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Sub 5 minute mile

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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,825 ✭✭✭IvoryTower


    Were you the sub 5er? That might have been all I needed.

    He was indeed.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,609 ✭✭✭overpronator


    Were you the sub 5er? That might have been all I needed.

    Yeah, went out too hard and bled a bit of painful time over the last 800. Company from yourself would have helped me pace it better for sure, was actually keeping an eye out for you in the minutes before the race. (Not knowing what you look like!!)


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,559 ✭✭✭ahnowbrowncow


    I've been following yours and Ivory's training logs. Been very interesting watching your progress and there's been plenty of good information shared.
    Maybe you've already mentioned it and I've missed it but are you playing football this year?

    I'm in similar boat to you last year, playing football and I would like to run a sub 5 minute mile but I find it quite hard to juggle running goals with football commitments. It's difficult to get runs in at the weekend with training on Fridays, rest day Saturday and a match Sunday.
    Working runs around midweek training is difficult too because you don't really know what kind of session it's going to be. I remember you mentioning at least once were there was very little running at your football training and it was a waste of a training day. Plus you kind of want to be fresh for training if you're competing for a place in the team.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    I've been following yours and Ivory's training logs. Been very interesting watching your progress and there's been plenty of good information shared.
    Maybe you've already mentioned it and I've missed it but are you playing football this year?

    I'm in similar boat to you last year, playing football and I would like to run a sub 5 minute mile but I find it quite hard to juggle running goals with football commitments. It's difficult to get runs in at the weekend with training on Fridays, rest day Saturday and a match Sunday.
    Working runs around midweek training is difficult too because you don't really know what kind of session it's going to be. I remember you mentioning at least once were there was very little running at your football training and it was a waste of a training day. Plus you kind of want to be fresh for training if you're competing for a place in the team.

    I've paid my membership (family membership) but no intention to play any ball yet. I'm friends with the reserve manager this year who has been onto me already about playing. I said we'll see what the summer brings as the baby is due at the end of this month.

    It was true that I found a few football sessions a waste of time last year as the manager liked to talk shop a bit. Some were great too though. Last year I was definitely tapering my commitment to the football so might be slightly different situation to you in that I wasn't looking for a first team place.

    The additional training outside of football I did last year definitely helped me improve my time but I probably wasn't economical with how I spent my time running. Obviously I can't prove the theory now but I think I might have achieved my main goal last year if I took on more long easy runs to improve my aerobic base during a standard week and shed one of the solo sessions I did (hills for example). I went to training heavy legged quite a few times last year. I got away with it and didn't get injured but it was probably a little reckless. I think I should have concentrated on easy miles first though. See where that got me and then tailored in some additional sessions when I could if they were needed.

    So my advice, FWIW, is work out your easy pace and put in some easy miles when you can (maybe after training on a Friday before you tog in). I didn't do that last year. The football training if it's right should help out your speed work anyway. just make sure you're concentrating on your form when doing any speed work. Make sure to work your arms when you don't have the ball in hand for example. The easy runs will help you recover from football too. Ramp the mileage slowly enough and you shouldn't find any fatigue from it affecting your game.

    Prioritise - Easy miles first. Then interval runs so that you get familiar/comfortable with the effort level required for the mile.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    Monday - 6 x 1k @ 5k pace w/ 1:30 r/ [3:32, 3:32, 3:31, 3:30, 3:29, 3:21].
    Picked the road outside work for this. It's bendy, and single lane but I met no cars at all today. It's a tiny bit up and down but a neutral elevation gain with the wind more sheltered than the road near home I was using for these. I was definitely feeling a little fatigued before these but more in the head than the legs. It was comfortable enough going until the 5th where I was breathing heavy from around halfway. The watch must have lost me because I saw my pace plummet and so ended up digging in a little more but still set the fastest rep up to that point. There's something about the last rep of these drills. I definitely have an issue maintaining discipline as I belt out the last one. I always go out steady but then think "hey I'm not bollixed enough" before putting the boot down and gasping a little at the end.

