nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Child Item

2012 4 Races for 4 PBs

outforarun

Been lurking since the start of the year. I really enjoy following the training logs here, they’re a great source of information and motivation. So it’s time to try give something back.

I started running proper this year and entered my first ever races. I ran four races in total:

Cork City Marathon 2010 (3:51)
I more or less followed Hal Higdon’s Intermediate I plan for this my first ever race. I was aiming for a 3:45 but for a whole variety of reasons I came up short by 6 mins: I skipped just a few sessions too many during training, I ran my long runs too fast, I didn’t run any long runs on the road, I started the marathon too fast, the weather on the day didn’t help, I never really recovered from the wind and rain around the estuary.
The last 6 miles were not a lot of fun. All the same I was delighted to finish and happy to have at got home under 4 hours. And less than 24 hours later I was planning what would be my next race. I’d got the bug.

Frank Duffy 10 Mile (1:17)
Since the marathon I’d bought a Garmin and cobbled together a training plan for the summer. I was aiming for 7:45/m pace to finish with a 1:17. I was pleased with my final time but not pleased with how I ran. Hared off far too fast over the first two miles (7:13, 7:13), slowed down but not enough over the next few miles and then hit the hills; or rather the hills hit me, hard, an 8:35 on mile 9. Managed to recover with a final mile of 7:41, but for the second race in a row I did not enjoy the closing section and finished uncomfortably.

Dublin Half Marathon (1:40)
My most enjoyable race to date. I learned two things: one, do not start too fast and two you can achieve a lot with just 4 weeks training. I was aiming again for 7:45/m for a 1:41 finish. For the first 7 miles I really concentrated on holding back, I’d let the Chesterfield descents gain a few seconds but without increasing my effort. I didn’t worry about an 8:05 on mile 8, and I felt really good at the 10 mile point (such a change from 4 weeks ago). I was overtaking loads of people going up Military Hill. I managed to finish with a 6:59 mile 13 and a big smile on my face. Brilliant. It is so so much more enjoyable and effective to pace cautiously at the start and then be able to up the pace near the end. Buzzed for days after this one.

BHAA Cork to Cobh 15 Mile (1:56)
Started to have crazy ideas of trying for a 8:00/m Cork Marathon in 2011. Thought to myself well first let’s see how I manage at 7:5X/m over the 15 miles from Cork to Cobh. Managed fine. Didn’t pace myself as steadily as I would have liked, too many 7:3Xs and 7:4Xs, felt tired alright on the ascent around mile 12, but never doubted that I’d manage a 7:5X average pace. In the end I managed a 7:48 average. In terms of atmosphere this was easily my favourite of all 4 races and the weather was just perfect.

And so for 2011, the plan now is to avoid injury and try start all four races again in 2011. And PB all four. And based on how I felt at Cork to Cobh I cannot resist now trying for an 8:00/m, sub 3:30 marathon in Cork in June. If I succeed it’ll be a massive 20+ minutes off my 2010 time. If the worse happens and I really blow-up in the 2011 version hopefully I’ll still manage to PB. I plan on really following Higdon’s Intermediate II.

I haven't run since Cobh, that's 3 weeks to the day. I wanted to rest-up my right-knee which was not too happy with the summer's work. Feels ok again and hopefully it'll hold up when I get back on the road tomorrow. 8 miles planned at 8:3X pace. Plan for the next 12 weeks is to try get 4 runs in every week, 2 short (3-5 miles) steady runs, 1 medium to long (8-15 miles) and one speed session.

Good luck to all running DCM tomorrow.

Find more posts tagged with

Quick Links

Comments

outforarun

10x400 in 83s

Two Wednesdays before Raheny 2019 I ran 10x400 on the track in AIT. I logged an average 400 of 1:22.45 off an average 200ms recovery of 68 seconds.

Wednesday this week I repeated the same session on the AIT track. This time I averaged 1:23.03 off 67 seconds.

I'm not a million miles away from where I was this time last year. Just like I ran Milano Nord Parkrun in 18:35 a few weeks before Raheny 2019, this year I ran 18:41. I had a good day in Raheny last year, if I have a good day this year I might not be far from another sub 30.

Wednesday I was greeted by a cold and damp wind as I stepped out of the office. Wednesday evening willpower in short supply. I don't stall (not too much) and get into gear quickly. A warm up to the track. It is very busy tonight, don't recall ever seeing it this busy. In the main people are staying out of lane 1 and I have very little weaving to do. Interestingly the most traffic was on interval number 9, I needed to run wide on the back straight to overtake a large bunched field of runners, also overtook the faster runners around the home bend, and consequently this 400 is the fastest of the evening. More proof, not that it's needed that having someone to chase makes you run faster.

Made a deal with myself beforehand that I would run 8x400 and then decide if I would add 2 more or not. I don't think I was ever in any doubt that I would add these 2. First time I've run 10x400 in a long time and I was feeling it. Need to increase stretching etc as I did notice some right-hammer feedback at times. Not a lot, but definitely something.

Ran a long cool-down just to keep the mileage ticking over for the week. Must try get in 4 miles on Mondays just to take a little pressure off the rest of the week.

One of the Athlone Running Club guys contacted me on Strava later, saying I'd be welcome to join in with them for a session if I'd like. That was nice.

Good evening's running.

1:22.83
1:22.94
1:24.60
1:23.68
1:23.94
1:23.66
1:22.96
1:22.98
1:20.17
1:22.50

Average 1:22.03 3:28min/km [5:34min/mile]

Total 12.26M @ 7:50

outforarun

October Review

I will finish my 2019 reviews before the end of January, I will.

October was mostly about taper and race day. October began however with a beautiful sunny morning Cork-2-Cobh 15 mile race. I used this as my last hard long training session. I targeted 3:05 marathon pace, feeling that if I could manage that it would give me a healthy confidence boost ahead of targeting a 3:09 DCM. In the end I ran 3:03 marathon pace. I felt mostly comfortable, effort levels rose with the race profile over the last 5 miles and I was pleased to finish. Overall I was happy with the run. I really want to race this one sometime to try break 100mins.

I ran one more 18 miler and then tapered. The weekend before DCM I stretched the legs one last time with a sub 3:00MP lap of the park.

It's crazy that you can dedicate months of training and discipline ahead of a marathon and then run 9 miles the day before raceday! For some unknown reason it didn't occur to me that this was stupid, I think I just thought easy miles are easy miles, a few extra won't hurt.

The sunny race day has been documented in detail on here, to summarise in one sentence? Considering I tore my hamstring at the end of March I have to be happy to have run a small PB, enjoyed the race and think I learned from it and the training cycle.

Good atmosphere in Toner's after the race as we exchange war stories. no running for the rest of October. Looking forward to DCM20 already.

