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Against Method.

Sacksian

I've toyed with starting a log here many times before but always decided against it because I presumed I'd get injured or ill (or ill-disciplined) as soon as I started one.

I've since seen a few logs that I enjoyed reading disappear and, along with the demise of the middle distance and cross country superthreads, there are very few places left for me to make essentially the same points about training over and over again.

So, here we are.

In terms of background, I've been running on and off for 10 years but only really taking it seriously (in attitude, more than application) since the end of 2012 when I joined a club. Between 2012 and now, I've managed one year of entirely uninterrupted training (2018) and one year above 2,000 miles (in 2018).

2019 has been one of my least fun running years and I'm hoping logging 2020 will make a difference and get me back to training consistently, and enjoying it.

My main focus up until March will be indoor racing (800 + 1500) before getting ready for outdoor track. However, that may change depending on how races go.

I hope to build up to 40mpw+ consistently from early January as the last few months have been a disaster. Apart from consistently doing Saturday sessions and Sunday long runs with the club, I don't have a fixed idea of what sessions during the week will look like - that will also depend on how the races go.

My last four weeks have been:

28.2 miles / 13.9 miles / 17.2 miles / 27.5 miles

Last week's 27.5 miles consisted of:

Mon - off
Tues - 34mins (just over 4miles up to PP and back)
Weds - 19mins (just under 2.5 miles around Grangegorman)
Thurs - 45mins w/20 mins at mar hr in the middle - the 20mins section is run on feel. It's supposed to be based on the HR monitor but if the HR looks a bit low, I'm not going to force it to hit a pace. When I'm fit, this should be around 6:20 or so, but this week it's 6:51 min/m pace (but it felt about right even if the HR was low).

Fri - 32mins (just over 4 miles up to PP and back)
Sat - 38mins (5 miles trails around the PP)
Sun - Attempted (but ultimately abandoned) hill session w/2miles up and down. I was planning to do a few circuits of hills around the Magazine Fort/Munich Hills in the Phoenix Park but I was blowing really hard after the first 3min circuit so I called it a day after the second shorter one. 2 x approx .5 mile with 2 mins rest in between.

---

This weekend will either be club session on the Magazine/Munichs on Saturday or Dublin Masters XC on Sunday (unlikely at this stage, due to complete unfitness).

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IvoryTower

Always working the hips, i feel like it keeps me together! Hips and ankle region daily

Sacksian

KSU wrote: »

Pretty good short (for those of us lazily inclined) mobility routine here with alot of work around the hip capsule the tends to really free up tight hips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59oCr6ds0As

Cheers Luke - application is an issue for me, no matter how short the routine! The only things that stuck have been the Jay Dicharry stuff, mainly because a lot of his exercises function as both diagnostic/remedy so I tend to go to them when I'm trying to figure out if I'm beginning to break again!

KSU

Sacksian wrote: »

I’m just doing easy running but all my runs are on empty and I’m finding that a lot easier than normal. I’m also concentrating on keeping my cadence up and not letting my legs reach out as much as I normally would (probably due to a combination of very tight hips and laziness)

Pretty good short (for those of us lazily inclined) mobility routine here with alot of work around the hip capsule the tends to really free up tight hips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59oCr6ds0As

Sacksian

Finally, a 50+ mile week - 51.7 miles and my biggest week since early 2019, when I was training for a half-marathon.

However, knee is still at me so doing everything easy. I did 12 x 200m strides on Monday and the Tuesday run turned progressive but no proper sessions as such,

Monday - 33mins

Tuesday - 8 miles starting at 9min/mile accidentally working down to 6:30 pace over the course of 5miles up and down the canal. Fitness is definitely improving.

Wednesday - 50mins up and down the canal, .Had to stop a few times towards the end as my calf was stiffening up (I think due to the camber on the canal).

Thursday - 45mins creaky - calf at me, knee better.

Friday - 7miles in 59mins - calf still tight. A canal-free hour, with a few laps of Clonturk Park (opposite Tolka Park), which is really just a football pitch.

Saturday - another 8 miles.

Sunday - 90 mins around 8min/mile. My average HR was 119bpm so fitness is definitely coming back to me.

I’m just doing easy running but all my runs are on empty and I’m finding that a lot easier than normal. I’m also concentrating on keeping my cadence up and not letting my legs reach out as much as I normally would (probably due to a combination of very tight hips and laziness) and I’m noticing that this allows my body to loosen up as I get into the run and my form towards the end of runs is improving. The accidentally progressive nature of tuesday's run and my hr today tells me my fitness is getting there.