    Tuesday - 5 km - recovery @ 4:56 pace - 25 mins

    Wednesday - 17.4 km Long run - Easy - 1:20:21

    Thursday - 5 km - easy - 23 mins An unusual 5th day running in a row.

    Friday - Rest

    Saturday - 8 x 400@MP [80, 75, 75, 78, 78, 76, 75, 75] w/ 60 sec rest
    Abort! Abort! Plan was for 10 reps. 9 pm Saturday evening - It was a case of now or never as storm Ciara was setting in so this was the last run of the week. The route was predominantly hit by cross wind and rain and I was wearing 3 layers for the entire workout. I don't want to use the weather and clothing as an excuse though. These were much tougher than I thought they'd be. Haven't run this pace in quite a few weeks so hopefully it's mostly conditioning. Setting out it was miserable and I was just thinking, right no heroics or super fast reps just take it easy and get it all done. Ran the first one, obviously a little rusty with the pace in 80 seconds. Needed to up it then but was struggling around the midway. Reps 4 and 5 were 78s. At that point I decided I'd finish with 8 as opposed to increasing my recovery time but make sure the last 3 were quick enough. I didn't want to be standing out in the wind and rain any longer than necessary. 76, 75 and 75 to finish. I felt I was finished myself during the last 100 m in a couple of these :D I look forward to trying this again... soon.

    Sunday - Rest

    45 km for the week. 3 short of target but 2 workouts and long run fitted in again at least.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,825 ✭✭✭IvoryTower


    If you're into wasting valuable time watching youtube there's a good miler vlog "the athlete special", his fave workout is 8 x 400 with 90 sec rest. some cool ideas for sessions on it and lots of races to watch


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    IvoryTower wrote: »
    If you're into wasting valuable time watching youtube there's a good miler vlog "the athlete special", his fave workout is 8 x 400 with 90 sec rest. some cool ideas for sessions on it and lots of races to watch

    Been following Spence for a while now. I should probably take more notes though.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    Monday - 1x800@MP w/3 min walking recovery, 4x400@MP w/2 min jog rec, 4x200 w/ 1 min rest. [2:30], [73, 77, 75, 76], [34, 31,33,33]. Little wake up call on Saturday so time to start putting some harder paced stuff back in. I'm hoping the extra mileage I've been doing will work to my advantage eventually. That old familiar metallic taste was back as I finished the 800 and remained for the 400s. I was layered up again in bitter cold and was interrupted by a sideways snow shower towards the end of the session. Not overly happy with how I'm feeling in those runs yet. Certainly not smooth sailing. The 200s to finish feel so nice in comparison though to the longer stuff. I hit the pace for the 800 but there's no way I'm managing two of those in a row just yet.

    Tuesday - Missed recovery run

    Wednesday - 17.4 km Long run - Easy - 1:20:28. Felt quite tired today. First few k were a slog. Got a second wind around 11 km before slogging the last 3 km.

    Thursday - rest

    Friday - 20 x 40s Hard Intrevals w/ 30s jog. Another windy day. I tried to be strategic in the route I took round the road. Looking a bit more at faster pace this week so I ditched the 3:35 pace target and ran by feel. Last time was in the dark and on a bumpy enough path so I hoped I'd average a little below the 3:28 of last time. First 5 or 6 probably a little too fast. 8 to 10 were when the the wind was at it's worst. A few trucks thrown into the mix meant I had to step into the slippy muck a few times too (dangerous sport). 11 to 15 were a series of up and down slopes but aside from a slightly tight hamstring all felt good enough and the last 5 were easier than I expected. I think I inadvertently took it easier around 11 to 15 when I was doing the downslopes. A manual calculation back in the office - Average pace on the intervals was 3:19/km. Much faster than I expected so it was a nice morale lift after my struggles with the MP workouts in the last week or so.[/B]

    Saturday - 7 km easy.
    I was hoping to wrap up the week and my mileage target with an easy 11 km. But my left Achilles which was a little stiff before I set out was screaming at me around km 4 so a very ginger trot back to base and called it a week.