Month | Monthly Miles | Daily mileage for month | Weekly Mileage for month | Daily mileage for year | Weekly mileage for year | Predicted yearly mileage
January | 155.81 | 5.02 | 35.18 | 5.02 | 35.18 | 1835
February | 151.36 | 5.41 | 37.84 | 5.21 | 36.44 | 1900
March | 136.86 | 4.41 | 30.90 | 4.93 | 34.54 | 1801
April | 83.09 | 2.77 | 19.39 | 4.39 | 30.75 | 1603
May | 23.78 | 0.77 | 5.37 | 3.65 | 25.54 | 1332
June | 162.82 | 5.43 | 37.99 | 3.94 | 27.60 | 1439
July | 191.91 | 6.19 | 43.33 | 4.27 | 29.90 | 1559
August | 186.60 | 6.02 | 42.14 | 4.49 | 31.46 | 1641
September | 220.66 | 7.36 | 51.49 | 4.81 | 33.66 | 1755
October | 161.36 | 5.21 | 36.44 | 4.85 | 33.95 | 1770
November | | | | | |
December | | | | | |

AuldManKing

Never realised you ran 9 miles the day before DCM!!

We do stupid things during race week don't we!

outforarun

AuldManKing wrote: »

Never realised you ran 9 miles the day before DCM!!

We do stupid things during race week don't we!

I put it down to extreme taper madness. I remember thinking I'll just pop down to the RDS and pick up my number, getting a few easy miles in. Didn't stop to think it was over 4 miles long. Should have got a bus/taxi home but opted to run real easy. And hey presto approx 9 miles in the legs, half with a bag

outforarun

Easy 5 Miles

Trying to make a point of finishing work at the latest by 16:15 on Fridays. Managed it two weeks in a row now. Another cold afternoon, I'm starting to long for summer sun, single layer on top, no gloves and no shock to the system as soon as you step outside.

More or less the same route as last Friday, join the Greenway at Garrycastle and run toward town. Exit and turn right to loop back round to Garrycastle via SuperValu and Ericsson. Mostly bright when I started, mostly dark when I finish.

Bit of concern as I can feel some feedback from the right hammer. I plan on running a session in the morning with Donore and I'm wondering how wise that might be. I'll see in the morning I guess.

Total 5.18M @ 8:45

IvoryTower

Madness! That's a Sunday long run to most!

outforarun

Fartlek with Donore

Happily the hamstring was fine today. Did some stretches before heading out, waiting for tell-tale twinges over the first few hundred meters but none came. I'm really happy about this, I worried that I was starting to undo all the recovery of the last few months. Keep stretching, keep fingers crossed.

Warm-up on a frosty bright morning. Find the Donore meet-up point shortly before the session gets underway, just enough time to catch the end of the coach's briefing and just enough time to change into the Dynafits. So it's fartlek this morning, a first for me. Lot of firsts this morning: first fartlek, first club session, first time wearing the Dynafits in anger.

A lap starts at the north-east corner of the playing fields path, sticking to the grass we run down to the end of the path, hairpin left by the Fort and up through the dips before turning left back to the NE corner, a second descent but this time turn left at the second gully, down the gully to the bottom of the hill then a hairpin left and run up the hill all the way to the starting point. That's a lap. We can run 4, 5 or 6 of these. The fartlek sections are 200m on the initial descent, 300m through the dips and back to the NE corner, and the full final hill back to the start.

Scotindublin is my guide around the first lap and a half or so. Then I find myself naturally pulling away on the fartlek sections. This was deceptively tough. On the first lap I thought this isn't too bad. On the second lap the final hill was already starting to sting a little. From here I started to make sure I used the recovery sections to recover. I decided from the outset that I would run a full set of 6. I was happy the 6th was the last one, could feel the thighs working on the last two long ascents.

I wasn't lapping on the Garmin, I wasn't looking at the Garmin at all, I just tried to keep the effort constant. This evening my curiosity was too strong though so I 'data-mined' a bit on Strava and estimate lap splits as follows: 7:17, 7:20, 7:15, 7:20, 7:23, 7:20. Pretty consistent. Dynafits felt good.

Enjoyed that a lot. Chatted with some of the guys before running a cool-down home.

I'll be signing up at Donore later this month (maybe even as early as Tuesday).

(impressed how the coach says 'I can't remember your name?' as I finish lap 1, and gave me a shout out on the next few laps.)

outforarun

IvoryTower wrote: »

Madness! That's a Sunday long run to most!

Utterly nuts. At least next time round I can take additional confidence on the start-line knowing I didn't run nine miles the previous day. All part of a master plan

outforarun

Long Run 17 Miles

Felt strong Sunday morning. Two pairs of gloves on. Easy jog over to Donore meeting overpronator enroute. Detailed breakdown of his 4:57 indoor mile from last Tuesday, cracking result, sub 5:00 first time of asking. Brave to leave your comfort zone and try something new.

It's another big group this morning. Usual shuffling of positions and conversations as we work our way around the park on a bright frosty morning. Legs feel good. I tackle Knockmaroon for the second long run in a row. It felt manageable. No conversation on our way up though. Continue to feel good on the ascent up Tower. We turn onto White's Road. Some of the guys here invite us to join them on some strides over the closing miles. I join in for the first three, but I can tell the hammer is not impressed so I opt out of the remaining ones. Finish on 17 miles for the morning. Spin home from Chapelizod from overpronator.

A 10x400 session, a hilly club fartlek session in the Dynafits, and longest run of 2020 so far. It's been a good week.

M01 8:36
M02 8:50
M03 8:01
M04 8:11
M05 7:54
M06 7:51
M07 7:33
M08 7:40
M09 7:38
M10 7:34
M11 7:25
M12 7:30
M13 7:50
M14 7:28
M15 7:29
M16 7:14
M17 7:29

Total 17.04M @ 7:46

outforarun

Undemanding 8x400

Ran 2 mile from home to join up with Donore for a second consecutive session. Ran another 2 mile warm-up before we joined the track. The session was 16x400. I have never ran more than 10x400 so initially I was concerned. However the coach underlined that this time of the year we are not focusing on speed and these should be run at 5K/10K pace. Seemingly later in the year, when it will be more about speed, we will be working up to 25x400 :eek:

I mentioned that I will be racing Raheny this weekend, and so instead of 16 I (and anyone else racing) was prescribed just 8x400.

Away we go. The first few feel easy, running in pack definitely helps drag you around. Initially I was running with scotindublin and 3 others, after 4 intervals I moved ahead a little and sat around 5 to 10 metres off the back of the pelaton. I probably ran all 400s tonight too fast, I averaged 86s which is faster than my 5K pace. I like the track surface, it has a nice bounce underfoot.

After 10x400 in 83s last week I was wrecked, after 8x400 in 86s tonight I felt ok and I reckon I could have completed the set of 16. I look forward to trying.

I probably won't be able to make most Tuesday evenings but I will have the AIT track on Wednesdays so I can always mimic the Tuesday session there.