I’m going to try and keep adding bits of distance to the start and end of runs to see if I can get closer to 60mpw without pushing too much. Obviously, a proper long run or a session with decent warm-up/down would also get my mileage up but I'll try to get to 50+ off single runs consistently. I might add in some higher aerobic running but for the next month I don’t think I’ll be doing anything more than interval miles at marathon hr or ks at lt. Would love to be going back into club sessions fit. I suspect a lot will be!

Sacksian

A week where I was planning to run 56miles but ran 40 over 5 days instead.

I’m really hoping to run a mileage PB at least once during the lockdown.

The sharp downhills of Griffith Park and the concrete are unfortunately aggravating my knee (which I've never had a problem with before) so I took two days off. A work deadline also a factor.

Otherwise, it was 7-8 miles easy on the roads at 6:30am Mon-Weds, with 9 miles on Sunday and a mini-session on Saturday - having a pop at 2 Strava segments I noticed in Griffith Park.

It’s a funny little park, too small to really do any big sessions of value - so many dog walkers and dogs in a small park doesn’t lend itself to fast mile repeats but there is a sharp hill and I might attempt to do the 20 x short hills I had planned for the Park using that hill.

The two Strava segments were just over a mile and just over a k - nice to have a couple of CRs! And there’s one other non-bike assisted segment in my 2k radius that I might have a go at before this is over and I’ll more than likely have another go at these two again as well. In fact, if it wasn’t for the ridiculously sharp downhill and its impact on my knees, I could make a very decent session out of a combination of the two segments because of the elevation involved (and decent flat too).

My next-door neighbour told me that if the gates of the Phoenix Park are within your 2km radius, you are allowed use the Park. My knees are very tempted to believe him. And I’m really struggling to get over 10 miles within THE RADIUS.

Will have another go at running 50+ this week.

Sacksian

Every day feels like a week and every week a month. But this isolation stuff is definitely helping me get out early every morning for a run as I really prefer running on empty roads. 40 miles for the week.

Monday - 36mins
Tuesday - 34mins brisk (
Wed - Session: (supposed to be) Progression LR in 15min segments

Original idea was 15min w/up and then 4 progressive 15min segments in roughly 5bpm increments from 135-155 i.e. 135 for 15mins, 140 for 15mins, etc.
But I don't have the aerobic endurance for my hr to hold and I was up to 150bpm by the second 15min progressive segment (and the pace wasn't progressing). No point flogging an unfit horse, so capped it at 3 x 15min segments. Total was 11miles just over 7min pace. The plan was to have another go next week. One of the advantages of no racing is the ability to have a few attempts at sessions like this. However, with the additional restrictions. I may just run easy for the next couple of weeks.

Thursday - 22mins recovery
Friday - 49mins
Saturday - 35mins

Did my Google Maps 2KM radius on Friday to prepare for the lockdown. The phoenix park is 100m off limits so a new direction for me. Down NCR to Russell Street up Clonliffe Road and back home via Botanic Avenue/Road.

Sunday - 56mins

A slightly longer version of Saturday’s run. Down NCR in the opposite direction to my usual Park runs, up to Summerhill up through Ballybough to Clonliffe Road, down Botanic Avenue and back up Botanic Road to Cross Guns Bridge, then up the canal to Broombridge and back home via Cabra.

Would love to be able to get out for this run every day for the next two weeks but I’m going to have to see what impact the additional concrete and rolling nature of my runs have on my calves/achilles (early signs are that there might be a problem) and also how deserted it is on a working day.

Sacksian

Will definitely write that post about running properly, but it's going to take time. It’s a 6-year voyage and I’m only at 2018 so far.

Training Updates

9th -15th March

Having spent the previous few weeks trying to dodge the lurgy that has been going around our house, I finally succumbed. Took it handy the whole week and logged a grand total of 4 miles (1 run).

16th-22nd

So, I know the rule of thumb is to increase training by 10% but I felt that 1,000% was a safe amount and so did 42 miles this week over 6 runs, which is back to acceptable standards. I want to get consistently over 50 during this period though.

Monday - 37mins

Tuesday - 7.5 miles w/4 steady-ish in the middle. I was a little surprised by how slow the steady-ish miles were when I looked at it later but I’m going off effort so the pace is the pace. Easing back into sessions.

Wednesday - 45mins where, for no reason in particular, there were two miles in the middle around 6:30 pace.

Thursday - 35mins, again brisker than normal.

