Spiral out - keep going

2 weeks in France on holidays meant I split one weeks training plan over the 2 weeks and added some extra "easy" hilly miles

DCM TRAINING - WEEK 5a

Plan|Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
P&D|GA 5m|Rest|10m 5m LT|Recovery 5m|Rest|GA 3m|MLR 16m
Pace|9.23avg|-|8.41avg|9.53avg|-|9.21avg|9.03avg


DCM TRAINING - WEEK 5b

Plan|Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday
P&D|Rest|Recovery 6m|10m GA|Recovery 6m|Home|Home|MPR 16m 10m MP
Pace|-|9.43avg|9.12avg|10.09avg|-|-| MP miles - 7.53,.45,.51,.44,.54,.50,.40,.41,.47,.33

My OH went to a talk in CIT by Dr Peter Francis who recommended doing some barefoot running to help strengthen your foot muscles. He said it helped him in his running days when he suffered from plantar fasciitis. I don't have that condition but have minor orthotic insoles while running that I want to stop using. Its only a few miles a week but I can feel the benefit already

Can remember way back in my primary school days for the 100m City Sports in Pairc Ui Chaoimh where everyone ran in their bare feet!!

Thanks Murph_D

The 7.45 is just the training pace I'm training to in the plan, I plan on sticking to 8min/mile for the race if I decide to go for 3.30

80 euro spent on 2 boxes of maurten gels which arrived today. Plus spent 126 euro on another pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS19 too!

I've had to give up drinking to fund my running habit. Soon I'll be selling any valuables in the house to buy some extra running gear

Tuesday 30th - 10 miles - 5 @ LT

Had been feeling apprehensive about this run since the weekend but turned out to be a successful run. I carefully planned my 5 LT miles so 2 were against the wind and 3 were with it. Turned out to be one of those days were the wind seemed to be against me no matter what direction I went! Started off with 3 miles warmup and then switched my music to 180bpm extreme metal and off I went.

LT miles were 7.22, 7.11, 7.13, 7.09 & 7.11 so were on target. Felt the pace on the 4th mile but it was because I was going too fast - slowed it down and felt ok again. Had the legs for another LT mile so that bodes well for next weeks 6m LT.

First fast training session where my legs haven't felt heavy half way through it, seems that my endurance has improved somewhat. Feel great after the run, legs still feel fresh. Kudos from Skyblue on Strava - what more could you ask for!

DCM Training Week 8

Another week down and another with my longest run and weekly mileage

Tuesday 6th - 7m Recovery 6x100m, 9.38avg
UCC Farm. This run was more of a struggle than I anticipated. Went orienteering the previous day with the OH & kids so it added a fair few miles to the 18 I ran on Sunday. Strides were probably too fast given how tender the legs were. Ran last mile in bare feet.

Wednesday 7th - 12m MLR, 8.49avg
I've been trying to run every so often without orthotic foam insoles in my running shoes - this was the first run that I felt a bit of pain in my left foot but wasn't too bad. Started to think it may not be a good idea to stop using them, more to come on that. Run was fine, hit all target paces with no trouble.

Friday 9th - 10 miles with 6@ LT pace, 8.02avg
Tough run on paper and it turned out that way too. LT miles were 7.17, .19, .15, .16, .16, .07 which were on target. I've never run a 10k race before, with my 10K PB coming from Duhallow 10 mile in March - which was mainly downhill with the wind. So the OCD in me kept the LT pace going for another .2mile and hit a 10k PB of 45.04. Need to run a proper 10k soon

Saturday 10th - 5 miles, 9.48avg
UCC Farm, fairly boring routine run

Sunday 11th - 20 mile MLR, 8.49avg
The big one. Again was nervous for this one, longest ever run and with a LT run just 2 days previous. My legs felt creaky in the morning. Breakfast of jam & toast and a banana on the drive down. Decided not to wear insoles in shoes.

Planned the route that I would pass the car twice to collect water & change shoes if needed. First 6 miles at MP+20% went ok, increased pace to MP+15% for next 7 miles and legs started to feel it. At mile 12 my left foot started to really hurt, decided to change shoes when I reached the car at mile 14. Changed from Adrenalines to Ravennas (with insoles), some difference in the support cushion, Ravenna felt like they didn't have any sole whatsoever!!