    Sunday - Rest. Putting a bit of heat and Voltorol on the Achilles a couple of times during the day.

    43 km for the week. 5 short of target but 2 workouts and long run fitted in again at least. Have to see how the Achilles holds up for the week ahead.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    Overdue an update. I've only been popping in to read some of the logs the last month without updating my own. It was great to see the likes of IT and Sacksian flying in Athlone.

    I don't race as much as most here so I've not had any planned races to fall foul of the CV. Sorry for everyone with big target races especially the Olympians. Covid-19 might take our events but it can't take our running.

    We had a beautiful baby girl towards the end of February and I'm now working from home predominantly in a household of 5.

    I don't like using the CV, the baby and lack of sleep as too much of an excuse as my weekly mileage was beginning to fall a little in early Feb as I was pushing to get some work things out of the way before taking 2 weeks leave around the baby's arrival. Still I've managed to keep getting out a bit, just less frequently.

    I'll throw up a bit of backfill shortly.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,742 ✭✭✭ReeReeG


    Congrats on the new arrival :)


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,825 ✭✭✭IvoryTower


    congrats man, we can have a virtual mile race between all us boardsies later in the year :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    I know I hinted that the log might falter around the end of February but during a long conference call today(5 hours :eek:) I figured I'd get a chance for an update as a lot of nonsense was being spoken. I'll spare the usual rambling and bullet point as best I can. The autographed unabridged version can be ordered on request :D

    The theme at the moment is a distinct lack of structure. I've gone back to old habits a little, setting myself little challenges and goals which I've been enjoying.The running is officially my only real outlet these days so I want to enjoy it as much as possible.

    Feb 17-23: 26.5 km
    • 2x800@MP w/3 min walking recovery, 4x400@MP w/2 min jog rec, 4x200 w/ 1 min rest. [2:31, 2:27], [74, 73], [34,34,35,33]. First time ever doing an 800 below 2:30 I think.
    • 12.5 km Long run. 60 mins - This was easily the slowest paced long run I've done yet. Average pace of 5:02 /km
    • 6.5 km easy 30 mins. Last run of the week. Threw a quick 800 in the middle at 2:50 pace just to wake me up a bit.

    Both kids badly sick around now with high fevers so need to be watching them like a hawk. These fevers lasted 5 and 6 days each :eek:


    Feb 24- Mar 01: 22 km
    • Baby this week!
    • 4x1k @5k pace w/ 1.5 min rec. 4 min rest then 2x800 @MP w/3 min rec. [3:28, 3:32, 3:30, 3:29], [2:35, 2:32]. 12 km total. Wasn't really expecting to be able to hit my 2:30 target for the 8s but I gave them a good go.
    • 5 km moderate - 18:31. 5 km PB broken with effort to spare albeit not an official race. No warm up. Splits [3:42, 3:46, 3:43, 3:39, 3:42]
    • 3.5 km very easy with the two kids on their scooter and bike


    Mar 02- Mar 08: 20.5 km
    • 6.7 km easy. 4.5 km on grass - 29 mins
    • 10 k easy - 46:23. Threw in 3 x 150 hills and 1x400m @ 70 secs just to keep some speed in the legs
    • 3 km moderate - 10:56 [3:50, 3:41, 3:25].


    Mar 02- Mar 08: 15.6 km
    I did a Fartlek though! (I think)
    • 9 km - 34:07. 25 seconds off my best time for this route in horrible conditions. Final 3.1 km were in 11:29.
    • Fartlek - 2 laps with 600, 400, 200, 100 all at 3:20 pace. 300/250 recovery jog between legs.