Friday - 6 x 3m30s @LT off 1min in spikes on Polo Grounds. Originally planning to do 8 reps a little easier (the usual @MARHR) but pushed for time so did 6 @LT (current LT is probably around 5:50 pace or so). Having said that, 6th was way above LT effort and probably closer to current 5k pace. This is the sort of stuff that pushes me over the edge so need to keep in mind that the target for the next while is VOLUME. Covered about 4.3m in 27minutes in the session.

Saturday - 84mins trails in the PP. Some days long runs are just a slog for me and this was a grim slog.

Sunday OFF

UP NEXT

The good thing about doing an indoor season is that I'm going into a building phase with a decent bit of speed.

What I’m trying to do in the next while is to get fit enough to string 3.75 67s 400s back-to-back, which would mean a 1500m pb, but isn't utterly, ridiculously ambitious given current 800m fitness. And even if running 12.5 77s back to back seems a bit further away, it's helpful to have that singular focus of strength and endurance in mind.

The plan for the foreseeable future is to build up to a Tuesday (or Wednesday) BIG WORKOUT and Friday (or Saturday) HILLS. And a long run, which should get me to 50miles a week easily, and a reasonable level of fitness in the next 6-8 weeks.

For the first couple of weeks, I may just do the HILLS mid-week and substitute a saturday session + a long run for a BIG WORKOUT.

The BIG WORKOUTS I have in mind are progressive runs (by hr) in 20min blocks e.g. 110mins with 15up and down and 4x20mins progressive in the middle, finishing the progressive block close to (but under) LT and continuous long runs with portions at MARHR in the middle of them e.g 100mins with 6 x 1 mile or 7 x 1km at MARHR.

The advantage, in theory, of doing these by HR is I don’t overegg them. And I know from prior experience that, if I don’t overegg them, they work. I think if I can build up to 3 or 4 successive weeks of these AND a long run, it would be huge for me.

The HILLS sessions are going to be one of two things - a) a continuous 20minute tempo over a Munich/Magazine Figure of 8 loop (increasing quality over time) and b) building up to a continuous 20 x 180m hill session (30-40s up DA HEEL! with recovery over the Munich dips and down the other side). I suspect that 20 might be a tad overambitious but I’ll try to start with 10-12.

Anytime I have thought about doing it before I’ve managed about 5, so it would be great to get 10-12 in first at a manageable pace, build up for a couple of weeks, before having to worry about pace. Same with the continuous hilly tempo, I’ve thrown in the towel on these after a couple of minutes before.

Not too bothered about pace workouts for the moment. If club sessions restart on Saturdays, I'll join in them and keep the Wednesday sessions up until the club moves back to the Polos on Tuesdays. Mainly, fingers crossed about putting 3 weeks of 40-50miles a week together.

Sacksian

dna_leri wrote: »

Well done again.

I'd be interested to hear more about "how to run properly" ?

It's something you don't have to worry about, but I'll write something on it this week!

dna_leri

Well done again.

I'd be interested to hear more about "how to run properly" ?

Sacksian

20miles.

So, this week was (again) just about making it to the race on Sunday. There's almost nothing to report, apart from the race. Apart from the fact that I finally figured out how to run properly on Tuesday. It's been bugging me for a few years that running easy really takes it out of me, especially when I run with a low cadence. But various cues that I've been trying out finally clicked and I think I'm on the way to running the way my body is supposed to. Which would be great.

Tuesday - 32mins.

Wednesday - Session 6 x 200m off 100m walk. I was originally planning to do 8 x 200s and then I thought I might throw in a few 100s but what's the point of risking injury or DOMS for a few extra reps. So I did 6 x 200 at around 31s average and that was it for indoor season.

Friday - 20mins

Saturday - 20mins

Sunday - National Masters 800m - 1st 040 - 2:06.72

Bit of a wild race. I knew going into it that I had a good chance of winning the 040 category with the clear favourite out sick.

The plan was to keep behind the two 035 favourites - Boards' own IvoryTower and Denis Coughlan from St. Finbarrs) for as long as possible, presuming that they'd be well clear of the pack, and that I could tuck in. Instead, one of the O40s flew off leading the race. And about 7 others followed.

No idea of splits, but in the first lap or two, there were a lot of people about and I was trying to hold a position that I could make a move from if the other O40 didn't start coming back, so I ran most of the first 500m-600m in lane 2 (and some in lane 3). I actually couldn't figure out what was going on. My plan had been based on Denis and IT stringing us out, so while they were comfortable watching each other, I wasn't sure who else I needed to keep an eye on and ran wide for far too long. I think it was after about 400m, the early leader was reeled in (I'm terrible at remembering race details so I don't know that for sure).

