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

Unthought Known · 17-09-2018 9:55am

Thanks C. Worst case is that I'll get an honest indication for DCM.

Unthought Known · 22-09-2018 9:49pm

18 September: [Planned 8 miles GA]
Ran: 7 mile commute at 9:17. Avg HR 133
Starting the mini taper a little too early maybe. Kept this one very steady in terms of HR. Paces relative to HR seem to have increased slightly over this training block.

19 September: [Planned V02: 9 miles with 5x1000]
Ran: 6.7 miles at 8:44. Avg HR 130
Where to start. My original taper plan was to cut this to 7 miles with 3x1000. Rushed out very soon after getting home from work and realised I hadn't planned where to go. Change of plan to run easy and alternate with a couple of miles at around my planned HM pace of 7:30. Managed that in miles 2 & 4, but had a nightmare from then where I desperately needed the toilet. The last 2 and a half miles were possibly the most uncomfortable running experience I've ever had.

20 September: [Planned 5 mile recovery]
Ran: 6.1 miles at 9:41. Avg HR 126
Pouring rain for the whole run, but I loved it. Since I started running in 2015 this is the first time I have completed a run without once looking at my watch. All I knew was that I wanted this to be really easy and it was. Must do that more often.

22 September: [Planned Dublin Half Marathon]
Ran: 15.2 miles in total incl w/u and c/d
Chip time 1:34:59, an 8:39 PB!
I'd set myself a 1:38 target for this. I had a feeling (and was told) it was a soft target, but honestly didn't know if I could plan to go any faster.

Miles 1-3: 7:30, 7:06, 7:17
For some reason I lined up just behind the 1:40 pacers. This worked nicely to keep the pace steady, but coming up to the mile marker I had to move ahead to get a bit of space. I knew mile 2 would be quick so allowed myself to speed up down the hill. Mile 3 just felt very comfortable and I was thinking then that even a mini taper does wonders. Took water, drank about half the bottle.

Miles 4-6: 7:20, 7:17, 7:22
Ok, so now I know I've got around 4.5 miles of drag. Military Rd has never really bothered me and even though it was early I felt good enough to settle into something more like, maybe a bit faster, my recent 10M pace. Still feeling good around the zoo and up North Rd and I got into a really good stride. Halfway up North Rd I remember thinking that I wasn't noticing any drag which was a great sign.

Miles 7-9: 7:13, 7:24, 7:04
Ticking along, but mile 8 was the first time I felt myself slow a bit. I'd never run Whyte's Rd before and it's true that the unknown can put doubts in your mind. But then we're onto Tower Rd, familiar territory, and I'm thinking the next 4 miles is virtually all downhill. Took water, drank about half the bottle.

Miles 10-12: 7:08, 6:58, 7:05
Made a point of checking my watch as I passed the 10 mile marker. 1:12:43, over a minute faster than FD10. Strangely the official tracker has me crossing 10m in 1:13:47. Passing a few more people, but not loads. Skip the final water station, no time to slow down now.

Miles 13-13.1: 7:17, a sprint at 6:17 pace
I knew mile 13 would be a bit tough, but thought I'd slow down more. Not that I was passing anyone. At this stage I was thinking sub 1:36, but seeing the finish line took me by surprise. Not sure how far out I was, but my watch had a time of 1:34:15. 44 seconds to break 1:35, but it wasn't going to be easy. This is where I really went for it and I stopped the watch bang on 1:35. I know it's only 1 second, but when I got back to the car and saw the official time of 1:34:59 it made my day!

So a much better result than I expected. The weather was absolutely perfect today, but it is still a big confidence boost for DCM.

skyblue46 · 22-09-2018 10:17pm

Delighted for you! Now I'm convinced we'll have the same DCM strategy! Great running. Well done.

Unthought Known · 22-09-2018 11:07pm

skyblue46 wrote: »

Delighted for you! Now I'm convinced we'll have the same DCM strategy! Great running. Well done.

Thanks Sean, not too sure about that though

scotindublin · 23-09-2018 10:41am

Brilliant time A and a great confirmation that your training is coming along nicely for the end of October. That's a nice confidence boost to take into the marathon. Great things coming your way I think

Unthought Known · 23-09-2018 12:31pm

Thanks C. Doing some number crunching now.

Huzzah! · 23-09-2018 12:46pm

Fantastic running. Congrats on the PB.