I lapped in lane 5 while the others finished out their session. Cool-down from club back home. Enjoyed that even though it wasn't very testing.

Realise later that the Garmin missed three intervals. I think for a period I was pressing pause/go instead of lap.

outforarun

Easy 5 Miles

I was out with work Wednesday evening. We headed pretty much straight from the office to restaurant so I couldn't fit anything in beforehand. Didn't stay out late, back around 10:15. For a while I contemplated heading out for some miles as I didn't trust myself to get out before work in the morning. But my belly was full and I was sleepy so opted to try get some sleep instead.

Alarms at 6:00, 6:30 and 6:45. I manage to get up and into gear. On the road a little after 7:15. Very dark and foggy outside. I keep it simple, run to the castle and back. Near the end of mile one I can hear but not see horses, then only when they are around 20m away do 4 horses with riders emerge single-file from out of the fog on the road ahead. Just me, them and the fog.

I cross West of the Shannon for a couple of minutes before turning round and returning the way I came. Hammer was fine this morning but the legs felt fairly heavy. Happy to have got out for this one.

Total 5.09M @ 8:46

outforarun

Easy 5 Miles

I'm becoming more disciplined about logging off on time on Friday afternoons. Into gear and out into a mild but damp and grey late afternoon in Athlone. Follow my new default post-work, pre-commute run. I should think about running this in reverse and keeping the nicest part, the Old Railway stretch, until the end. Legs feeling unresponsive and heavy today but at least the hammer was quiet.

Shower and happy not to have to run when I get back to Dublin later.

Total 5.45M @ 8:30

outforarun

Easy 8 Miles

So running 9 miles the day before a marathon is unwise, but I'm hoping 8 easy miles over 24 hours ahead of a 5 miler is fine. Paranoid now about day before race activity.

Bit worried about the legs this week, they feel so so heavy. Maybe it's just all the easy miles. This morning 7:XX pace sounded demanding. I just ran a lap of the Park, admittedly the second half with it's downhill profile felt a bit better.

Tomorrow? I'm going to try hold 3:45 pace for the first 5K and then see how I'm feeling. I would be over-the-moon with a 29:59.99. It would in my mind mean I am back to where I was last year prior to the hammer tear. I've been trying to play down tomorrow's race, not an A-race, just a see-where-I'm-at race. But all the same I'm feeling the prerace tension already. The weekend is on pause until sometime around 15:30 tomorrow afternoon.

Lots of stretching later this evening.

Total 8.04M @ 8:23

outforarun

Race Day

So anxious to get this over with now. Checked my log from this time last year and repeated my race-day diet: bowl of porridge made with oat-milk and with added honey and sliced banana.

I've raced Raheny 3 times logging:

30:28 in 2017
30:53 in 2018
29:56 in 2019

Really unsure how this afternoon will go, I can see scenarios where I go faster than 2019 and where I can go slower than 2017. Keep telling myself not to read too much into how today goes, it's not an A-race, etc.

If forced to set goals for today I would go with:

<29:56 Platinum
<30:00 Gold (wide gold window)
<30:15 Silver
<30:30 Bronze
<31:00 Consolation

outforarun

Raheny 5 Mile 2020

Gave myself loads of time to travel cross town for this. Luas and the number 31. Arrived at All Saints Drive exactly 90 minutes before race start.

Now that I’m here I start to feel a little more relaxed. Portaloo, sports hall to change, drop bag. Decide to wear gloves. I watch the crazy charge of the boys 800m race. Then I start my warm-up. Run 2K out and 2K back along some of the course.

For the first time ever I arrive in the starting pen before the throngs have settled in. I take a place around 10m back from the front row and begin the wait. It fills up and warms up quickly. Ten minutes to go and I switch Garmin back on. Five minutes to go and the wheelchair race is off. Five minutes later it’s our turn. Shuffle, jog, and cross the start line.

I have the watch set up in metric, so for me it’s an 8.0467K race. Plan is to travel at 3:45 [6:02] pace for the first 5K then hope to push on from there and bring average pace down as much as possible.

K1 in 3:39.06 predicted finish time 29:23
Congestion isn’t too bad this year. I don’t need to swerve very much I don’t need to stop start at any point. I stick to the road and refuse to run on the footpath. Pretty quickly I’m travelling at race-pace. I allow myself look at the Garmin as much as I want over the first kilometre but after that I plan on only checking the splits. The first kilometre sounds sooner than I expected, I see a 3:39 flash up. Careful there’s a long way to go.

K2 in 3:45.92 predicted finish time 29:50
I have plenty of space to run in now as we travel back around the green. I’m overtaking all along this second kilometre, trying to hold correct pace based on perceived effort. Legs feel ok, though maybe not quite as light and spritely as I would have liked. The Garmin beeps and I see a 3:45 logged. Ok that’s exactly the pace I wanted, but part of me hoped I’d be a little quicker. Just a little concern creeps in after this, and I adjust pace slighty, worried that I’ll slow too much.

K3 in 3:42.14 predicted finish time 29:49
The concern with the ‘slow’ second split isn’t helped as we navigate a slight incline that leads us onto Howth Road. Legs feeling the incline. Previous years I’ve been hemmed in along the short Howth Road stretch but this year I find very little traffic. It definitely makes a difference getting to the starting pen sooner. Happy when we turn onto Sybil Hill Road, knowing that we have some favourable road profile to enjoy for the next while. My rate of overtaking starts to drop here but I’m still moving up the field.

K4 in 3:36.10 predicted finish time 29:37
The best kilometre of the course. A gentle descent all the way down Sybil Hill. Ease past other runners. In my head I know I’m 9 seconds up on target at this point. I can feel myself recovering a little along here. Also pleased to think that we are already nearly half way there. I remember running a 3:32 on this kilometre last year. When the Garmin beeps I see a 3:36. That’ll do. I’m 18 seconds ahead of target.

K5 in 3:42.09 predicted finish time 29:39
I love the central part of the Raheny 5 Miler. K4 allows you to recover while logging your fastest split of the race, and K5 while not as generous as K4, is still a gentle kilometre. Overtaken along here by one runner with a very smooth stride, looks very comfortable. There’s a Raheny vest in front of me and he’s getting a lot of side line support. I think I’m still overtaking people, but the legs are starting to feel the effort now and the real race is starting. K5 logs at 3:42. I’ve gone through 5K in 18:25. That’s 10 seconds faster than the Parkrun at the start of the month, but on a far more favourable road profile.

K6 in 3:38.63 predicted finish time 29:36
This is where the fun ends. I enjoy the last bit of road before we enter St.Anne’s. I’m all too aware of what comes next. We turn onto the central avenue and into a light headwind. Field is more spread out now. I pass one runner immediately as he drops a gear on the ascent. I try to stay strong. K6 sounds around one third of the way up the ascent and I’m very happy to see a 3:38 flash up. This is going ok. Just 2 more K to go, I note that I’m 29 seconds ahead of 3:45 pace, but I’m definitely, definitely tiring now.