Last 7 miles at MP+10% and things improved a bit, my body probably felt it was the home stretch and I was homeward bound (even though I was running away from the car again). Was hitting the paces ok and decided to do the last mile at MP to give myself a confidence boost. Had 3 Maurten gels at 5, 10 and 15 miles - no side effects. The fact I can take gels without worrying about water is such a relief.

Another good week, sometimes it doesn't even register that I've run this much in a week. I'm trying to focus on 1-2 runs at a time. I feel like I've made really big improvements in my running since I started this plan.

Going to keep running with insoles in shoes - big risk trying to change this before the marathon. Might try again after the race.

Weekly mileage 55 miles
Year to date Strava is saying 940

Next week is some easy running, midweek "only" 14m MLR, and then the dreaded MPR run, 16 miles with 12 at MP :eek::eek::eek:

DCM TRAINING - WEEK 9

Plan|Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday|Total
P&D|Rest|Recovery 6m|MLR 14m|Recovery 6m|Rest|Recovery 6m|16m MPR 12m@MP|48m

DCM TRAINING - WEEK 9

Another week down and half way through the marathon plan. This week had a number of recovery runs, a 14m midweek MLR and a 16m MPR

Tuesday 13th - 5m Recovery, 9.45avg
Ran on grass. For some reason I misread the plan and did 5 miles instead of 6. Ran the last mile barefoot

Wednesday 14th - 14m MLR, 8.52avg
Longest midweek run to date and I think I underestimated it. Tougher than expected but hit the paces required, 4m @MP+20%;, 5m @MP+15% and 5m @MP+10%. Overall happy with the run

Thursday 15th - 7m Recovery, 9.49avg
Added an extra mile to make up for Tuesday's missed mile. Last mile barefoot

Saturday 17th - 6m recovery, 6x100m, 9.36avg
Ran 5 miles, then strides and final mile barefoot. I'm making progress with the strides, improving my form to go faster with the same effort.

Sunday 18th - 16m MPR w 12@MP, 8.01avg
Was waiting all week for this one but strangely felt quite confident about it. Picked the route and the MP miles would go out and back a flat 3 mile course twice. 2 miles warmup and cool down

First 3 MP miles were into the wind but felt great for them, took 1st gel on the turn - 7.47, 7.54, 7.43.

Next 3 with the wind, grabbed a bottle of water off my car as I passed it. Used half it and placed it on a bench to collect on the way back - 7.50, 7.37, 7.47.

Next 3 against the wind, was feeling good and probably put extra effort into these 3. Took 2nd gel and got to the bench to find someone had drank the rest of my water (who would do that!!), had to carry the empty bottle back to the car cursing the person who did it - 7.42, 7.49, 7.32.

Last 3 with the wind and was too fast. I was feeling good though so subconsciously kept the same effort as the previous 3 miles. There was quite a lot of runners on the narrow path so had to do a lot of weaving around them. When overtaking other runners, you can't help but to speed up I find - 7.35, 7.26, 7.22

Feel great after the run, legs tired but its a good tired feeling. Its the last MPR of the plan as I'm substituting the 14m@MP with the Charleville Half marathon.

Weekly mileage - 49 miles
Year to date - 989 miles

Stepback week next week, but with the first VO2 max session. Have a couple of races coming up in September which will give me a chance to improve current PBs and gauge current fitness. It definitely has improved dramatically since I started this plan

DCM TRAINING - WEEK 10

Plan|Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday|Total
P&D|Rest|8m GA|8m VO2 Max, 5x800m(2min recovery)|Recovery 5m|Rest|8m GA, 8x100m|14m MLR|43m

Yea it does seem bizarre alright but there are a numbers of reasons really

- That 3 mile path is really flat and in general is sheltered from the wind
- The Blackrock loop has a number of elevations and in certain points, tree cover can distort the pace you're going at.
- I do find the path by the coast is really exposed to the elements so the wind was probably worse there this morning
- I like to loop past the car to get some water