Unthought Known · 23-09-2018 1:23pm

Huzzah! wrote: »

Fantastic running. Congrats on the PB.

Thanks

Pomplamousse · 23-09-2018 2:35pm

Well done on a brilliant time and HUGE PB!:)

Wubble Wubble · 23-09-2018 6:15pm

Great performance there A, looking forward to seeing that sub 3:30 smashed in DCM

Unthought Known · 23-09-2018 9:22pm

Thanks Pomplamousse, thanks J.

Unthought Known · 24-09-2018 5:24pm

To finish the week....
23 September: [Planned 5 miles Rec]
Ran: 3 easy miles at 9:30

38 miles for the week.

Unthought Known · 01-10-2018 12:25am

25 September: [Planned V02: 8m with 5x600]
Ran: 8 miles easy at 9:16. Avg HR 127
Change of plan after racing on Saturday. Enjoyable easy run.

26 September: [Planned 11m MLR]
Ran: 11.3 mile commute at 9:16. Avg HR 136

28 September: [Planned 4m recovery]
Ran: 5 miles, not easy enough, at 9:20. Avg HR 127

29 September: [Planned 10 miles with 6 @ LT]
Ran: 9.75 miles with middle 6m at LT
Felt great doing this. Definitely finding it easier to hold a faster pace.
LT splits: 7:11, 7:16, 7:06, 7:18, 6:49, 7:09

30 September: [Planned 17 mile LR]
Ran: 17 miles at 9:14. Avg HR 132
Mentally a very tough run, but that was all self-inflicted. Couldn't get out until around 6pm and by then my head just wasn't in the right place. Made a stupid decision to run 6 loops rather than an out and back "in case I want to cut it short". I then spent the first 12 miles literally arguing with myself. One minute I'm telling myself it's fine to give up, go home and have some dinner. Next I'm telling myself this is what marathon training is all about. Anyway, 12 miles of that isn't any fun. On a positive note I felt strong for the whole run.
The watch, at least I hope it was the watch, went a bit mad and showed my HR hitting 160+ for about 10 minutes. I'm pretty sure it wasn't that and once I stopped and cleaned it HR went back down to 130.

205 miles for the month.

scotindublin · 01-10-2018 3:24pm

Another solid week and well done on getting through yesterday.....probably just hitting that time in marathon training where your body and mind is going "why are you doing this to me".

Almost there now so time to keep the focus for another couple of weeks then wrap your self in cotton wool!

Unthought Known · 07-10-2018 10:56pm

2 October: [Planned 7 mile recovery]
Ran: 3 miles easy at 9:16. Avg HR 131
No time for 7 miles so a short easy local loop.

3 October: [Planned VO2: 10 miles with 4x1200 @ 5k pace]
Ran: 10 miles with 4x1200 off 3:45 recovery
The usual Sandyford loop for this one. Found it hard to get up to planned pace for the first rep, but the last 3 were much more like it. Pretty comfortable overall, but I definitely felt the effort increase in the last on.
1200 splits: 5:08, 4:58, 4:59, 4:59. That's time, not pace. Not sure I could run 1200cm at that pace.

5 October: [Planned 11 miles MLR]
Ran: 10.8 miles at 8:51. Avg HR 130
A commute, but this time to work which meant it was mostly downhill. Very easy, but I'm not sure it did much apart from add to the mileage.

6 October: [Planned 20 miles LR]
Ran: 20 miles with 5m at MP. Avg pace 8:45. Avg HR 138
Other commitments meant I had to move the long run to Saturday and miss the 3/4 marathon. Decided to run into town, pick up DCM from Dolphin's Barn to Roebuck Rd, then run the 4 miles back home to make up the 20. 5 MP miles from Crumlin Rd to Orwell Rd were 7:49, 7:46, 7:30, 7:48, 7:46.

Skipped the 4 mile recovery today, too much going on.

Around 44 miles for the week.

Unthought Known · 09-10-2018 5:41pm

Well, If I have to get sick it's better now than in 2 weeks.

Unthought Known · 14-10-2018 11:01pm

No running at all Monday to Friday. Spent most of the week in bed.

13 October: [Planned 10 mile GA with strides]
Ran: 5 miles easy at 9:07. Avg HR 129
Easing back into it. Felt ok, but not too much energy in the legs.

14 October: [Planned 16 mile LR]
Ran: 4.2 miles at 9:37. Avg HR 141
Had planned before going out to run only 8 miles rather than push anything. Within 2 miles I realised my HR was higher than normal so cut this sort and looped back home. Obviously not fully recovered.