K7 in 3:53.22 predicted finish time 29:50
As always the hairpin is never-arriving. Lungs working now and I want this to end soon. When the hairpin does arrive I take it very very tight and come almost to a standstill, takes a lot of effort to get the legs striding again. The downhill doesn’t help as much as the uphill hinders. I’m happy to pass the 4 mile marker, nearly nearly there. Turn left and head over the river. The Garmin sounds here and I’m disappointed to see a 3:53 showing. My initial reaction is one of resignation, that’s it race over. Then I do the calculations and tell myself I’m still 21 seconds up on 3:45 pace, it’s not over yet.

K8 in 3:50.55 predicted finish time 29:58
In the red, really struggling and hurting now. I swap places a few times with an East Antrim runner. I’ve kind of assumed that a sub 30 is probably gone. I’m looking up the road trying to figure out how long more this will last. As we work our way round the green I’m overtaken by two runners who left the road and cut across the footpath. Just two more turns. Just one more turn and I try to up the pace. East Antrim doesn’t really respond (pity, it might have made the difference). Up ahead I can see the clock reading 30:1X. Strange, that’s better than I expected. I speed up. For some reason I don’t glance at the Garmin. If I had I’m 100% certain I would have squeezed out an extra 0.62 seconds. Instead I cross the line, hit pause and see 30:00.61.

Rarely rarely does my chip time improve on my watch time and today is no exception. When I check the official results later I’m not surprised to see 30:00.

Ok this wasn’t an A-Race and if I’m rational and calm in my analysis I can say that less than one year on from my hammer tear I’m pretty much back where I was at the start of last year. That’s a huge success in itself. If I had had a little more belief in my current fitness then a 29:5X was definitely there. At just 4 seconds even a PB was probably there today. But my initial reaction is one of disappointment, there’s no excuse for missing by less than a second over 5 miles. That’s just wasteful. Why didn’t I check the Garmin at the start of the finishing straight? Too scared? That’s a lesson learned.

Once again I enjoyed Raheny more than I anticipated, it’s a funny race that way. I dread it all weekend, then miss it as soon as it’s over. Touchwood I’ll be back next year.

I want to bring up 40 miles for the week so I take a longer than usual 5K cool-down, to the sea and back. Took a heavy tumble during the cool-down. Clipped a raised paving stone, very nearly managed to regain my balance but nearly was no good, I was going down. Braced myself, crash onto concrete. Torn gloves, grazed palms, cut and blood-blistered left elbow and bruised left hip. Did remember to pause the Garmin though. Relieved to have nothing worse than cuts and bruises and I resume running.

Now that the race is over the weekend can begin.

Mile Splits were as follows with 2019 splits in brackets:

5:56 (5:59)
5:58 (6:01)
5:51 (5:49)
6:02 (5:55)
6:08 (6:05)

Chip 30:00.
P270 of 4064 finishers (or 7th in a race of 100)
P19 of 280 M45 finishers (or 7th in a race of 100)
VDOT of 55.7

outforarun

The Week So Far

Bit of a busy non-running schedule this week so I took my running windows where I could find them. All easy running so far, which I guess is fine as I drop intensity for a few days post-Raheny.

Monday 8 Miles Easy

Some painful twinges from my left knee over the first 50m of this one, and again for a few strides on mile 3. I ran after work, two loops. The first loop my 5 mile on the button loop, Kilmainham-Inchicore-Chapelizod-Islandbridge-Heuston-Kilmainham. The second loop my 3 mile on the button loop, Kilmainham-Inchicore-James-Heuston-Kilmainham. Eight miles for the evening.

Total 8.01M @ 8:21

Wednesday 4 Miles Easy

I knew I wouldn't be able to get an MLR run done in Athlone on Wednesday evening, instead I packed for two short midweek lunch time runs. It starts drizzling just as I head out. I keep it simple and run a 2 miles out and 2 miles back. From office to Garrycastle, run the Greenway to town and back. No feedback from the knee today. Easy pace was a little faster than normal, probably because I needed to be back in time for a meeting.

Total 4.05M @ 8:04

Thursday 4 Miles Easy

A repeat of yesterday's run, weather pretty much the same as well. Out at lunchtime and run the Greenway to town. Once again I forgot to hit start on the Garmin and so lose 5 minutes of running. Add on some extra minutes on the other side of the Greenway before turning around and heading back. Legs felt heavier today than yesterday.

Total 4.17M @ 8:22

outforarun

November Review

The start of the month was largely about recovering from DCM. Following no plan, I ran if I felt like running, and didn't run if I didn't feel like running. In the first 5 days after race-day I ran 0 miles. Cycled the guts of the DCM route 2 weeks after racing it.

On the 11th of November I kicked off my Raheny training block. I didn't see Raheny as an A-Race, I saw it more as an opportunity to return to some faster stuff in training and I would use the race the see how fit I was in comparison to 12 months previous. If I came close to last year's time I would mentally draw a close to my hammer recovery.

In the month I ran two 4 mile tempo sessions, and an 8x400 session. This latter I was disappointed to only average 85s. I ran another session mixing 5x400 + 2M tempo. None of these faster runs felt easy.

Some non-running drama as I have a change of heart about a job change and do a boomerang. I had a brief taste of Dublin commuting and don't want any more of that. Fastest way home from the airport was in a pair of runners and with a bag on my back.

Took my life in my hands one weekday morning by running the River Road north of Glasnevin.

Not a high mileage month, don't think it was ever going to be after DCM.

Month | Monthly Miles | Daily mileage for month | Weekly Mileage for month | Daily mileage for year | Weekly mileage for year | Predicted yearly mileage
January | 155.81 | 5.02 | 35.18 | 5.02 | 35.18 | 1835
February | 151.36 | 5.41 | 37.84 | 5.21 | 36.44 | 1900
March | 136.86 | 4.41 | 30.90 | 4.93 | 34.54 | 1801
April | 83.09 | 2.77 | 19.39 | 4.39 | 30.75 | 1603
May | 23.78 | 0.77 | 5.37 | 3.65 | 25.54 | 1332
June | 162.82 | 5.43 | 37.99 | 3.94 | 27.60 | 1439
July | 191.91 | 6.19 | 43.33 | 4.27 | 29.90 | 1559
August | 186.60 | 6.02 | 42.14 | 4.49 | 31.46 | 1641
September | 220.66 | 7.36 | 51.49 | 4.81 | 33.66 | 1755
October | 161.36 | 5.21 | 36.44 | 4.85 | 33.95 | 1770
November | 149.77 | 4.99 | 34.95 | 4.86 | 34.04 | 1775
December | | | | | |

outforarun

December Review

Ended the year strong with my second highest mileage month of 2019.
Raheny build up continued, December sessions included two tempo runs, one of which included 2 battles with a very strong North Road headwind.

