.

Weekly total: 35.1 miles

A decent enough week but need to start getting the mileage up to about 40 a week consistently,

Back in Black

Monday 8th October: 4.1 miles @ 9:08

Usual Monday evening recovery run from the house down to the pitch. Kept it real handy.

Tuesday 9th October: 5.5 miles @ 8:49

6am start for this and let the legs dictate the pace. First real sign of winter coming as I needed the gloves for this one.

Wednesday 10th October: 4.1 miles with 12 x 30 sec hills

Used the opportunity of having the young lad at training to get this done. Done a nice 1 mile ish warm up until I found the right hill for this.

A good workout but pace definitely slowed over the second half and I probably didn't push as hard as I could have.

Thursday 11th October: 6.2 mile @ 8:07

Met up with two of the lads from the club and done a route around town. Nice enjoyable run and the chat helped the miles whizz by.

Friday 12th October: 5.5 miles with 4 x1,2000 with 2 min recoveries

Target was 4:30 for these and went to the local gaa pitch with track for the session.

Started out with a 1 mile warm-up and some stretches and then the 1,200's

Splits were as follows:
4:31
4:29
4:29
4:30

Happy with this workout and although I got tired over the last two, I maintained form and the pace.

Saturday: Rest.

Sunday 14th October: 10 mile with 25 minutes at hm/m pace

An early morning start for this and approached it with a bit of wariness as I knew picking up the pace would be tough. I could have been smarter about the route I picked as I could have made this easier on myself.

6 miles flew by although I had to force myself to slow down a few times:
Splits for the 6 miles were:
8:04; 7:37;8:10;8:01; 8:01;8:01

Then picked up the pace for the last 4 mile. First two were done without too much bother (7:01; 7:00) but left myself a very long drag for most of the 3rd mile. I was wrecked by the time I got the long drag over with as I was trying to keep the pace and effort up. Mostly managed on the effort with a 3rd mile of 7:11. Was working hard on convincing myself that the 4 minutes I had left were nothing and I would get through it but gave up the ghost with 23:30 on the watch (last bit was 7:07) as I was in bits. Stood around for a bit to get my wind back and then jogged slowly back to the car.

I was a bit annoyed with myself for not seeing out the 25 minutes but again its sessions like this that will help get the fitness back and there is no point knocking them all out of the park!!

Weekly total: 35.4 miles

Back in Black

Monday 15th October: 4.1 miles @ 8:57 avg pace

Usual Monday evening straight after work recovery run.

Tuesday 16th October: 6.2 mile incl 6x5mins @ threshold pace with 1 min jog recovery

Headed out with running buddy for this one off his plan.

Started with a 10 minute warm-up. I didn't have the session programmed on the watch so no splits apart from last 2. First couple were probably a bit on the quick side and was feeling it. Lost running buddy after the 4th as he was having stomach issues so done the last two solo and managed to somehow hang on and see them out. Splits for those were 6:18 and 6:21.

Didn't do a cooldown as running buddy was in the car waiting and didn't want him waiting around for me.

Happy with this - a nice tough honest run.

Wednesday 17th October: 6 mile @ 8:16

Another run that is becoming routine. Done this with one of the lads from the club while the young lads were doing athletics training. Another enjoyable run.

Thursday 18th October: 5 mile @ 9:42 avg pace

This was a strange one to say the least!! Had initially planned a rest day but got a call from running buddy for company on his planned session. I checked my plan and had a 6 mile tempo planned for Friday which I thought I could do some of with running buddy's planned session. We were planning on a 2 mile easy to start but when we stopped to stretch after 1 mile I was feeling light headed. Said nothing and decided to start into the tempo run after we hit 2 miles but was feeling fairly crap so decided to can the run and just turn it into an easy run to get back to the car. Still felt like crap and ended up stopping on the way home for lucozade.

Friday 19th: Rest

Saturday 20th: 8 mile including 6 tempo @ 7:01 avg pace

Was dreading this to be honest and nearly talked myself out of it a few times. Not helped that I had to do it first thing.