    Mar 09- Mar 16: 31.5 km
    • 3k hard - 10:44. Curious how close I'd be to 10:30 on a hard steady run. Splits for this 3k were [3:29, 3:47, 3:27]. 3.5 km easy.
    • 3.4 km very very easy - 29 mins. Out with the two boys for a cycle with me shuffling alongside
    • 5.5 km - 25 minutes. Followed 2 x 400s @ fast pace [73,69] and 4 x 150 m hills @ moderate effort.
    • 10.1 km Easy - 53 mins
    • 9 x 420 m cross-country @3:25/30 pace w/1 min rest. Brought the two boys out with some cones to the field. I had them run some 150 and 200 m laps while I went further. The route was a nice downhill, flat then uphill loop.

    The kids often said they wanted to come with me as I headed out the door some evenings just as they're going to bed. So, they did ask for it :D With everything else cancelled now, they'll be been getting a little more running action to try and keep them occupied (tire them out).


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    IvoryTower wrote: »
    congrats man, we can have a virtual mile race between all us boardsies later in the year :)

    The world is crying out for some ingenuity around sport at the moment.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    By the way, sorry Murph, I haven't picked up on JDs Running Formula in quite a while. Still running without too much structure. I'm lucky if I can get out the door for a run on my own these days tbh. Working from home plus a newborn and two energetic boys. I'm just doing what I feel like when I head out. Not looking to progress too much but I am looking to not go backwards too much.

    Don't worry folks, where I mention the kids are running with me, they're not covering the same distance. I'm just trying to encourage them to do a little bit here and there.

    23-29 March: 35 km
    • 4x200 @MP w/ 200m recovery followed by 1 km Hard. Took a 2 minute jog after the last 200 and then went hard for 1 km without looking at the watch. The plan wasn't for Mile pace it was to run at a pace that I felt I could maintain for the 1 km. Turned out to be pretty close to Mile pace unsurprisingly as I clocked a 3:05:50. Happy I have that in me after a topsy turvy month and a half
    • 4.3 km easy. Early morning run.
    • 12 km easy w/6 easy hills - 56 mins
    • 2 km easy - 18 minutes. Some slow running with the kids
    • Afternoon - 2 km - 20 minutes. Running with the kids. Start stop with a few sprints
    • Evening - 20 x 40s Hard Intrevals w/ 30s jog - Run round a field to avoid people but the ground was fairly firm if a little bumpy, reps 6, 7 and 8 were the toughest. Average pace of Intervals was 3:17/km. Last time I did these on a path it was 3:19/km on Feb 14th

    My 1 km hard during the week gone set me up for a crack an an intermediate goal the following week. I reckoned I might manage a 3 min km at a push. Obviously no races coming up so this was to be at or close to a race effort.

    30 March - 06 April: 35 km
    • 2 km easy - 20 minutes. Some slow running with the kids
    • 4.3 km easy. Early morning run.
    • 2x800@MP w/2 min r/, 4x400@MP w/ 1 min r/ [2:28, 2:26], [75, 74, 76, 73]
    • 10 km progression. Started at 4:33/km and finished at 3:46/km. Two splits where I didn't quite hit faster than the last. Closest I got to a long run this week.
    • 2.7 km easy w/ Kids
    • 3 km easy w/ kids cycling
    • 1 km RACE :D - 2:56^

    ^ I was optimistically hoping for a 3:00 minute flat km, really expecting probably 3:01-3:03. Warm-up of 2 km plus 4x200@MP w/ 200m recovery. 3 minute slow jog then GO! 2:56 WTF :eek:! An error on the GPS surely. Finding that time very hard to believe. My manual split says 2:56.1 while the watch also recorded a 1 km PB of 2:55.7 which might account for my running start. It really think it's tainted though as I think the GPS lost me around the starting point as my speed took a couple of wild swings. That time would also mean there was a 2:20 800 m in there. Can't be right but I'm logging it just in case. Will have to see if I can repeat it, which would be the proof for me. Reflecting on it though, if it is an error then I can't fathom the mindset of a drug cheat that could hold their head high after setting an illegitimate time. I haven't allowed myself to bask in it yet (apart from during my cool down before I looked at the data), which is probably a shame. Anyway, happy if I can go under 3 at least on the next attempt though. It's a promising sign as surely it's not out by that many seconds.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    WWs log last week alerted me to the 5 k TT which I've signed up for. Something to look forward to. I'm looking at a point to point route myself I think.