9.2 miles for the week! Hopefully next week will be back on plan.

The Black Oil · 16-10-2018 9:02pm

Is illness discussed in books/stuff much you've read at all? Probably not taken into account even in more advanced plans.

aquinn · 17-10-2018 1:47pm

Just catching up on the HM performance. Fantastic going A, really brilliant.

Mind yourself now if the dose is settling. Don't rush back and wreck yourself. Rest is required so take it and don't panic.

Unthought Known · 17-10-2018 11:41pm

The Black Oil wrote: »

Is illness discussed in books/stuff much you've read at all? Probably not taken into account even in more advanced plans.

Not really. They talk about when to consider revising goals depending on the number of days missed and how far you are from race day. I only missed 3 1/2 runs, during taper, though so I'm not too concerned.

Unthought Known · 17-10-2018 11:43pm

aquinn wrote: »

Just catching up on the HM performance. Fantastic going A, really brilliant.

Mind yourself now if the dose is settling. Don't rush back and wreck yourself. Rest is required so take it and don't panic.

Thanks A. The HM was a bit of a surprise, a good one though.
Had the all clear from the doctor on Monday, but you're right, I've cut back on my 2 runs so far this week.

aquinn · 23-10-2018 4:27pm

How are you now, all well?

Unthought Known · 23-10-2018 7:57pm

aquinn wrote: »

How are you now, all well?

All good now thanks A. Just the usual taper madness trying avoid more germs on the Luas.

Unthought Known · 23-10-2018 11:17pm

16 October: [Planned 7 miles GA with strides]
Ran: 8.2 miles easy at 9:16. Avg HR 135
Didn't check the plan, but no harm done.

17 October: [Planned 8 miles with 3x1m at 5k pace]
Ran: 5 miles with 2m at MP
Didn't really fancy the VO2 session so it was an easy run with 2 miles at marathon pace. MP miles felt comfortable.

19 October: [Planned 5 miles rec with strides]
Ran: 5 miles at 9:14. Avg HR 131

21 October: [Planned 12m MLR]
Ran: 8 miles at 9:10. Avg HR 130
Nice and easy. Legs felt full of energy.

26 miles for the week.

23 October: [Planned 5m recovery]
Ran: 3 miles round the block at 9:29
Home from work late so a shorter recovery run.

Probably only 2 more runs for me before Sunday. 6 mile dress rehearsal with 2m at MP tomorrow followed by 3-4 miles easy on Friday.

scotindublin · 27-10-2018 7:12am

Good luck tomorrow Andy another very consistent training block under your belt.

Now go out and get that PB your training deserves!

I will be at the water station at Donore so I will try and spot you on the way past.

Unthought Known · 27-10-2018 1:52pm

scotindublin wrote: »

Good luck tomorrow Andy another very consistent training block under your belt.

Now go out and get that PB your training deserves!

I will be at the water station at Donore so I will try and spot you on the way past.

Thanks Craig. #2601 and all in black tomorrow. I'll say hello if I can speak at that point!

Pomplamousse · 27-10-2018 5:10pm

All black outfits must be in fashion, mine's the same:P
Best of luck tomorrow. Hope this time tomorrow you're celebrating a big PB!

Unthought Known · 27-10-2018 6:49pm

Pomplamousse wrote: »

All black outfits must be in fashion, mine's the same:P
Best of luck tomorrow. Hope this time tomorrow you're celebrating a big PB!

Thanks. Black is the new orange.
Really hope you have an enjoyable day. Best of luck.

Huzzah! · 27-10-2018 8:16pm

Hope you’ve a cracking run tomorrow!

scotindublin · 03-11-2018 8:38am

How is the recovery going Andy? Tough last few miles by the sounds of it but you showed guts to get through it and still run a PB on Sunday.

What's the plan now? Back on another marathon cycle or a change of goals for the next while?

Unthought Known · 05-11-2018 12:09am

scotindublin wrote: »

How is the recovery going Andy? Tough last few miles by the sounds of it but you showed guts to get through it and still run a PB on Sunday.

What's the plan now? Back on another marathon cycle or a change of goals for the next while?

Thanks for jolting me out of my slumber Craig! Time to catch up.......