Interval sessions included three 8x400 sessions. With these I'm trying to find the highest average pace I can sustain. Best set I could manage averaged 82 seconds, already a good improvement on November's 85s. I also ran a Christmas day lap of the playing fields at predicted 5K pace.

Another healthy session was a 12 mile progression run, back in Athlone. Four blocks of 3 miles, the final block run at 2:56 marathon pace.

Finished the month with runs in Bergamo, Roncobello and Milan. The Bergamo run was on a fantastically beautiful Saturday morning. While running in Roncobello outside of the summer felt really strange, and really really cold. Right hand circulation is very poor and it was uncomfortably sore for 20 minutes after the run.

The Milan run, a simple double lap of Parco di Trenno at sunset, was my last of the year. I managed to total 1816 miles across 12 months. Not bad as my predicted total had fallen to around 1300 in May.

A year dominated by my first serious injury, tearing my hammer in March. I probably cost myself 4 or 5 weeks of extra recovery by initially denying it was anything too serious. In a funny way I have fond memories of the recovery in the summer, trips to the physio and laps of the Polo grounds. All told I have to be happy that I made the starting line of DCM and recorded a new PB. Highlight of the year remains going sub 30 for the first time for 5 miles, way back in January.

Only 2 races in 2019, as the Cork Half and Drogheda 10K fell to injury. Two more races missed due to registering too late (10 Miler in Cork and Dublin Half). Hoping for better luck in 2020. Feeling optimistic and determined to implement some change to trigger improvement.

Month | Monthly Miles | Daily mileage for month | Weekly Mileage for month | Daily mileage for year | Weekly mileage for year | Predicted yearly mileage
January | 155.81 | 5.02 | 35.18 | 5.02 | 35.18 | 1835
February | 151.36 | 5.41 | 37.84 | 5.21 | 36.44 | 1900
March | 136.86 | 4.41 | 30.90 | 4.93 | 34.54 | 1801
April | 83.09 | 2.77 | 19.39 | 4.39 | 30.75 | 1603
May | 23.78 | 0.77 | 5.37 | 3.65 | 25.54 | 1332
June | 162.82 | 5.43 | 37.99 | 3.94 | 27.60 | 1439
July | 191.91 | 6.19 | 43.33 | 4.27 | 29.90 | 1559
August | 186.60 | 6.02 | 42.14 | 4.49 | 31.46 | 1641
September | 220.66 | 7.36 | 51.49 | 4.81 | 33.66 | 1755
October | 161.36 | 5.21 | 36.44 | 4.85 | 33.95 | 1770
November | 149.77 | 4.99 | 34.95 | 4.86 | 34.04 | 1775
December | 192.08 | 6.20 | 43.37 | 4.98 | 34.83 | 1816

outforarun

Friday - Easy Hour

Friday evening I worked a little later than planned but I was working from Dublin
so no commute to worry about. Headed out for two of my Kilmainham-Inchicore-SCR-James-Heuston-Kilmainham loops, plus a trip to SuperValu.

Left leg felt kinda numb for most of this, bordering on having pins and needles. My left foot had a reduced sense of contact with the ground. Not sure if I laced up in a different fashion, or if was just the way I had been sitting at the desk all day. After around five miles, as I turned right at the bottom of Brookfield Road the numbness lifted in a matter of seconds and had proper feeling back in my left leg again. Odd.

Left SuperValu with a little more than I had planned to buy. Running with both arms hugging groceries to your chest doesn't encourage good form, it does encourage looks from people you pass.

Total 6.76M @ 8:53

Saturday Club Session 4x(3x200 + 2x400) all off 200m Recovery

Windy up around the Magazine Fort and the Munich Hills on Saturday morning.
Joined the Donore crew sheltering in the copse of trees by the north-eastern corner of the playing fields. We are briefed on the morning's session. Cross country. We can choose to run 6 to 8 laps. A lap takes us from the copse of trees down along the grass to the Fort and back up through the gullys before turning left to return to the start line; roughly 1200m. The odd laps would be 200 on, 200 off, 200 on, 200 off, 200 on, 200 off. The even laps 400 on, 200 off, 400 on, 200 off.

The jumps in pace feel comfortable for the first lap. Then the 400s in the second lap quickly remind you that this is a session. The last 100m of the second 400 are particularly tough as the legs recover from the gullies. At first I'm running as part of a couple and slightly ahead there is the lead group of 3. After around 4 laps I've split from my partner and I'm hanging around 4 seconds behind the leaders. I catch them early in each recovery.

I'm looking forward the odd laps, they feel like relative recovery after the 400s. On lap 5 I realise that two of the leading group will be stopping after 6 laps. Hearing this I'm a little concerned about how I'm pacing these.

So it's just two of us for the last 2 laps. My companion is faster than me finishing each speed section around 3 or 4 seconds ahead of me. He offers lots of welcome encouragement during the recovery sections. I'm very pleased to get this done and close out the eighth lap.

Again really enjoyed this session, training in a group brings a whole new narrative to the work-out.

I didn't look once at the Garmin while running but I took splits of the fast sections:

L1 43 47 46
L2 83 89
L3 40 44 45
L4 82 86
L5 40 43 45
L6 84 89
L7 41 42 45
L8 86 86

Wore the Dynafits today, should have taken them off on my cool-down as I thnk I do risk blisters if I wear then too long.

Sunday Long Run 17 Miles

At one point there were 14 of us on Sunday's run. Never stuck for conversation and the miles tick by. Following the usual Donore Sunday morning route. The legs for sure are still feeling yesterday's session but they still feel strong. Tackle Knockmaroon again. Feels a little tougher than 2 weeks ago, I reckon that's the session in the legs. I bid a reduced group farewell at Knockmaroon Gate and finish the run solo. My first solo mile from Knockmaroon Gate, down into and back out of the Furry Glen is my fastest of the day at 6:48 pace.

Happy to bring up 50 for the week.

Total 17.12M @ 7:31

outforarun

I think my 10K PB is a sitting duck. It's a 38:38 from Blessington a few years back. After Raheny I think I'm in a position to target a 37:XX. That's the goal for Dunboyne 10K at the end of March. Signed up already.

I'm going to run as many of the Donore sessions as I can. I should manage all the Saturday ones and some of the Tuesday ones. The ones I miss on Tuesday I can try replicate in Athlone on Wednesdays.

Things get under way in snappy fashion last night at the track in Donore.

16x300 off 300 recovery

This was tough and it was a lot of fun. Two runners are in a different league and they zip off up front. Then there is a block of 9 or 10 runners. I mostly hang at the back of this group. I think someone said 'not flat out' as the session starts, that seems forgotten near the end.

I wasn't checking splits as I went. Off effort the first 4 or 5 felt tougher than I would have liked and I'm concerned about holding the pace for the full set of 16. We are taking our time on the recovery laps though. The middle 300s don't feel easier as such, but I guess I just get more used to the rhythm.