    Had to join Strava which took a bit of getting used to. Followed a couple of the names that I recognised too. We'll see how much interacting I'll actually do with it but the next couple of weeks will be interesting.

    Monday - 6 km easy - 28 mins

    Wednesday - Fartlek - 2 laps (of 2.3 km) with 600, 400, 200s and 100s at 3:20 pace. 200/150 recovery jog between legs

    Friday Afternoon - 4 km with the kids cycle with me. Running/pushing - 26 mins

    Friday Evening 12 km w/5 km moderate (20 mins) Off out to find a potential route for the boards 5 km TT. One option I think might have is a point to point that starts in an industrial estate. Only one 90 degree bend at a set of traffic lights where the path is narrowest and I have to cross one T junction but I can cross the other roads freely when traffic permits. The final 2 km are on a country lane with a humpback bridge at around the 4.5 km mark but I think it might be an overall 10 m gain over the 5 km which seems fair enough. Definitely near the maximum elevation I could possibly find around these parts.

    Sunday- 18 x 40 s hard w/30 s jog. Followed by 2.7 km hard @ 3:36/km. Strava Strikes! Planned 20 sets but noticed a segment on Strava around my route and knowing the short bursts are more mile specific I went for 3:36 pace for 2.3 kms. Made 20th on the all time list for the segment and fastest for the year. Knowing full well not everyone uses Strava but it was a nice little boost. It was interesting to spot a few names I knew on the table too.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    25 miles last week and 32 this week (which is a weekly record I think). Looking at the Strava group it's amazing to see how much ground everyone covers in a week. I'm happy with my lot for now anyway. If there isn't a mile TT I'm going to do one myself anyway. I think subconsciously I've been giving the mile a wide berth, half afraid that I haven't made any progress since my last attempt in December :eek:

    I've the 5 km TT to thank for getting me covering a little more ground the last two weeks. If I can manage it I think I'll be trying to get out early doors more instead of the late night runs. Got one 7:00 am and one 6:30 am fitted into the week.

    The 6:30 am start on Saturday was a precursor to next weeks planned start time. I hope to start my attempt around 7 am next weekend (baby permitting).

    Monday - 6 km recovery run cross country

    Tuesday - 14 km long run @ 4:51/km

    Wednesday - Rest

    Thursday - 6.5 km Easy

    Friday - 8 km Cross country easy w/ 2x5 Short Hills (60 m)

    Saturday Session - 6 x 1 kms /1.5 min rest Splits [3:30, 3:29, 3:25, 3:29, 3:26, 3:25] - Off at 6:30 am for a session and an eye on the TT next week so see how I could handle a hard early morning at new location in industrial estate. Involves a loop around a small roundaout to get the 1 km in but I had to the road to myself. 3.5 m warm-up/wake-up jog.

    Sunday - 3.7 km easy jog with the kids on their bikes. Our cycle took us around to the edge of the golf course, where we spotted a couple of cheeky golfers getting some holes in. One of the kids informed me that he spotted a lady pushing a buggy too with them! I'm sure he saw a golf buggy but he's insisting it was a baby pram.

    My target 5 km pace is 3:36 I think (if I was aiming for a sub-18), so my plan will be to set out at around 3:40/45 and see if I can bring it in a little over the last couple of kms. I did a 3 km at a hard pace a few weeks back with the following splits [3:29, 3:47, 3:27] where I struggled a little after the first km and fell back before picking it up again. I think I'll need to go out a bit smarter. Settled on the route (or maybe not) which I've now run twice ever. The wind could force me to change it up if it turns out to be mostly in my face on the day.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    Mondays easy run this week got spiced up with a 600 m sprint due to a challenge among the old football team. Didn't think it'd be a problem as I was going to be to taking this week mostly anyway.