Another thing I had forgotten was what it's like to actually race an 800m when there's a big pack. There was a lot of back-and-forth compared to my usual sitting in, and definitely a lot more moves, compared to the Leinsters. I was in fourth overall with about 200 to go just watching the 035 race ahead as IT made his big move. I wasn't sure whether the guy directly in front of me was an 040 so made sure to pass him before the line (he wasn't). So, finished 1st of the 7 O40s, about two seconds ahead of 2nd.

Happy enough with the performance given the messy run-in, and training, especially with February being a bit of a write-off and it being my last indoors in the category (and first time I've done National Masters Indoor!). Didn't do the 1500m because it wasn't a massive priority but mainly because it would have meant another 4 hours in Athlone.

Looking forward to getting fit again. 1500m and 5000m probably more the priority this summer. I want to put in sufficient mileage between now and summer that will allow me to race a lot more often once the season starts.

I've missed a lot of track running through injury since I started but, over every track distance, I still need to race more when I'm fit. The 800m is by far my favourite distance and I probably think of myself as an 800m runner yet I think this was only my 4th ever 800m race indoors - 3 of which have been Championship races (2015 +2020 Leinster Indoors) and the 4th was in the National Indoor League (2016). I really like racing the 8 indoors and, despite the times this season, I think with a bit more application, I could get close to my outdoor pb indoors (next time!).

This summer, the goal is pbs over 1500m and 3k and as close to my 5k pb as I can get.

Sacksian

As long as I beat one DDAC runner this indoor season, I don't care who it is. The running gods demand a sacrifice.

IvoryTower

Shane is gonna smash all of you, we're going for the 800/1500 double

Sacksian

overpronator wrote: »

I think you're (very) safe in the 15!

Well, I don't think so! Anyway, assuming I'm good to go after the 8, we should have a good few people around us for the bulk of it which will hopefully mean a decent race for everyone. I'm checking the pbs of the 040s to see who I need to sit on for 7 laps to get a medal.

overpronator

I think you're (very) safe in the 15!

Sacksian

IvoryTower wrote: »

I assumed we'd be in the same race so I was relieved there would be one less giant to deal with

Yeah, not sure how it's going to work out on Sunday - I've seen them mix the 035s + 045s if there are good numbers in the 040s but I guess they'll see what the numbers are like on the day.

I think I would prefer to be in with yourself and Denis to get dragged around if Kieran's not there to do it!

The only target for the 15 is not to be beaten by Shane. There'll be a couple of guys running away with it and then I think it'll be up for grabs for the minor medals.

IvoryTower

I assumed we'd be in the same race so I was relieved there would be one less giant to deal with

Sacksian

IvoryTower wrote: »

Kieran is still sick so he can't make it, I will see you on the start line

I presume this is a sneaky D&DAC tactic to try and lull me into a false sense of security ahead of Sunday. Nice try, dude.

(looking at the number of entries, the 040s might actually get their own race)

IvoryTower

Kieran is still sick so he can't make it, I will see you on the start line

Sacksian

Solid week, 39miles.

Monday: 40minutes hunting bin bags in Dublin 7

Tuesday: XC Session: 16 x (35s on / 25s off) over the Novice Lap. It was a bit mucky and a bit windy. Snappy ons and relaxed offs. Massive difference in pace over this lap between the soft ground of spring and the solid ground of autumn but it's 2.5miles in 17mins.

Wednesday: off

Thursday: Light Session: 20mins xc @marhr on the grass around the 15 acres (just over 5k), followed by 6 x 8s HS. Good hill.

Friday: 35mins pretty jaunty after the hill sprints.

Saturday: Aerobic Session: A relaxed 8 x 3m30s off 60s jog around the Polo Grounds. Usual wind on the polo grounds. This is just a bit of an aerobic refresh. But I noticed my cadence was really up - again a combination of hill sprints and bodyweight squats seems to be getting me out of my usual toilet bowl of doom gait. Just under 5.5 miles in 36mins.

Sunday: Club Long (no 's') Run. 10miles with the now standard - as of the last month - 7.1*s down the North Road. I'm only doing 10 so it doesn't make a huge difference to me, but a steady long run is a session, not ideal the day after a session.

800m at the National Masters next weekend is this week's focus. I've entered the 15 too but I don't have the remotest chance of winning either (I haven't even trained for the 15) but a good tactical race could get me a silver across the two.

Looking forward to getting back to club sessions on Saturdays and returning to the club Polo Grounds midweek session in Spring.

Sacksian

This week was all about the Leinsters on Saturday and whether I'd run or not.