Thankfully I found my groove early on and once I got the first two miles done, I wasn't really struggling at all. Was still gasping for breath once I finished the six miles but absolutely delighted to have nailed this.

Sunday 21st: 11 mile LSR@ 8:30

Spent the rest of my Saturday between an under 9s blitz (including reffing a game) and then spreading topsoil on the school pitch so was zonked this morning and legs were tired and sore starting out.

A bit of life returned to the legs after a few mile and this flew by. First run I've done in a long time that it rained the whole way through.

Weekly total: 40.3 mile!! Yay finally crossed the 40 mile a wee mark for first time since last May!! :P

Back in Black

Monday 22nd October: 3.6miles @ 9:12 avg pace

usual Monday evening recovery run down to local pitch and back after a few laps.

Tuesday 23rd - Saturday 27th - Rest

Enforced rest with a sinus infection.

Sunday 28th: 5miles @ 8:21 avg pace

Feeling like I beat the sinus infection so got out for a late evening run. Legs felt nice and fresh and got quicker as each mile went by

Weekly total: 8.6 miles

Monday 29th: 6miles @ 8:27 avg pace

An early after run around the pitch track at a nice and handy clip. Enjoyed this and felt good.

Tuesday 30th: 5.5 miles @ 8:03 avg pace

It was late when I got out for this owing to time pressures. Parked close to town and ran around the streets of Cavan. Felt effortless - few days off seemed to have worked a treat!!

Wednesday 31st: 4.7 miles including 10x300 w/100mtrs recoveries.

Got out before work just as it was starting to get bright down at the gaa pitch track.

1 mile warm-up and plenty of stretching before getting stuck in.

Splits were all between 60 and 64 seconds.

A good tough workout!

Monthly Total: 134.6 miles

AuldManKing

those 300's are magic, coupled with sessions like 6x5min - a recipe for success.

your training seems a lot more varied and sensible this year J.

Back in Black

Thursday 1st November: Rest

Friday 2nd November: 7 mile with 6@ 5k pace + 30 secs a mile

Wasn't looking forward to this one and had an eye on it all week. Had struggled to run 6 mile @ 7min pace a few weeks back and was on the limit for it!! Target pace was 6:35 and only real chance to do this would be on my lunchbreak. That's never ideal as it's hard to get the time and also hard to fuel right.

Still needs must and got out of the office on time. Decided to just do a half mile warm-up as time was tight. First mile was net uphill but got that back on the second mile. Was feeling this early on but gritted the teeth and just kept going. Every time I checked the watch it told me I was @ 6:35 pace so just tried to hold on and keep doing what I was doing. There was a few hills on the route I picked so happy to see the pace stay consistent.

Delighted to hit the 6 miles but was shattered after it. A quick half mile back to the office and I was done!! Absolutely thrilled with this - a real confidence booster to nail such a tough session.

Splits were: 6:37;6:35;6:28; 6:38;6:36;6:39.

Also managed to do a good 30 minute core routine so a good day all around.

Saturday 3rd November: 5 mile easy @ 8:30 avg pace

A nice and handy run around the pitch. Legs were tired and heavy and knee was a bit sore but freed up the more I ran.

Sunday 4th November: 2 mile @ 8:24

Spent the morning getting a family fun day set up for the local school fundraising. Ended up playing 3 games of 5 aside. It was good fun with mixed adults/kids teams and I stayed in goal mostly but body was still feeling the effects of it when I started my long run a few hours later. Knee felt funny which is not unusual but it normally frees up after a mile or so. My form was all over the place and I was afraid of doing damage so pulled the plug and decided to spend the time icing and doing my physio exercises instead.

Weekly total: 30.2 miles & two core workouts

Back in Black

Bit of a catch up here again!!

Monday 5th Nov: 4mile @ 8:56 avg pace

No recollection of this at all!!

Tuesday 6th Nov: 6 mile @ 8:42 avg pace

Easy 6am run around Cavan Town

Wednesday 7th Nov: 6 mile with 2x2min hills; 4x1min hills; 4x30 second hills (all with jog back recovery)

Done this while the young lad was at training and picked a long steep hill.