24 October: [Planned 6 miles with 2m at MP]
Ran: 6m with 2m at MP
Last small MP run. Pace felt good,nice and steady.

26 October: [Planned 3 miles recovery]
Ran: 3m recovery

28 October: Dublin Marathon
After a great training plan, but possibly not the best taper, I was confident enough of putting in a good run.
Plan was to aim for 3:25 and pace by elevation like last year. A great nights sleep, up just before 6am, porridge, coffee, mix a Hi5 tab, toilet, toast, toilet, go to front door, toilet again, off to the Luas and into town for 8am.
Nice and relaxed beforehand. Got talking to a guy who was running his 14th consecutive DCM. The woman next to him then mentioned that this was her 25th! I felt like a novice all over again.

Miles 1-3: 8:00, 7:41, 7:58
Nice slow start. I had a pace band and I was slightly slower after 3 miles , but that's good.

Miles 4-6: 7:43, 7:43, 7:42
A few seconds up over these 3 which was a bit reckless. Feeling great, but why wouldn't I in the first 1/4 of a marathon. Took water at the 2nd water station and my first gel.

Miles 7-9: 7:47, 7:32, 7:30
Again, too fast. My 3rd DCM and I should really know better. Met Sean during mile 9 and had a little chat about pacing. Water at 7.

Miles 10-12: 7:29, 7:49, 7:40
Around mile 10 I moved aside for a wheelchair and fell behind Sean. Made the choice there that if I stayed with him I will either hold him back or, worse, he will drag me to a pace I can't maintain. I do remember thinking at the time, some people just look like a runner. Sean looks like a runner. I don't.
Water and a gel at 10.

Miles 13-15: 7:44, 8:08, 7:54
I thought I paced this part well. Made a point of keeping a steady effort and allowing the pace to drop knowing that miles 16-20 are flat-to-downhill.
Water and gel at 13.

Miles 16-18: 7:48, 8:06, 7:45
Mile 16 was perfect. Mile 17 took me by surprise as I dropped off the pace without realising. This is where I started working a little harder. Got back into a nice pace on mile 18. At 18 miles I was 40 seconds ahead of my pace band.
Water at 16.

Miles 19-21: 7:52, 8:03, 8:17
Still ticking along, but I'm definitely feeling it. Pass the family at Milltown and that gives me a boost, but at the top of the tiny hill coming out of Milltown my right hamstring tightens and feels like it's going to snap. Slow down, it eases a bit, but as I'm turning onto Clonskeagh Rd it happens again.
Water and gel at 19.

Miles 22-24: 9:02, 8:31, 8:38
Survival mode. Clonskeagh Rd was hell. I was digging in anyway, but every now and then the hamstring would tease me by almost going, causing me to do this strange step as I tried to avoid cramp. In hindsight I might have been better off stopping to stretch, but I was worried I wouldn't get going again. Actually didn't feel too bad on Roebuck Rd and I ran up the hill.
Felt ok down Fosters and better up to and over the bridge. Down Nutley and I'm thinking a strong finish might salvage a sub 3:30.
Water and gel at 22

Miles 25-Finish: 8:54, 8:48
Nope. At the bottom of Nutley my left hamstring threatens to seize up. At this point I just want to finish so I plod along without even a glimpse of a sprint finish.

Finish time 3:31:15. A struggle, but an 8 minute PB.
I'm not sure what caused the hamstring issues. The cold weather? I had made an extra effort to fuel up in the week before on electrolytes so it was a surprise.
Pacing needs to be better though. Miles 4-10 were too fast and I think that had killed off any sub-3:25 chances before anything else.

Plans: Rotterdam or Manchester in April, I haven't decided which yet. I bought Hansons Marathon Method this week and I'm intrigued to see if it will suit me. I'm only 30 pages in and I'll wait until I finish the book, but I may give it a go.
In the lottery for Berlin, but I'll definitely do DCM next year as long as I'm not injured. If I get into Berlin that will be my target race and Dublin will be run for enjoyment only.

118 miles for the month.

2 November: 4m recovery on a treadmill
I hate gyms and I hate treadmills.

skyblue46 · 05-11-2018 12:25am

That's a very kind comment you make Andy even if it is at odds with what I think I look like running!

Huzzah! · 05-11-2018 9:29am

Congrats on the PB. You're consistently improving your times in nice increments, despite the issues with your hamstrings. Well done.

scotindublin · 06-11-2018 6:31pm

Few of the lads in the club talking about Rotterdam; supposed to be a good one.