If it wasn't for this log, I don't think I would have run the race. I don't know whether that's a good or a bad thing.

The last 3 weeks have been a bit sketchy between my chest and sciatica and so I just decided to give myself the best chance of making the race by not running a lot.

So, 20mins on Tuesday.

I tried a session on Wednesday on the Polo Grounds in muddy and windy conditions, which was supposed to be 20mins @MHR and then 8 x 80s/40s. Given the way I was feeling physically, I decided to make it 6 x 80s, but I managed 2 in the end - which were around 6min/mile pace. The 20mins @MHR was faster than the previous week but still a bit off being fit. The 80s on / 40s off just didn't happen. I knew pushing myself would not help with Saturday's race (probably make it less likely), so I pulled it at 2.

Took Thursday and Friday off.

To Saturday. Normally, I just wouldn't race in this condition but I've skipped xc to run indoor and I was in danger of going the whole indoor season without actually racing.

This was my 3rd time running Leinster T&F, I won the 8+15 outdoor in 2014 and the indoor 8+15 in 2015. This year, judging by the entries and with the clear favourite out of the race, I wasn't sure what I wanted: an easy win just to get the first race out of the way or a proper battle that could bring me on in terms of fitness and race readiness but also potentially push me over the edge into full-blown illness.

In the end, they ran all the 35s, o40s and o45s together in one heat. It was a solo run from the front for me so no one to chase and no one particularly close. I don't like running from the front and I find it hard to push myself when I don't need to, but still a disappointing time of 2:10.

Video of the race:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6CxgxG7wUQ

It's my slowest time since 2013 and slowest time apart from my first ever 2 800s. It's also the first time I’ve run the 8 entirely from the front from the gun. Watching the video back, my form is not that of an 800m runner, but it's something to work with.

The other highlight from Saturday was watching IvoryTower run a brilliant PB beforehand in his race, with more to come.

Sunday - just under 9 miles with the club. I don't know what's happened in recent weeks but we seem to have dropped the 's' from our LSRs, with a couple of 7:1*s in there.

A total of 19miles for the week!

The plan is to get to the doctor and get my chest cleared. If I can do that, I'll go to Athlone for the Masters and get closer to 2:05, I think. I'll be running for - at best - 2nd place but I'd prefer not to end the season on such a slow time.

I think the experiment of the last few months has decided, once and for all, that concentrating on 800m is too limiting in terms of general fitness and that, for me, my 800m is better served by more 1500m + 5k work. I ran an SB of 2:02.7 outdoor in 2018 off more 1500m training and my feeling from yesterday is that, contrary to what I had been thinking, I'll get more by concentrating on strength rather than speed.

I miss the feeling of being fit too.

I've still learnt a couple of things from the experimentation and I'd like to incorporate some of the hill stuff I added in the last few weeks into general training (as a light Thurs workout, for example) and see how that pays off in the summer, when I'll be targeting 5k, 3k and 1500m pbs.

overpronator

All the best for Saturday

IvoryTower

Hopefully see you Saturday. I'd say you're always in with a chance. The indoors come and go so quickly, one minute you're building a base, then you get a race and then its just about to end!

Sacksian

Still not recovered from my dodgy chest but a solid week under the circumstances.

Monday - 32mins - up to the Park and back
Tuesday - off
Wednesday Session: 15mins @mhr then 5 x 80-90m steep hill sprints

15mins @MHR to warm-up - for whatever reason and given the day that was in it, this turned out to be 7min/mile pace. It should be about 6:20min/mile pace.

Then 5 x 80-90m hill sprints off about 90s-2mins/ back from the park

This is a not very taxing workout but it seems to be helping my cadence and from. And I'm thinking it could be useful to keep up in the future, perhaps as a Thursday mini-workout once I get back to the Tuesday club sessions when they move to the Polo Grounds.

Wednesday - 34mins
Thursday - 23mins
Friday - 30mins
Saturday - lots of miles in terrible weather.

3 miles to the club and 3 miles back.

Standard k to warm-up in 3:59. Some fecking about with hurdles and bounding then:

3 x 8 x 100m off jog-back with 300m in between sets.

I tried to keep this as relaxed as possible - mostly 16s and 17s with the odd 18s when the wind got too crazy (and a few 15s at the end of the 3rd set).

And then another k to warm-down in 3:39. And a good illustration of some of the bio-mechanical benefits from strides and any faster stuff; my cadence was in the 190s on the warm-down k. I've been trying to improving my cadence over the last while, for injury prevention reasons.