Hit the same spot for each of the reps so consistency was there.

A real toughie and legs were in tatters after it.

Thursday 8th Nov: Rest

Had to let the poor legs recover!!

Friday 9th Nov: 6.2 mile @ 8:51 avg pace

Handy late evening run with one of the lads from the club around Cavan town.

Saturday 10th Nov: 5 mile with 1mile@5k pace; 2x 800, 4x400

Another toughie down at the track.

My garmin app stopped working on the phone so couldn't set this up as a session for the watch so only have mile splits.

Mile 1 was at 6:15 and remember been happy with the splits for the 800s and 400s.

All recoveries where half the distance.

Sunday 11th Nov: 11.7mile @ 8:13 avg pace

Early morning run in glorious sunshine in the forest park. Legs were tired but still really enjoyed this.

Weekly total: 38.9 miles

Back in Black

Monday 12th November: 5.4 mile @ 8:43 avg pace

Went out with one of the lads from the club for this around Cavan town.

Tuesday 13th November: 3.8 mile @ 9:15 avg pace

Got out straight after work and was feeling tired so kept it slow and handy.

Wednesday 14th November: 5 mile with 1.5 @ 5k pace, 1@ 5k pace -10 secs

Headed out while young lad was at athletics training. I knew this would be a struggle as I was dealing with a headcold all day and not feeling the best.

Started with a 1 mile warm-up and then into the first rep. Knew from the off that 5km pace wouldn't happen so tried to keep the effort at the right level and not worry too much about pace. Avg pace was 6:28 for the 1.5km so a fair bit off.

3 minutes was the prescribed recovery and I needed every bit of it!!

Next mile was a real effort and struggled with it - 6:34 avg pace

Still happen I attempted this and a useful workout

Thursday/Friday: Rest

Tried to mind myself and shake the headcold

Done a one mile warm-up

Back in Black

Saturday 17th November: 6.4 mile@ 7:54 avg pace

Was down in Maynooth for the night for a college reunion. Arrived early at the hotel so headed out for a run to explore past haunts. Had no real plan in mind so decided to up the pace after a mile to a steady effort. Put in mile 2 at 7:05 and mile 3 at 7:25 and then dialled it back a bit.

Sunday 18th November: 9 mile @ 7:59 avg pace

Was awake early and feeling reasonably fresh so headed for an early morning run in glorious sunshine. Headed down the royal canal past Kilcock and then turned back. A very enjoyable run.

Weekly total: 29.6 miles

Monday 19th November: 4 mile @ 8:06 avg pace

An easy recovery run at lunch time around Cavan town

Tuesday 20th November: 6.3 miles @ 8:18 avg pace

A late evening run with two of the lads from the club. A really enjoyable run that flew by.

OOnegative

8.06 pace recovery J?

Back in Black

OOnegative wrote: »

8.06 pace recovery J?

It was downhill (ish)

Good point B!! Way too fast for recovery

Back in Black

Wednesday 21st Nov: 5 mile incl 2x1.5 mile @ 5k pace

This was a real toughie but done it at the gaa pitch track to make it a wee bit easier on myself.

First 1.5m @ 6:05 avg pace

3 min recovery

2nd 1.5m @ 6:08 avg pace

In a heap at the end of this

Thursday 22nd Nov: Rest

Friday 23rd Nov: 5 mile easy @ 8:46 avg pace

Nice handy one with running buddy - first time running together since he done the marathon so run flew by hearing his marathon stories.

Saturday 24th Nov: 5.5 mil incl 6 x800mtrs @ 3k pace

Done this at first light down at local pitch track.

paces for 800s were
5:52
5:50
5:50
5:58
5:59
6:04

all with 2 min recoveries. Fall off on the last 3 fairly obvious. Found this really tough.

Sunday 25th Nov: 10.75mile @ 8:24 avg pace

Long run with running buddy around the forest trails. A really enjoyable run.