Some runners drop off after completing 8 or 10 intervals. Now the group is seven strong. On the recoveries each of us in invited to lead a lap. I get lap 12. I move up front during the recovery lap. A little nervous as I've been running slower than most of the group. Pass the line and accelerate. I log a 57.75, my fastest of the evening so far, by a bit. Everyone leads strong when it's their turn and only one of the last 5 laps doesn't dip under 60 seconds.

Anxious again as we prepare for the final 300 as we can all tell we're going to go for it. At 56.70 the final interval is my fastest of the night, 5:02 min/mile pace.

Lots of handshakes amongst the group of 7. That was great. I would never have done that on my own. I hadn't a clue of the splits until I checked the watch later at home. Really pleased with the night's work.

62.70
63.08
62.45
61.52
62.22
61.36
61.26
60.88
60.68
60.49
60.95
57.75
59.58
60.60
58.64
56.70

Average 300 in 60.68. 3:32min/km 5:25min/mile

Breaking these into blocks of 4 it's clear to see how the session heated up as the evening progressed.

Reps 01 to 04 in an average of 62.44
Reps 05 to 08 in an average of 61.43
Reps 09 to 12 in an average of 59.97
Reps 13 to 16 in an average of 58.88

Buzzed for the rest of the evening after this. With a 4 mile warm up and over 2 miles of cool down I also log over 12 miles for the day.

outforarun

Easy 8 Miles

Really happy I didn't have to run a session in AIT this evening. Instead I run a very easy, don't look at the watch 8 miler. The legs absolutely feel last night's session, in a good way. Stretched the hammers before heading out. Just daydream around one of my usual Athlone routes. Thinking over last night's 300s and thinking ahead to next Saturday's session.

Total 8.33M @ 8:46

outforarun

2019 Race History

Injury dominated my race calendar last year. I only made the start line on 2 occasions, Raheny in January and DCM in October. Some consolation had from the fact I logged PBs in both races. Sub 30 in Raheny being the highlight. Mixed emotions from DCM, disappointment for missing sub 3:10, but very pleased to be back setting PBs after a long hamstrung summer.

I ran Cork-to-Cobh in 2019, but didn't race it.

One other informal PB: my Ponte Valsecca - Mezzeno Ascent in 1:16:32

(paces are calculated against standard race distance, not pace for distance covered as captured on Garmin)

No|Race|Time|Pace(M)|Pace(KM)|Position|Finishers|% of Field|Vdot|PB

01| Raheny 5M | 0:29:56 | 5:59 | 3:43 | 228 | 3889 | 06 | 55.8 | Yes
02| DCM19 | 3:11:18 | 7:17 | 4:32 | 1258 | 17732 | 07 | 49.8 | Yes

PB Details

Distance|2010 Best|2011 Best|2012 Best|2013 Best|2014 Best|2015 Best|2016 Best|2017 Best|2018 Best|2019 Best|Current PB Set
Marathon|3:51:53|3:41:30|3:40:31|3:39:30|3:24:49|3:18:43|3:13:43|3:13:42|DNR|3:11:18|Dublin City Marathon 2019
15 Mile|1:56:59|1:55:49|DNR|DNR|DNR|1:42:24|DNR|DNR|DNR|DNR|BHAA Cork to Cobh 2015
Half Marathon|1:40:50|1:37:59|1:37:52|DNF|1:28:52|1:28:18|1:26:57|1:26:13|1:25:23|DNR|Dublin Half Marathon 2018
10 Mile|1:17:52|1:15:57|1:13:11|1:09:14|DNR|1:06:43|DNR|1:05:57|1:04:08|DNR|Frank Duffy 2018
10K|DNR|DNR|DNR|0:40:16|0:39:01|0:38:54|0:38:38|38:52|DNR|DNR|Blessington Lakes 2016
5 Mile|DNR|0:35:26|0:34:35|0:33:10|0:31:48|0:31:56|DNR|30:26|30:53|29:56|Raheny 5 Mile 2019
5K|DNR|DNR|DNR|DNR|0:18:40|0:18:46|0:18:35|DNR|18:06|DNR|Jingle Bells 2018
Parkrun|DNR|DNR|DNR|DNR|DNR|DNR|0:18:57|DNR|18:35|DNR| Milano Nord 118

outforarun

January Review

Trying to stay on top of these monthly reviews this year.

January was a very solid and significant month. New year, new start. To make good on some decisions taken post DCM, I've upped the mileage and I've joined a club (although admin needs to be completed on the latter).

From the first full week of January I've started targeting 50 miles a week. The only exceptions to this rule will be on race weeks and on some post-race weeks. Need to be a little more inventive finding windows to run and a bit more effective with the windows I find, but so far so good, I've been hitting targets. It's the first month I have ever logged over 200 miles outside of marathon training.

Joining Donore was long overdue. I'm really enjoying the group sessions. There's a narrative about them that just doesn't exist running solo. The 16x300 session done only a few days ago I would never have done on my own. I'm looking forward to sessions and not dreading them as much as I used to. The Dynafits have found new life around the Munich Hills. I'm feeling very optimistic about lifting off the plateau I've been living on for a while now. Ran a solo 10x400 in AIT, happy enough to average 83s.

Two encouraging races in January. A 18:41 and second place were both welcome on a bitterly cold Parkrun in Milan at the start of the month. I feared I might not dip under 19:00, it had been over a year since I targeted 5K pace. Similarly with Raheny, my fitness proved to be better than I thought. If I had a little more confidence and a little more savvy over the closing 800m I could have contested a PB, so I'm more or less back to where I was this time last year. Signed up for Dunboyne in March, targeting a 37:XX.

Took a tumble after Raheny, bit bruised and scrapped but thankfully nothing more serious.

All told a good month to start 2020.

Month | Monthly Miles | Daily mileage for month | Weekly Mileage for month | Daily mileage for year | Weekly mileage for year | Predicted yearly mileage
January | 203.31 | 6.56 | 45.91 | 6.56 | 45.91 | 2400
February | | | | | |
March | | | | | |
April | | | | | |
May | | | | | |
June | | | | | |
July | | | | | |
August | | | | | |
September | | | | | |
October | | | | | |
November | | | | | |
December | | | | | |

outforarun

Friday - Easy 5 Miles

Dull and damp Friday afternoon when I head out of the office for a 5 miler before heading back to Dublin. Usual route. Greenway toward town then turn right to swing back to the office passing SuperValu and Eriksson. The legs are rarely happy to run if they have been sitting all day, this afternoon is no exception, two leaden limbs.

Total 5:20M @ 8:32

Saturday - Progression/Tempo

Warm-up to club, then second warm-up along the Chapelizod Road to Islandbridge Gate. Into Park and we start the first of three laps at the lower bollards on the Khyber. A lap consists of an ascent up the Khyber, a descent down Acres, the hospital triangle, S-bends and down Military Road to start again.