The accepted wisdom is that you shouldn't change your cadence - and I wouldn't if I didn't think it was causing me problems - but my natural cadence is in the low 160s and I have a very loping stride, which means both a degree of overstriding and longer than ideal loading when I'm being lazy. It takes effort but I feel less beat up when I concentrate on a higher cadence and better form seems to follow. And my achilles seems to agree.

Sunday - club long run. Just over 8.5 miles in 68mins.

Sciatica at me - I had hoped the last similar session of 100s would have provided some sort of inoculation against soreness this time but still bad enough this morning.

Next Saturday's Leinster Championships is probably more likely than Tuesday's NIALive (looks like there'll be some amazing line-ups for the miles).

Last time I ran the indoor Leinsters Championships was in 2015 and I won the 800m and 1500m in my category but, if I make it, I'll just be doing the 800m this year and I'm unlikely to medal.

35.7 miles

Looking forward to getting fit for the summer.

Sacksian

Another middling week.

Monday - 20mins.

Cough is still lingering so couldn't do anything too long or taxing. I've been trying to figure out how or where to do hills for the past while.

I used to always operate on the Henry Rono "any hill" principle but my usual hills (Khyber car park to acres path - 280m approx on grass or Khyber bollards to bollards - about 900m) are not short and steep enough for what I'm looking for.

On Tuesday, I found a very short and steep grass hill around the Munich Hills. I did 20 of these off a walk-back recovery - alternating between bounding (11s) and sprinting (8s). Not long enough, I could have kept going.

Wednesday was 34mins.

Thursday off.

Friday was 18mins.

On Saturday, I found a much longer and much steeper grass hill around the back of the Magazine Fort. I did 5 and took about 2 minutes in between. The first 2 I went up about 70m and the last 3 to the top, for about 80m. The difference the last 10m made was everything.

Up to 60m, I was able to maintain reasonable form on all 5.

Up to 70m, I was still able to muster up some sense of forward momentum.

From 70m to the top, I no longer had control of my limbs.

Would love to keep doing these more regularly, just to see if there's a point at which you are strong enough to just keep running up them like you would with the 8s hills.

On Sunday, I got out for the usual club long run. Was drenched by the time I met up with the group (NCR was completely underwater at points). Turned out to be a lovely morning for a run, once we got through the challenge of staying vertical on the 15 acres.

So, I only managed 31 miles for the week, but I got out 6 days and the gap to the target of 40mpw is almost entirely down to the two hill sessions this week.

A typical mile or 3k session will get you 4-5 miles and a 5k session even more, but the two sessions this week (including walk-back) amounted to a total of about a mile of activity per session. So, two standard sessions would have had me up around 40 miles for the week.

I'm really not sure where to go from here. My chest is still not 100% and it's entirely possible that I may have abandoned spring xc to target an indoor season in which I do not do a single indoor race. The plan is still to try and get to the NIA on the 18th and then do the Leinsters. Seniors might be a bridge too far, but I'll make a decision on National Masters based on any races I do get to. I think I'd have to hit 2:04 for 800m at Leinsters for it to be a possibility.

I'm not going to have enough training done for 1500m.

Will try to do a 800m/1200m pace session and possibly a not very taxing mile pace session this week.

IvoryTower

Wahey! Great stuff saskian, will enjoy this!

overpronator

Only stumbled on this one now, great to see it started.

Sacksian

Feeling a bit banged up on Monday especially with the sciatica, so broke my running streak and took a day off.

Started to feel a bit ropey on Tuesday with a cough and took the day off.

Reluctantly, ran around 6 miles in over 50 minutes on Wednesday. Up to the park and back. Sciatica still at me.

Ran around 6 miles in under 50 minutes on Thursday. Up to the park and back. Sciatica less at me and some of the miles were surprisingly fast for how I felt I was moving.

Took Friday off. But on the understanding that, if I ran 28miles over Saturday and Sunday, I could still make my 40mile target.

I have not run over 13 miles in a single run since February 2019, so that seemed unlikely. And so it proved.

Headed out on Saturday, still a bit ropey with my chest but with the intention to run 14-16 miles. I got to 6 or 7 and felt that a very easy 10 miles would be fine. Just under 10 miles in 80mins. But a lovely 10miles around the trails in the park.

The last while I’ve been thinking that, in terms of progressing over 5k or even 1500m, I should just do a couple of months of 8-10miles on the park trails every day. I basically haven’t run enough since I took it up, and especially with amount of running I've missed through injuries the last few years. And if I want to improve, that’s where the most obvious gains will come from.

Sunday club long run. Motoring from the start. Felt very easy but we were about 30s faster per mile than normal the whole way around. Just under 10 miles in 75mins.