I would only do these repetition runs for MP or LT runs where pacing needs to be accurate. Will probable use the same place for my VO2 sessions too

DCM Training - Week 10

Step back week of 43 miles with first VO2 Max session

Tuesday 20th - 8m GA, 9.14 avg
Was expecting a recovery run so soon after the MPR but 8m GA it was. Ran this on grass. Legs were creaky at the start but soon loosened out. Did 4 loops of the fields and can't remember much about it. Near the end of the run, a few elite runners, including an Olympian, started their easy runs there too. When I say easy, it was more my LT pace I reckon! They make it look so effortless. Spoke to a regular runner in the UCC farm afterwards for the first time, he ran in the first DCM - sound bloke.

Wednesday 21st - 8m VO2Max 5x800m, 2min recovery jog
I brought out my secret weapon for the DCM - Vapourfly 4% - for the first time. It was to ensure that they fitted ok & had no ill effects before I start using them for races. My OH bought them for my birthday in June, at the time I felt a bit meh about them.

I did 3 miles warmup in my Brooks Adrenalines and my legs felt dead for the whole 3 miles. No number of knee lifts, legs kicks or strides could wake them up. I felt it was going to be a disaster of a session as I got to the car to change shoes. The minute I put on the Vapourflys all that changed. Now I know why everyone wears them for races. I felt like I was running on springs. Definite game changer

Started off for the VO2 reps, I didn't know what pace to aim for as it's been a while since I done one of these sessions and I've improve a lot since then. I decided I would aim for 6.20min/mile to see if a sub 20 5k is on the cards. My 5 reps average paces were 6.07, 6.17, 6.07, 6.11 and 6.01 - was delighted with them.

i didn't feel that uncomfortable during the reps, legs didn't feel heavy like they used to do. These sessions suit me as they're exactly the type of training I used to do for soccer and I reckon I have more fast twitch muscles than slow. The question is if I could keep that up for 5k straight.

I have an upcoming 5k race in two weeks as part of the training plan so I might attempt sub 20, see how it goes. It would be a full 45 seconds off my PB since June but I do believe I've improved that much since then

Kellygirl wrote: »

Amazing the difference the Vapourfly made. Will you just keep them for races to make them last or use them for sessions too?

They'll just be used for races from now onwards, today was just breaking them in I suppose

DCM TRAINING - WEEK 11

Tuesday 27th - 7m recovery, 6x100m - 9.32avg
After stepback week, my legs felt more tired than a normal training week but this recovery run definitely loosened them up completely. Ran the 6 miles in UCC farm, then the strides and the last mile barefoot. Was raining for most of the run and running barefoot was such a relief on the wet soft grass.

Wednesday 28th - 11m with 7@LT pace - 8.04avg
Last LT pace run on the plan thankfully. Decided to do 3 miles warmup, 7 LT miles and 1 mile cool down. It was a really hot humid morning with a bit of a breeze. From reading all the FD10 reports over the weekend, I decided it best to dial the paces back a bit starting off.

Started the first 3 LT miles with the wind. Amazing after doing the V02 session, the LT pace seemed slow at the start!! That didn't last long. Was monitoring my HR a lot for these miles, knowing that my previous LT runs were normally in the 170s. I don't normally look at HR but it really helped today. 7.24, 7.24, 7.27

Next 3 miles were against the wind. Decided to up the HR to the mid to high 170s and put more effort in to compensate. Was really feeling the pace so decided to turn back with the wind at 2.5 miles to get an extra half mile with it (is that cheating?)
7.17, 7.14, 7.23

Last mile I only had 1 pace, couldn't go slower and couldn't go faster or else I would've stopped. 7.05

Overall happy with the run and how I sensibly started off slower and relied on HR a bit more. My HR seems to be a lot higher than most running but I think I can see trends now in terms of effort.

Turning my thoughts to upcoming races, 5k next week and Charleville HM mid Sept, I'm finding it difficult to decide target times for each one. Outside of weather factors, not sure whether to be optimistic or cautious with them.