Lap 1 @ 7:00 min/mile
I think there were 5 of us leading the way. It quickly became evident that the real foe this morning would be the wind and not the Khyber. A very strong headwind blowing up Acres. Hard to hold form in the conditions. Outside of the wind I was thinking to myself that this wasn't hugely demanding. I commented on the SBends that the pace was on the edge of conversational. We complete lap 1 in 20:22. Things would quickly heat up from lap 2.

Lap 2 @ 6:29 min/mile
The group splits on the second ascent with 3 of us breaking away slightly. I groan as we turn left onto Acres and into the wind again. I lead the way down here. Happy to leave the wind by the hospital. Now there are just two of us up front. Two of the original 5 are running 4 laps this morning so they have adjusted their pace accordingly. There is no conversation between the two of us. Occasionally we swap places but in general I'm leading the way. There is very little recovery on the lap, essentially the S-Bends and Military Road are the recovery section. We pass another group of runners who shout us encouragement. Lap 2 is an 18:57.

Lap 3 @ 6:25 min/mile
Final time up the Khyber, we continue to swap places. Final time down Acres and I lead us down to the hospital. Happy that the worse of the lap is over. Legs are tired and I'm feeling the effort but the pace doesn't falter. Navigate the S-bends, then my companion ups a gear, looks effortless and he opens a 20m gap. I don't have the energy to stay with him, but don't kill myself trying either, it's not a race. He'd mention later that he was feeling the effort on this lap and any increase in gear didn't feel effortless. Through the bollards in 18:41.

That was a very solid morning's run. Three laps covering 8.74 miles in 57:59 @ 6:38 average pace. Hills and headwinds.

Sunday MLR 12 Miles
I open the front door at 8:10 on Sunday morning and I quickly close it again.
Am I really going out in this? Curtains of rain blowing horizontially, loud buffering gusts of wind. A quick WhatsApp 'If I arrive will I be the only one?'. No get-out-of-jail-card, I will have company in my madness. Out I go. Soaked through inside 8 seconds. Head down I lean into the first two miles to the club-house. Shoes are totally soaked as I wade through huge roadside lakes. A few cars pass and I'm fairly confident I know what the drivers are thinking.

The group is 6 strong at this point. Off we go. The Acres looks a bit like the Everglades. The run down to the Fort is relatively easy, and then we turn left... :eek:

I don't ever recall running in wind quite this strong. Inside 10 seconds my left eyeball is starting to freeze, I can hear a whistling in my left ear, I need to use my arms at points to regain my balance, and I have to turn my head to the right to grab a controlled breath of air. If I jumped I might go airbourne.

Once of the Acres the wind isn't such a problem. One of our number takes a nasty fall turning onto Chesterfield. Grazed and bruised. The group grows bigger from Castleknock and we have a wind assisted run down the North Road. Another ascent up the Khyber, closest I've ever felt to being a salmon heading home. I leave the group earlier this morning. I know 12 miles will ensure 51 miles for the week, that's enough for me.

A decent start to 8 weeks of Dunboyne build-up.

Total 12.01M @ 8:15

outforarun

Easy 40 Minutes

Early flight to Milan for work on Monday morning. When I arrive a few of the guys say they are going for a run at lunchtime if I want to join them. Cool. Takes the pressure off trying to find a place to run in the evening.

Car to local swimming-pool, we can use their changing rooms and showers. We follow a dirt track that I would never have found on my own. Nice gentle run. Out and back, totalling almost 5 miles. Company is entering a few relay teams in the Milan marathon so they are training together at lunchtime.

Total 4.85m @ 8:33

12x244m (average 49.25)

Long day at work, including two cross city journeys. Back to hotel and happy to lace up and head out. It's very mild outside, around 15 degrees at a guess. I run a short 3K warm-up, returning to the swimming-pool from Monday. I run 200 metres through close to pitch-black no-man's land before reaching the long narrow park that I was correctly told would be lit up at night.

We've been told to have an easy midweek of running ahead of a tough session on Saturday. Tonight I wanted a gentle session, no heroics but enough to keep the legs lively.

I find a stretch of straight grit track and run what feels like somewhere between 200 and 300 metres (average on Garmin is 244m). I dash along the patch at I estimate 3K pace. Turn at the end and jog back to the starting point via a parallel path. I run 12 repeats. The lungs are never really working hard nor are the legs. So I'm surprised when reviewing on the Garmin later to see an average pace of 3:22min/km, 5:24 min/mile. Felt slower. I had the park mostly to myself. Enjoyed this, logged some good splits without unduly stressing the legs.

Cool-down back the way I came. Food and bed.

Recovery 3+Miles

Some sunshine this afternoon as I join colleagues for another gentle lunchtime run. Slightly different route this time, nicer one I think. Chat is mostly about running. We adopt the pace of the slowest in the group. Really enjoyable tipping along this leisurely.

Packed for 2 runs on this short trip, managed to get 3 runs in.

Total 3.66M @ 9:28

outforarun

XC Fartlek

Cracking session around the Magazine Hills and Khyber copses.

Storm Denis was blowing as I stepped outside this morning. Still though I don't think it was as bad as storm Ciara last Sunday morning. Tip across to the Donore meeting point, the wind getting stronger the closer I get to the playing fields. I reckon there were around 16 or so brave souls huddling for cover amongst the trees.

Coach briefs us on how the session will work. He suggests 4, 5 or 6 laps. Each lap starts with around 500m on, this is downhill to the Magazine Fort, and this morning it's into a nasty head/cross wind. Then it's 200m of jog recovery as we turn at the Fort and head back towards the gullies. Then 300m on as we dash down and up through the muddy gullies and into the copse of trees. Another 200m of jog recovery keeping the Khyber on our right-hand-side. Then a final 400m on starting with a short steep climb then into the headwind through the trees before exiting and turning 180 back onto the playing fields for 250m of jog recovery back to the starting line. Coach says that the fast sections should be run at tempo pace. A single flag marks the spots where we speed up, double flags mark the spots where we slow down. Easy

It worked out like this.

Lap1 - One guy takes off on his own and starts to open a sizeable gap right from the start. Then there is a group of around 7 including myself. The first lap is, at least for me, all about finding my footing, sussing out the dips and seeing where the wind is blowing. The group holds solid for the first lap. I learn that sitting behind a group to find shelter from the wind comes at a price, i.e. mud in your face.

Lap2 - After the first lap I have faith in the Dynafits, I never feel like slipping and have full confidence to speed through the muddy sections, including the steep sides of the gullies. The group starts to string out a little. I'm trying to stay with the top two guys in the group, Black-A and Orange-A. I notice that on the gullies they open up maybe 5m on me.