The Black Oil · 06-11-2018 7:39pm

Well done one the race and PB. Good to meet a familiar face on the course. Don't recall if hamstrings were mentioned in other logs, off the top of my head. Seems to be range of marathons in the UK around April. No decisions on my end, there's also one in Crete then, or Cincinnati in early May.

Pomplamousse · 06-11-2018 11:16pm

Well done on your PB! Sorry to hear about the hamstring though, ouch:(
You've made such brilliant progress since novice 2016 days!:D

Unthought Known · 12-11-2018 1:10am

5 November: 6.8 mile commute at 9:21. Avg HR 138

8 November: 6.8 mile commute at 9:04. Avg HR 139
A little quicker than Monday's run, but I felt pretty good. Hamstrings still a little tight at times.

11 November: 5 miles at 8:24. Avg HR 143
More of a steady run with a fast finish.

A massive 18.5 miles for the week.

Hansons book been an interesting read and I've decided to give the advanced plan a go for April. Not sure if it's too "advanced" for me, but there's only one way to find out. The plan will start on 3/12 so I'll be using the next 3 weeks to build mileage back up with easy runs and to get ready for 6-day weeks.

Still not decided between Manchester and Rotterdam. I would like another crack at Manchester, but I've only heard good things about Rotterdam (apart from some bag-drop issues this year). Hotels booked in both for now.

Huzzah! · 12-11-2018 12:12pm

Unthought Known wrote: »

Hansons book been an interesting read and I've decided to give the advanced plan a go for April. Not sure if it's too "advanced" for me, but there's only one way to find out. The plan will start on 3/12 so I'll be using the next 3 weeks to build mileage back up with easy runs and to get ready for 6-day weeks.

I'm no expert but I doubt it's too advanced for you. It's probably of a similar level as the plan you've just finished.

FWIW, I've done both the Pfitz and Hanson half plans and found it easier to do the Hanson six days than the Pfitz five days. Similar mileage but spread out a bit more.

Unthought Known · 12-11-2018 12:37pm

Huzzah! wrote: »

I'm no expert but I doubt it's too advanced for you. It's probably of a similar level as the plan you've just finished.

FWIW, I've done both the Pfitz and Hanson half plans and found it easier to do the Hanson six days than the Pfitz five days. Similar mileage but spread out a bit more.

Thanks. That's the impression I got from the book so it's nice to hear that from someone who's done both. I just need to make sure that my easy runs are at the correct pace.

Unthought Known · 18-11-2018 10:27pm

13 November: 6.2 miles at 9:07. Avg HR 132

15 November: 8.1 mile commute at 9:10. Avg HR 137
First run since DCM where I haven't felt any tightness at in the hamstring.

16 November: 4.8 miles commute at 8:35. Avg HR 136
Upped the pace a little at the end. Legs feeling good.

17 November: 3 mile recovery at 9:32. Avg HR 128
In Clontarf for daughter's GAA match so took the chance for a short recovery run during warmup. Pretty windy, glad I didn't do the HM.

18 November: 6.4 miles at 9:02. Avg HR 136
Nice cool, easy run. Legs feeling very fresh.

28 miles for the week, which is what I'd planned for my base building. Another easy week planned for next week, but aiming for 32-34 miles.

Manchester marathon is booked. I liked the idea of Rotterdam, but that can wait as I have unfinished business with Manchester.

Unthought Known · 10-12-2018 12:32am

Oh yeah, training log........

Not too much to report for the end of November. Work and other stuff meant I only ran a few commutes and only 1 run at the weekend. Hanson's plan for Manchester started on Thursday 6th (Thursday?!)......

3 December: 4.2 miles easy at 8:49. Avg HR 138

4 December: 6.8 mile easy commute at 9:06. Avg HR 134

6 December: 6 miles easy at 9:01. Avg HR 134
First run of the plan and the first of 3 consecutive runs on the same route. I'll be running this quite a bit as the plan has a lot of 6 mile runs.

7 December: 6 miles easy at 9:08. Avg HR 133
Really windy. Miles 3-5 seemed to be fully into the wind. Probably not as easy as it should have been.

8 December: 6 miles easy at 8:53. Avg HR 142
A late Saturday evening run in the pouring rain. Again, the wind made it harder than it should have been and I was guilty of pushing a bit just to get home. I'll get away with it in the first week, but the book stresses the need to run the easy runs easy and if I don't do that I'm setting myself up for failure.