Weekly total: 36.55 miles

Back in Black

Monday 26th Nov: 3.5mile @ 9 min avg pace

Usual handy Monday evening recovery run

Tuesday 27th Nov: 5 mile @ 8:39 avg pace

Handy run around Cavan town with running buddy

Wednesday 28th Nov: 4.5 mile with 1.5 mile @ goal pace +30 seconds and 6x30secs @ 3k pace

Could only get out late in the evening and weather was awful so just went down to local gaa pitch track in the dark. Wasn't watching the watch so just went with and managed to hit 6:45 pace for the 1.5mile. A bit slower than planned but happy enough with it.

30second bursts just tried to keep good form and an honest effort.

Thursday 29th Nov: Rest

Friday 30th Nov: 2.8 mile @ 8:58 avg pace

Just to shake out the legs before the race tomorrow.

Monthly total: 134.85 miles

A solid if unspectacular month - just getting miles into the legs

Back in Black

Saturday 1st Dec:6 mile with Jingle bells 5k @ 19:03

So this as the big race I was preparing for the last few months. Kept it low key as I didn't want to build it up into a huge deal. Helped by the fact the whole family were doing it in various guises so went into it fairly relaxed.

I was fairly happy with the few months solid work and was hoping for anything starting with 18 for this. Knee has behaving itself and I had hit a few big sessions recently so was fairly confident of hitting the target.

I also had pencilled in Drogheda 5k in two weeks time as a fall back in case the wheels came up.

Done a decent warm-up and timed getting to the start perfectly. Aim was to hit 6 minute miles or as close as possible.

Usual congestion at the start but forced myself to relax and not to use a load of energy jostling and eventually started to find clear road. Glanced at the watch at 1km mark hitting Chesterfield and seen 3:45 so was delighted with that. Was in a good spot heading down Chesterfield and had plenty of people around to work off. Spotted OFAR in a group ahead of me which gave me a boost knowing I was in a good spot considering the shape he was in. AMK went flying by at some stage here - I figured he missed the start and he was making up for lost time!!

Mile 1 beeped at 6:03 so fairly on target and felt good knowing the last mile was downhill.

And then the rustiness and lack of racing hit me like a sledge hammer. Suddenly I was feeling in a world of pain and falling off the group. OFAR was disappearing into the distance. Every glance at the watch was showing 6:3x and I had a long way to go. Considering stopping a few times but tried to tell myself to get my **** together - I could afford a poor middle mile and get it back on the final mile. Second mile felt like the longest ever - I was all over the place and runners were streaming by as I felt like crap. Missed the 2nd mile beeping (6:17 I found out later) but was convinced the race was gone.

Contemplated a lot of things at this stage and a lot of negative thoughts crept in and past poor performances came flooding back. Seeing the 1 mile to go sign gave me a bit of a kick in the ass and although I never passed anyone between then and the end of the race, I stemmed the flow of people going by me and was only passed once again. Generous downhill came at the right time and even managed a spurt of speed down the finish straight when I realised that my time was actually not as bad as I thought. (6:09 and 0:33 for last bit)

Was in a heap when I finished but after feeling so bad on the course, was pleasantly surprised to be so close to my target. Jogged back down the course to meet the young lad who managed another PB and was thrilled with himself!!

Caught up with a few boardsies afterwards.

Having had time to consider the race, a few things I learned.

My brain can't do maths when I'm in a race - switch the garmin to kms for 5ks!!
There is no training that can replicate race conditions. I need to race to get in race shape!!
I need to do the tough sessions in training without headphones and to mimic race conditions as much as possible.

Biggest takeaway and to end on a positive is that I can know say I'm back in the game after the injury lay off. I've build the miles up and while I'm still well over a minute off my 5k PB, I've something to work on and chip away at.

Next stop Drogheda and a sub 19 5k.

MY BAD

You're going the right direction. Its hard to beat actual races. My coach reckons it probably takes 3 5k races within a few weeks to get fully switched on.

Back in Black

Mellow Yellow 26.2 wrote: »

You're going the right direction. Its hard to beat actual races. My coach reckons it probably takes 3 5k races within a few weeks to get fully switched on.

Cheers. Sounds about right on needing a few 5ks together to get it right! Well done on your race - any day you PB is a good day!!