So, where to go from here?

Won’t be doing the AAI Indoor Games next Sunday. Or the NIALive on the 11th.

While it might be too soon for a hard session, the next two weeks are all I have to get ready for two races the week commencing the 17th, which will give me an idea of how sensible National Seniors might be.

Which will give me an idea of how sensible National Masters might be.

I still think I’m fit enough for an 800m race and just need a bit more strength for a 1500m but, honestly, I’m already thinking of how to get fit for the summer.

32 miles for the week. Disappointing after a few good weeks but it's more mileage than I did any week in December and the same as my biggest week in November. 40 miles next week will do fine.

Sacksian

Monday - 33mins - up to the Park and back. Originally not going to run but glad I did. This log is already paying dividends with my discipline.

Tuesday. Track Session - 5 x broken ks (600m@5k/100m float/300m@3k) off 2mins slow jog (200m).

Warm up #1 - to club.

Warm up #2 - Warm-up k. Whenever I’m doing something a bit faster on the track, I like to do a k to warm up somewhere between MarHR and LTHR. I really should be doing 10mins at that effort but a k is a nice leg loosener.

And into the session.

This was an experimental session on a damp track in flats (usual wind). Not a killer, but there are easier ways to run 3:20 ks.

I did this twice in 2018 as a 3k/1500 session - 3 x (600m@3k/100m float/300m@3k) off 4mins and enjoyed it. So, just wanted to see if it would work as a 5k-preparing-for-1500m session.

The idea with the 3k version was that you ended up running a k the same time as your target, but you're starting off with 600m @3k pace and then finish with a 300m at 15 pace off a steady 100m float. I generally managed around 3:10-3:14 for the ks (having already run 9:20 for 3k the previous mpnth), so I don’t think it’s a problem being slightly off target.

This time, the rough target was 3:20 ks and the recovery was halved. Which felt right. And my splits were:

2:01 / 23 / 59 = 3:24
1:58 / 28 / 56 = 3:22
1:55 / 27 / 57 = 3:19
1:57 / 32 / 56 = 3:25
1:59 / 29 / 55 = 3:23

I actually don’t know whether it translates directly as a 5k session, but it was a good stimulus that felt appropriately tough without killing me. There are probably a few more seconds in there with spikes.

What’s interesting in the splits is how much slower the float on rep 5 (32) is compared to rep 1 (23), despite the ‘on’ bits being considerably faster. They should be steady throughout (25-26?).

Progress with a session like this is through the floats getting faster as you develop the strength to hold it so, in terms of 5k fitness, there’s probably quite a bit to go.

Happy enough with the pace on the final 2 300s.

And, hopefully, will have another go soon. Once indoors is out of the way, I might even do a 8-10x version, before returning to the 3k version in the summer.

Also spent about 3 minutes jumping on various boxes in the club gym after I was finished. Thought I might regret that.

Wednesday - 20mins. I didn’t. Not injured.

Thursday - 35mins - up to the Park and back. 4.3miles.

Friday. Track Session - 8 x 100m off jog back (60-70s)— 3m30s recovery - 400m fast - 3m30s recovery - 8 x 100m off jog back (60-70s)

Warm up #1 - to club.

Warm up #2 - Warm-up k.

Into the session. Another experiment. Slightly adapted from Magness session of 3 x 8 x 100m off 75s.

I stick in a fast 400m in the middle because I’ve been thinking that there are some things I never even attempt in training, one of which is anything longer than 200s at 800m pace in training. I rarely even do 400s at 15 pace. And these couple of months are supposed to be about trying a few new things, so in it goes.

The session allays some fears and emphasises others. I do the first 8x100m in my flats. Neither the shoes nor the reps are fast, and I don’t break 15s in any of the 100s. I can’t move that fast at the moment. I’ve run sub-14s 100s on this track before so I know it’s there, just not right now.

I put on my spikes for the 400m and run 62s. Admittedly, I’m tying up badly for the last 80m but, it’s January and I don’t need to be able to run much faster than 62s for 400m in the middle of a session. I do the second set of 8x100m in my spikes and it’s the same as the first. I can’t break 15s. In essence, I can run 400m at 800m pace, but not 100m at the moment.

And I can only run 400m at that pace because I’m overstriding massively on the long rep, versus a choppier stride on the 100m. And overstriding has consequences.

I learn two things from this. Firstly, I don’t think that I have too much to worry about in terms of speed endurance. If I can run a 62s 400, whatever I’m doing aerobically is working. I don’t need to compromise the aerobic stuff by doing too much specific 800m work at this stage. Races (if I get to any) will help.