    Yesterday I had a few drills with the kids in the garden. It was supposed to be the two boys with me taking part for the craic every now and again. But one of them slipped and hurt his leg before we even started so I had to take his place in the "races". 10 sprints, 10 bear crawls, 10 hopping on one leg , 10 spider crawls and 10 frog hops. Not that much in reality and the distance was less than 10 metres.

    Long run this morning (beautiful sunrise) and the legs were already dead before I set off. They are now more tired than they have been at any point in the last two or three months. This tapering thing is hard to adhere to :rolleyes:

    The planned short session on Thursday may have to be scrapped or at least shortened even further.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    17:51.

    To say I surprised myself is an understatement. The whole jog home I was wondering how much of my distance Strava would pair off from my Garmin data. It didn't this time so I'm chuffed!

    Splits [3:31, 3:41, 3:35, 3:38, 3:26].

    Didn't feel like packing in at all during the run and was able to pick it up for the last km to seal the deal, although I was good a pooped at the end. I knew (or as it turned out, thought I knew) where I was timewise throughout the run.

    1st KM - Off too fast, making myself slow down after the first 200 metres. Clocked in 3:31. -6 seconds ahead on target. I had planned on being at 3:40 so was ready to ease off a little for the 2nd km.

    2nd KM - Allowing myself to ease off and trying to run efficiently. 3:41 left me -2 seconds ahead of target

    3rd KM - This was the point where I'd planned on upping the pace again a little. If I was able to do that then I knew I was in good shape. 3:3, -4 seconds ahead of target

    4th KM - Was expecting to suffer here and I was feeling it a little, but not near on the level I would have expected. The focus here was to hold firm at the target pace and the last KM would take care of itself. 3:38, -3 seconds ahead of target

    5th KM - I knew I should have it as I was certainly going to be able to cover the final KM at the target 3:37 pace with a bit of effort. Only a cramp or a badly timed bowl movement would stop me. It was a case of how many seconds I'd come in under the 18. Actually had a bit more in me than expected and blitzed (loose definition of the word) the final km in 3:26.


    Not that it matters now. I was working off a target pace of 3:37 but it should have been 3:36. I was actually a second down heading into the last km as opposed to 3 seconds up and didn't realise it. That error could have cost me but luckily it worked out.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,742 ✭✭✭ReeReeG


    Brilliant run, and I definitely wonder what damage you'd do with a few more under your belt!!!


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,834 ✭✭✭OOnegative


    I’ll give the Trim AC Bossman a shout about recruitment, great stuff!!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,825 ✭✭✭IvoryTower


    Nice run nigel, plenty of talent there thats for sure


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    Thanks a lot folks.
    ReeReeG wrote: »
    Brilliant run, and I definitely wonder what damage you'd do with a few more under your belt!!!

    I wonder myself sometimes if I had have jacked the football in when I was a bit younger. I'll be visiting a chiropodist as soon as the Lockdown is over and I think I may be in need of a bunion operation at some point which might set me back a bit. Best have an expert look at it though, which I've put off for too long.
    OOnegative wrote: »
    I’ll give the Trim AC Bossman a shout about recruitment, great stuff!!

    I'd love to join the club I think but I find it very hard to commit to races.
    IvoryTower wrote: »
    Nice run nigel, plenty of talent there thats for sure

    Next has to be a mile TT for me. Might try and put a couple of sessions in next week first. It's giving me a bit of anxiety at this stage. Like an elephant in the room.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    Quick update on last week as I forgot. No sessions done because I overdid it with the kids on Tuesday.