Lap3 - During this lap Black-A and Orange-A and I pull away from the others. I lead us along the opening 500 of this lap. Form deteriorating as I lean into the wind. I've noticed that my companions seem to conserve energy and then attack the uphills. I try the same, running on my forefoot up the hills, this does help me stay in touch with the other two. At the end of the lap we establish that we are all going for 6 laps, so we'll each take a turn to lead one.

Lap4 - Black-A leads us on lap 4. I focus on his feet and try not to look ahead for the double-flags. I log my fastest 300 so far on this lap. Working hard now though and starting to be concerned about the next two laps, especially the one I will lead. Checking splits later I will see that of the first 12 fast sections across the first 4 laps, only 3 were run at my normal tempo pace, 2 were run faster, the rest were slower. It's hard to judge pace with the changing profile and the crosswinds, headwinds etc. I start to fall back maybe 10m over the final fast section.

Lap5 - Orange-A takes lap 5. Black-A says "Nothing mad now!" Orange-A says "No, don't worry". The first 500 is my fastest of the day and I'm around 5m behind the others when we get to the double flag :rolleyes: Through the gullies again, lungs and legs working. The last 400 of this penultimate lap is maybe the toughest of the morning for me, I run my slowest split here and the others are over 10m ahead of me. I catch them up during the recovery 250m. I tell them I'll do what I can do for this last lap. Black-A says don't worry we're all boll@x#d.

Lap 6 - I feel wrecked and I feel like I'm losing pace quickly, but my splits tell a different story, I log my fastest 500 and 300 of the morning. I run the gullies at 5K pace. Really tiring on the last 400 but manage to hold strong and post my joint fastest time for this section. And it's over

Handshakes all round. We worked the last 3 laps well together. Really enjoyed this one and will be basking in the glow of a job well done for the rest of the day.

Lap | ~500m | ~300m | ~400
Lap 1 | @ 4:10 [6:37] | @ 4:12 [6:49] | @ 4:25 [7:00]
Lap 2 | @ 4:01 [6:21] | @ 3:56 [6:24] | @ 4:16 [6:48]
Lap 3 | @ 3:56 [6:25] | @ 3:51 [6:12] | @ 4:08 [6:37]
Lap 4 | @ 4:00 [6:31] | @ 3:46 [6:06] | @ 4:16 [6:47]
Lap 5 | @ 3:53 [6:14] | @ 3:58 [6:22] | @ 4:22 [7:09]
Lap 6 | @ 3:50 [6:10] | @ 3:43 [6:05] | @ 4:10 [6:37]

outforarun

Long Run 16 Miles

Up early in Cork. Braced for wet and stormy conditions. I step outdoors at 7:00am. It's not too bad. Wet underfoot and a bit breezy but nothing like the forecast had predicted. So 16 miles required to ensure I hit 50 for the week.

I head through town in the dark and pass the port heading for Glanmire. Only starts to get light on mile 5. Mile 6 is always a slow one on this route as it starts with an ascent of the very steep Church Hill. Legs start to wake up after this. Into Mayfield and back into town via Montenotte. Another climb up Sunday's Well. Onto the Carrigrohane Road and into a slight headwind. To my right the Lee Fields are flooded. I turn left onto Inchigaggin Lane, the road here is closed due to a fallen tree. I scramble underneath and make my way onto Model Farm Road. Along here I check average pace, it's showing 8:15. I decide I'd make the end of the run a little more interesting and try drop overall average pace down to under 8:00.

The increase in pace is comfortable. If you asked I would have said it was at fastest 6:5X, so I'm pleased afterwards to see the last three miles recorded at 6:49, 6:47 and 6:43. Overall pace dips down to 7:57 for the morning.

Tuck into a warm breakfast, happy at the end of a solid and varied week's running.

Total 16.02M @ 7:57

outforarun

Easy 4+ Miles

Traveled up from Cork in the early afternoon. Headed out while it was still bright for a few easy miles. Entered the Park via Infirmary Road Gate and cut through the zoo to the Polo Grounds. Brought my phone with me and I tried my first running selfie. Bit blurred but not too bad. Need to use tracking option next time.

Another headwind to tackle at the top of Acres. Legs feeling good on this run. One of those runs where unintentionally each mile is a little faster than the previous.

Total 4.53M @ 8:40

Club Session 16x400 (in 83s)

Trees down at the club house. ESB repaired power lines but various debris still needed to be dealt with, for health and safety reasons tonight's session was officially cancelled. All the same around 16 runners turned up, confident we'd cobble some session together. Originally the plan had been for 8x800s along Chapelizod Road, however because several street lights were out we abbreviated the distance to 400 and opted for 16x400 (technically 12 to 16, but who were we kidding).

We were running from the 0m marker after the Chapelizod Gate bus stop to the 400m marker. We would jog to the 500m marker before turning round, jogging back to the 400m marker and then upping the pace back to the 0m marker. A longer recovery of around 340m after the even 400s.

The intervals started at a relatively comfortable pace: 89, 94, 87, 89 (I fumbled button on the first one so that one is an estimate). It was instantly clear that the odd 400s would be easier than the even 400s. A group of around 8 of us for these initial splits.

Things started to speed up gradually, the next splits were: 84, 88, 80, 84. The leading group had now dropped to around 6 and would stay like that till the end. Depending on how the 180 turns worked out various people found themselves taking the lead on individual 400s. I was feeling good over the first 100 of each 400, starting to tire at 200, working fairly hard from 300. It was mostly in the legs I was feeling it, lungs were performing well.

Half-way there and the internal countdowns were starting, the next 4 came in at: 79, 83, 81, 82. I was noticing the pick-up in pace. I was also conscious that I have never run more than 10x400 in a session before, so this was uncharted territory for me now.

The final 4 splits were: 78, 83, 79, 82. I lead out the 14th interval back toward Chapelizod Gate. After 200m one runner eased past me on the left. I'd started too fast probably, found energy to make a surge after 300m and managed to get home first. Was very glad of the 340m generous recovery after this one.

Good session, for a cancelled session this was fairly tough! Really pleased to have averaged 83s for this. On my own back in AIT I would have been happy with 83s for 10x400, I would never have attempted 16x400.

Happy to take it easy now until Saturday.

01 to 04 average 89.75
05 to 08 average 84.00
09 to 12 average 81.25
13 to 16 average 80.50

Easy Hour

Out yesterday evening for two laps of the neighbourhood. My Kilmainham-Inchicore-SCR-James-Heuston loop takes roughly 30:00 minutes to complete at an easy not looking at the Garmin pace so it's ideal for this run. Some wind and some rain to deal with. Getting fed-up with these conditions now but the summer still feels so far away.

Total 6.81M @ 8:49

IvoryTower

Great session, sounds like a lot of fun as well, good job m8

outforarun

IvoryTower wrote: »

Great session, sounds like a lot of fun as well, good job m8

Pleased that we put something together despite events trying to conspire against us.