Secondly, if I want to get faster, I need more power - 30-60m hills and things like that. If I can turn that 62s 400 into a 61.5s 400 and even the 15s 100s into 14.8s 100s in the next 6 weeks, then I’d expect to be closer 2:03 for 800m by the time the National Masters come around.

Saturday - 34mins up to the Park and back. 4.1miles.

Sunday - 9 miles at 8min pace and the 5 in the middle with the club long run.

After the session (and some furniture removal stuff) on Friday, my sciatica has been playing up for the past two days. This generally expresses itself as referred pain and a restriction in my hamstring - a consequence of the overstriding in the 400m and, more than likely, towards the end of the second set of 8 100s. I also have bad DOMS in my quads.

Racing on Tuesday is looking very unlikely, but I’ll do a final systems check and shakeout on Tuesday morning.

Otherwise, it’s a good week: some experimentation, another 40+ miles (barely) and 7 days running.

Sacksian

Monday - 34mins up to the park and back.

Tuesday. Club Session - 8 x 800m off 400m jog (~ 2mins).

I had planned on getting out that morning. Didn’t manage it. Afternoon was horrendous. Could easily have skipped it entirely, and normally would, but this log is encouraging me to make fewer excuses for laziness, so I cycled down to the club for the Tuesday session. One of the overlooked advantages of club membership is the ready availability of good sessions and good company whenever you’re feeling a bit lazy (which I generally am).

On offer tonight was 8 800s along the Conyngham Road with a 400 jog recovery.

Warm-up was the timeless “up to the Red Door and back”.

There was a massive group down, including a few prospective members checking out the sessions, which often involves them learning that the most difficult thing to get right when you start doing interval sessions is pacing.

You want to run fast, but not so hard that (a) you can’t complete the session, (b) your later reps are slower than the earlier ones or (c) you push yourself beyond the desired stimulus for the session. In theory, very few distance sessions require maximal or near-maximal effort at any point. And, when it comes to 8 x 800m with a reasonable jog recovery, enthusiasm is no substitute for endurance.

All of which I considered as one of the new guys checking out the club ran shoulder-to-shoulder with me for the entire session before leaving me for dust on the last one, while carrying his phone in his hand. Reps were up and down with wind, around 2:43 with the tailwind and 2:54 into the headwind.

I’ll be back doing my own thing Tuesday evenings until indoors is over, and when the club sessions move back to the Polo Grounds.

Cool down another timeless “up to the Red Door and back”.

Just over 9.5 miles for the day.

Wednesday - 18mins around Grangegorman. Knackered from yesterday.

Thursday - 35mins up to the park and back. Still tired from Tuesday.

Friday - 34mins w/6 x 6s hill sprints - taking a new route to the Park along the Liffey.

Saturday. Club Session - 39mins Fartlek of 6 laps of a Magazine/Munich Hills Double Loop.

Warm-up - 10mins jog.

Each lap consisted of a 200m jog, 200m snappy, 200m jog, 300m through the dips back to the start, 400m recovery back around and down the gully towards the Khyber car park and then the big 330m hill from the bottom back up to the 15 acres cycle path. And then you're straight back into the next lap and the 200m jog again.

It’s actually a pretty cool alternative Munich mile lap - will definitely revisit later in the year.

Hard session for me but thankfully had a couple to pull me around and the pace overall, including the recoveries, ended up being very honest for the terrain, covering just over 6 miles in 39mins.

As a nod to my supposed track training, I hit the last big hill very hard, which felt very good, and I was pleasantly surprised to see afterwards the split for the big hill was 16s faster than the average of the previous 5 laps, so there’s some form of fitness there.

But I’m still a long way off 800m pace. So, next week will be a week of experimentation in an effort to introduce speed (quickly, but sensibly).

Cool-down - 10mins jog.

Sunday. Club Long Run - just under 10 miles in 78mins. Good gang. Trying to convert more people to the track.

43miles for the week. Running everyday. 3 40+ miles in a row.

pconn062

Sacksian wrote: »

No, I was originally planning to do the 800 but I decided last week that if I wanted to progress through the season that I'd be much better off training than missing a session (or two) at this stage to do an undertrained race.

Same with the mile, I think I'd probably be close enough to the 4:48 I ran at the NIA before Christmas but I want to be down nearer 4:42 next time out.

Are you doing it? Apparently, there are 50-odd registered!!

I am signed up for the mile alright but a bit of a dose has set in since yesterday so might have to wait for 2 weeks. I'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Good plan re training, a consistent month or 6 weeks will stand to you in the long term.