    Tuesday - 600 m Hard cross country- 1:36 And 7.5 km Easy The GAA WhatsApp group was aflutter with a fitness test for the players. They were to run a selected 580 m as hard as they could. Varying degrees of distances and speed flew in. I decided to have a crack myself during an easy run making sure to cover the full distance of 600. Faired okay I think, into a headwind for the last 400. Gave me my 2nd fastest predicted 400m time of 1:04. That can easily be bettered on a specific 400 m run on a decent surface. I wonder how close to 1 minute I might be.
    Finished the evening laying the cones out in the back garden and enduring some fun drills with the kids (sprints crawls etc.)

    Wednesday - Early morning Long run 13 km - Legs in bits from playing with the kids the evening before

    Thursday - Rest - Legs too tired to consider the planned session

    Friday - 7 km Easy. Pre TT shakeout Legs definitely starting to feel more normal.

    Saturday Mile TT. 17:51
    Saturday Evening jog with the kids on their bikes

    Sunday - Rest Legs were surprisingly grand but I'd planned a rest originally so that's what I had.

    26 miles for the week.

    I did an interesting mile specific workout last night. A 6 x (800/200) Cutdown I think it's called. Shamelessly stolen from Spencer Brown of the Athlete's Special. Had to make up my own paces so went with 1st 800 at 3:35 pace working down to 3:10 (so almost down to mile pace) on the 6th with 200s targeted at 30-32 second pace. There were 2:30 rests in there, which are longer than I'm used to giving myself on sessions but I can see why they were needed.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    Regardless of what TT the Boardsies decide on next I'm in mile mode for the next couple of weeks. I'll run whatever is voted on for the craic regardless but will definitely do a mile TT myself, probably before the next event.

    Monday - Hour run CC - 12 km @ 4:43 pace

    Wednesday - Session 6 x (800-200 Cutdown) Spencer of the Athletes Special did 8 of these starting at 1:24 per 800 and working down. My last one was aimed at just over 1:30 for the 800 :) The plan was to do the first 800 @ 5k pace and take off 5 secs/km each rep. So start at 3:35/km and get down to 3:10/km basically. All the 200s were targeted at 30-32 seconds. Rests were 45 secs between the 800 and 200 then a 2:30 rest. Wasn't sure how I'd fare to be honest and around halfway through the 3rd 800 I was thinking I might not be fit to run any faster on the rest, but I did after digging in a bit. Splits were [2:50-30, 2:45-30, 2:42-32, 3:37-32, 2:34-31, 2:32-31]. When I got home and translated the splits to actual paces they came out at 3:32, 3:27, 3:22, 3:18, 3:14, 3:10 so surprisingly I was pretty much on target if a little ahead on each. Nice and tired afterwards. The time of day didn't help as I had to bounce off the path a few times onto the bumpy grass to give people their 2 m.

    Thursday - 3 km Easy w/ kids cycling Was only 2 km short of 200 for April but was feeling a little unwell. Had a very bad night with sweats the night before. I think I managed to get a chill after being out in the garden with the kids having not put on enough layers following my run). Loaded up on honey and lemon plus a few paracetomol over the couple of days.

    Friday - Rest - Thursday night was better than Wednesday. I decided to take a rest. One more night's sleep would reveal all.

    Saturday - Session - 1 km @ MP, 10 min jog, 600m faster, 10min jog, 400m flat out That was the plan but my legs were a little tight still from the last session so was never going to run flat out on the 400. The paces for these efforts were [3:10, 3:03, 2:43]. A combination of not feeling energetic enough (set off at 7 am) and tired legs foiled my 1 km target which annoyed me a bit.I could have hit it but was convincing myself I didn't need to run any harder. I was 3 seconds off my target pace but decided to see out the remainder anyway even if I wasn't in the groove. The 600 was faster alright while my 400 was faster again giving me a 400 m time of 1:05. On reflection I was lucky I could even do this as I was sure I was coming down with a cold or worse :eek: a couple of nights earlier.