9 December: 8.1 miles easy at 9:09. Avg HR 137

37 miles for the week.

scotindublin · 10-12-2018 8:33pm

Good luck with the plan for Manchester A. Tough time of year to get structure to training.

Unthought Known · 11-12-2018 12:54am

scotindublin wrote: »

Good luck with the plan for Manchester A. Tough time of year to get structure to training.

Thanks C. Yeah I know what you mean. I'm hoping the simplicity of the plan helps me get into a routine.

Unthought Known · 17-12-2018 1:22am

Hansons Advanced week 2

10 December: 6.7 miles easy commute at 9:21. Avg HR 132
Kept the pace nice and easy on this one to make sure I was ready for the Tuesday session.

11 December: 2m wu, 12x400m off 400m rec, 2m cd. 10.4 miles total
First session, or "Something Of Substance" as they call it, in the plan. The intervals were to be run at around 6:50 pace so 102 seconds. I figured that the 400m rec would make this reasonably comfortable and overall it was. Found it hard to dial into the right pace for a few though, but that will get better as the plan goes on.

Intervals: 101, 106, 104, 102, 101, 101, 102, 101, 100, 103, 101, 102

13 December: 6.4 miles easy commute at 9:20. Avg HR 133
Another easy run home.

14 December: 5.7 miles easy at 9:05. Avg HR 133
The wind made this a challenging, but enjoyable run. Some parts were strong enough to nearly stop me in my tracks though.

15 December: 6 miles "easy" at 8:57. Avg HR 134
Couldn't get out until the evening and I should have really stayed indoors with all the warnings of the storm. First 2 miles were a breeze, literally, as I ran downhill with the wind, but turning back into Sandyford it was unreal. Had to walk a couple of times as I couldn't run against the wind. Other times I was getting blown sideways and the rain was so hard it actually hurt. All in all a pretty stupid idea to go out.

16 December: 7.8 miles easy at 8:48. Avg HR 137
Amazing the difference a day makes. Seems strange to have only an 8 miler on the second Sunday of a plan, but I have a feeling it's going to get a whole lot harder.

43 miles for the week.

Unthought Known · 28-12-2018 12:20am

Catch up time....

Hansons Advanced week 3

17 December: 6.1 miles easy at 9:08. Avg HR 134
Honestly, I can't remember anything about this run.

18 December: 1.5m wu, 8x600 off 200 walking rec, 1.5m cd. 6.8 miles total
Found a nice rectangle for this measuring 600X200. Plan was for a 400m jogging recovery, but I changed it to 200 walking. I found this easier than the 12x400 session last week. Same target pace so I was looking for around 153 seconds.

Intervals: 152, 150, 153, 150, 151, 150, 149, 150

20 December: 2m wu, 6 miles marathon pace, 1m cd. 9 miles total
After a day off Wednesday it's straight back into the 2nd session of the week. Have to get used to this and I really have to take care to run my easy miles easy. Target marathon pace is 7:38. Felt like I was struggling the first 2 miles, but got into it after that.

Splits: 7:34, 7:29, 7:31, 7:31, 7:33, 7:29

21 December: 7.1 miles easy at 9:26. Avg HR 150!
A memorable run only because my HR was apparently all over the place. The run itself felt very easy, but checking on Strava I could see that my HR suddenly spiked to 215 (way over my max) after about 7 minutes and remained high (160-170) until around mile 5 when it dropped back down to the normal 130-ish range. Not sure if it was a problem with the watch or not, but it makes you think all sorts of bad things.

23 December: 8.5 miles easy at 9:12. Avg HR 128
After the HR issue I took Saturday off and was a bit worried about this run. Set the watch up to show my HR so I could keep an eye on it during the run. All good, but I'll keep the HR display in case it happens again.

37 miles for the week

Unthought Known · 31-12-2018 11:15pm

24 December: 6 x 800m off 400 rec (+ wu and cd). Total 7.7 miles
Marlay Park for this one as the ~900m path by the house is fairly flat and i the closest I can get to a track. As usual I started every rep a bit too fast,but I'm hoping that gets better as the plan progresses. All good, but I definitely noticed the greater effort on the last 2 intervals. Same pace as my other speed sessions so I was looking at around 200 secs.

Splits: 199, 196, 200, 198, 198, 200

26 December: 4.8m easy at 9:07. Avg HR 134
Hadn't planned this one, but I had some spare time. Felt very easy and no ill effects from the Christmas Day excess.