    Sunday - Long run - 12.75 km - 1 hour As much as as necessary to hit 48 km / 30 miles for the week.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    Haven't found a good route for the mile TT yet. I've got a backup route that involves running around 400 m in a relatively smooth field which I might try out his week to see how practical that might be. Fitting in some sessions, snipped from a plan I found online, neither of which I found as tough as the cut-down workout last week though.

    Tuesday - 7 km easy/moderate - 30 mins

    Wednesday - 8x400 @MP w/1.5 r/ then 4x200s w/ starting at MP then to flat out. Split for 400s [76, 73, 72, 74, 73, 74, 73, 72] The 400s here certainly felt easier than the old 10x400s w/ 1 min rest I'm used to doing. The extra 30 seconds recovery definitely help.

    Thursday - rest

    Friday - 2x2 km @ 5k pace w/ 3 min r/ then 6x150 strides@400 pace. 2km splits were [7:03(3:32, 3:31), 6:58(3:33, 3:24)] Felt good on the 2ks, pushing a little harder on the last k. Then the strides... I know from reading every else's logs that they throw strides on easy runs especially as they are good for improving speed and form. I'd tried "strides" a few times in the last year but preferred to avoid them for the most part as I always found them quite taxing. But here they were are part of a workout so I set about them. Hit 400 pace the plan said. I think I actually managed to hit the pace on 1 or 2 of them but I was really struggling. I know in my head that these should be easier. To be continued...

    Saturday - 4 m easy recover @ 5:15 pace

    Sunday - 12 km - 54 mins


    ...continued... On Sunday I got onto youtube to look up what strides actually were and if I'd been doing them wrong on the rare occasions i tried them. Well, no surprises, I had. The word in my head was spangs a term used by an old coach when I was a kid. I'd adopted that to mean strides somewhere along the way in my own internal thesaurus. Some people might refer to them as bounds or maybe they're different but I couldn't find much info on spangs. With bounds it says to try to gain as much elevation and distance with each one. What I was trying to do on my strides was extend my stride more than bounce up so not quite bounds either (so taking an exaggerated stride basically). This is why I was struggling to hit the 400m pace during my workout and why I generally disliked doing strides as I find them quite taxing and actually pulled up on my last one of 6 on Friday's session.

    I actually feel like I've unlocked a new tool now and look forward to actually doing some strides :D I'd be interested to hear folk's experience with them. Are they worth much in terms of improving efficiency, speed etc? Are spangs or bounds of any use too or was I lucky not to do myself an injury?


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,834 ✭✭✭OOnegative


    Surely a TT friendly mile in the Porchfields?


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,825 ✭✭✭IvoryTower


    A stride is just like a comfortable sprint, I like to get close to full speed before slowing down, about 60-80m. My training group build up to about 90%, 5 reps before every training session. Lots of people would do them after an easy run as well, it's really whatever you feel suits yourself, there's no definite way to do it. I would certainly do a few before a race to loosen out.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    OOnegative wrote: »
    Surely a TT friendly mile in the Porchfields?

    That's my backup plan alright with the loop back across the grass.

    I think point to point will be tricky as I'd need to take in the hills down to the river plus there's two blind bends around the Newtown end.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,392 ✭✭✭Dubh Geannain


    IvoryTower wrote: »
    A stride is just like a comfortable sprint, I like to get close to full speed before slowing down, about 60-80m. My training group build up to about 90%, 5 reps before every training session. Lots of people would do them after an easy run as well, it's really whatever you feel suits yourself, there's no definite way to do it. I would certainly do a few before a race to loosen out.

    Yep. Now that I've finally gotten to the bottom of it, I do like a comfortable sprint so there'll be a few more strides from now on.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,825 ✭✭✭IvoryTower


    Bounding and all sorts of plyos are great but definitely injury risk there. I would build up slowly if you're going to introduce them. For bounding you could do say 20m with full recovery, do 3 and see how you feel, can increase distance then next time if comfortable. I jacked all my strength work for extra mileage so you can tell where my priority is! I'll reintroduce it when the kids are less time consuming!


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