27 December: 1m wu, 6 miles marathon pace, 1m cd. 8 miles total
A lot easier to get into the right pace than last week, but still a little erratic.

Splits: 7:34, 7:32, 7:29, 7:27, 7:36, 7:31

28 December: 6 miles easy at 9:13. Avg HR 130
Local loops. Nice and easy.

29 December: 8.2 miles easy/moderate at 8:22. Avg HR 137
Very happy with this run. The book makes a point that not all easy runs should be at the slower end of the easy range and it was nice to push it a little more. Happy that HR stayed pretty low given the pace increase.

30 December: 4.2 miles easy 9:10. Avg HR 130
Should have been an 8 mile run, but asthma was given me trouble the moment I stepped out. In hindsight I should have waited half hour until it calmed down as the inhaler didn't do its usual magic. Anyway, cut it short as the breathing was a bit forced. Of course, I was fully recovered about 10 minutes after finishing.

39 miles for the week.

31 December: 6 miles easy 9:02. Avg HR 131
Another easy one to finish off the year.

171 miles for the month
1,640 miles for 2018

Not too many races for 2018 as I concentrated on the marathon, but it's been another good year with noticeable improvement.
Two marathon PB's, not quite getting the sub 3:30. A big HM PB. A big 10 mile PB. 5 mile PB. Finally, a piss-poor 10k in July where I thought I was going backwards. I think the highlight for me was the race-series HM where I ran sub 1:35. Not just the time though, it was just one of those races I paced perfectly and felt strong from start to finish.

For 2019 it's all about the marathon again. Big target race is the Manchester marathon and it will be interesting to see how the Hansons plan goes. I am committing to this plan so I'm following the book strictly and not racing at all during the plan. At the moment I'm being optimistic and looking at 3:20, but will adjust this goal if I'm struggling.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Murph_D · 01-01-2019 5:24pm

Nice going so far. Happy with it?

Unthought Known · 01-01-2019 9:58pm

Murph_D wrote: »

Nice going so far. Happy with it?

Thanks. It still seems a bit weird not having a long run in the first 4 weeks, but I'm getting used to the 6 day week. Really enjoying the Tuesday and Thursday sessions though and at the moment they don't seem like too much. Mileage picks up a bit this week though so that might be about to change.

Unthought Known · 06-01-2019 9:52pm

1 January: 5 x 1000m off 400 rec (+ wu and cd). Total 7.1 miles
Back to the Tuesday intervals and another slight increase in distance. Overall I was pretty comfortable, but again knew I was working harder on the last rep.

Splits: 4:11, 4:07, 4:07, 4:08, 4:08

3 January: 9.2 miles with 6m at MP
The Thursday tempo session and once again I ran it round Sandyford Business Park. Not the greatest views, but it's well lit and pretty quiet in the evenings. These sessions will increase over the course of the plan to 10 miles at pace. Comfortable again and I'm feeling my way into the pace more and checking the watch less.

Splits: 7:34, 7:32, 7:27, 7:35, 7:30, 7:33

According to Garmin my VO2 Max reached 57 which apparently is in the top 1% for my age/gender. I'll take that.

4 January: 7 miles easy commute
The watch went crazy on this and turned itself off about 50 yards into the run. I couldn't get it to turn on again so just ran by feel. Not sure what pace I ran for the first 3 miles, but it felt easy. Watch then decided to turn itself on so I started tracking again. It then didn't sync. Madness. Anyway, the run felt nice and easy.

5 January: 6.1 miles easy at 9:12. Avg HR 126

6 January: 12 miles at 8:28. Avg HR 139
The longest run so far and, following the book, I ran this at the fast end of easy and included a few moderate pace miles (~8:20). I felt strong, but not fresh, for the whole run. I can see the logic behind the 6 day week and Tuesday/Thursday sessions. This is the first run where I felt the purpose of the week was to leave me feeling a bit fatigued for this run. They talk about how the long run is trying to simulate the last x miles of a marathon and it certainly makes you focus a bit more on quality. Again, it also means the easy runs really do have to be easy.

47.4 miles for the week.

scotindublin · 06-01-2019 10:22pm

Brilliant week A; great start to 2019. Give it a few weeks and your body will adjust to the 6 days a week.

Just make sure that the prescribed easy days are easy.

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

Comments