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A Tall Order
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Prior week was a down week so back in the swing of things this week. Was cautious/nervous about adding the 6th day of running on the Friday and whilst it went well, it may have caused the general fatigue I had on Saturday/Sunday. I trimmed the 5Km for the Friday from my long run on the Saturday. It obviously will reduce my long runs on Saturdays going forward but I'm not worried about that right now as there's not a whole lot of races to be training for where I'll need those ~20mile LSR.
Monday
Rest day
Tuesday
Run - 1Km warmup + 8Km MAF Test (details below). Ever so slightly slower than my initial test 4 weeks ago. Running itself has been going well but there hasn't been a lot of cycling which may have perhaps dropped my fitness a little and I also spent the prior two weeks while off work consuming whatever was in the house. Need more discipline.
Wednesday
Run - 8Km @ 6:19min/Km, 143bpm
Thursday
Run - 8Km @ 6:22min/Km, 142bpm. Cycled in to drop the bike for a service and this finally got me across the 30,000Km mark cycling (at least according to Strava). Treated myself by ordering a new bike, Trek Domane SL 5... she's a beaut, mostly red so obviously incredibly fast
Ran home from the bike shop...I may need somewhere else to sleep if my wife ever finds out how much the bike was :pac:
Friday
Run - 5Km @ 5:58min/Km, 144bpm
Saturday
Run - 16Km @ 6:26min/Km, 138bpm
Sunday
Buggy run - 10Km @ 6:39min/Km, 136bpm. This and yesterday's run had me exhausted for some reason. Needed a brief nap on both days and went to bed really early on Saturday night too.
Legs felt really tired when I woke up so spent some time doing some stretching/rolling and it helped get them to a state where I felt ok running on them.
Total
Run - 56Km
Cycling - Nothing worth discussing
Date|Avg |Mile 1 |Mile 2|Mile 3|Mile 4|Mile 5
12/5/20|9:18|9:01|9:07|9:23|9:36|9:26
9/6/20|9:22|9:09|9:11|9:29|9:38|9:28
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Happy fathers day, hope your sock draw got it's annual top up of novelty socks :P
Early in the week went well and was uneventful. Later in the week threw some curveballs at me but I adapted and worked through them. Got out for 1 productive cycle which felt great. Another week with 6 days running and at the end of it, even with the few issues I ran in to, the body feels ok. As per usual, looking forward to the rest day tomorrow.
Monday
Rest day - light cycle during the day
Tuesday
Run - 8.8Km @ 6:00min/Km, 134bpm
Wednesday
Run - 8.8Km @ 6:08min/Km, 138bpm
Cycle - 80mins, 36Km, 134bpm - lovely cycle around Dublin west. Roads were relatively quiet and weather was good. Love me some cycling.
Thursday
Run - 8.8Km @ 6:35min/Km, 140bpm - this was the toughest run I've had in a very long time. Cycle the night before was later than I would've liked and then had to deal with our youngest being up crying even later. Sleep was much less than usual so when I woke up I felt awful. Once I hit the road the HR was incredibly high compared it to where it normally is and pace dropped right down. Any little incline in the road immediately had the HR spiking. Struggled to get it done as it felt really demoralizing running at that pace when the past 6 weeks have gone well but got to the end thankfully. At some stage throughout the day, I got a twinge in my right calf so took it easy the rest of the day.
Friday
Run - 5.5Km @ 6:58min/Km, 137bpm - after the previous day's poor run and funky calf I decided to run this on grass to test the water for the long run on Saturday. Body still really tired and pace was much higher due to how HR was reacting to effort. I guess this stuff comes with the territory with regards to HR training whereas if I was running to pace I may have struggled even more.
Saturday
Run - 17.6Km @ 6:20min/Km, 135bpm - HR and calf much better for this as is reflected in the slightly quicker pace than the previous couple of days.
Sunday
Run - 6Km @ 5:57min/Km, 133bpm
Run - 5Km @ 5:57min/Km, 139bpm
This was supposed to be an 11Km run but I got really bad gut issues in the morning so cut it short. Got the remainder done in the evening. Felt really good during both as HR and pace shows. No issues with the calf either during the run or throughout the day. Even though it wasn't supposed to be, it was my first time doing a double and body seems ok.
Total
Run - 60.5Km
Cycle - 36Km0 -
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Happy with how the week went. Got a 10Km PB mid week. Even though the plan was to run a marathon on the day DCM would've happened, I got signed up to the virtual event. Did a lot more stretching and foam rolling this week which I feel helped a lot. Diet not as good as prior, steady the ship on this tomorrow. No cycling but that was down to having some study to get done for work which will likely run for the next 5-6 weeks.
Monday
Run - 5.6Km @ 6:34min/Km, 133bpm - easy run on grass to start the week.
Tuesday
Run - 9.9Km @ 6:11min/Km, 139bpm - Nice run through Tymon Park which saw me struggle to find the exit up on the Greenhills side. Eventually got out and home
Wednesday
Run - 10Km TT - 47:28 @ 4:44min/Km, 172bpm - This was an impromptu TT. Typically when I look to blow off some steam (which was badly needed) I'll jump on the bike and head up to the hills for some suffering but opted this time to go for a 10Km TT as it was over a year since I actually raced the distance (51:14) and it was a 10Km stretch within DCHM 2019 which was recorded as my fastest 10Km time on Strava - 49:19. Not doing a full blow by blow. I'd not planed the route so when I decided to turn in to Bushy Park along the dodder it felt like a good idea till I realised I'd have to go up that hill behind the playground, this blew any chance of a kick at the end out of the water. About mid-end of 6Km I started to feel like I was going to have to hang on. The head and humidity had started to take hold. Finished right outside my folks so dropped in for some water and a lift home Initially afterwards the achilles felt tender on right side so took it very easy for the rest of the day.
I'll plan out the route better for another go in about 2 weeks for a virtual South Dublin 10Km as part of my build up to virtual DCM. I'll also be wearing a more appropriate set of runners as max cushion is probably not the best for a fast 10Km. Happy with the time as I'm not doing any speed/interval training right now. I think I can get it down to 46:xx in a few weeks if I plan and execute it well.
Thursday
Run - 6.3Km @ 7:28min/Km, 121bpm - Doms from yesterday in quads/hams/glutes made this a very easy run on grass in Marlay park. Achilles was fine today.
Friday
Run - 10Km @ 6:23min/Km, 130bpm - Doms still there from TT, took it relatively easy.
Saturday
Run - 12.5Km @ 6:03min/Km, 137bpm - Nice run, a bit warm but humidity was fine.
Sunday
Run - 20Km @ 6:05min/Km, 140bpm - Felt good for most of it, from 17Km onwards it was tough. No doms but legs just felt tired. Pace dropped off a little and got through it.
Total
Run - 74.3Km
Cycle - 0Km0 -
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Was tired for the first few runs of this week after the prior 3 weeks of increased mileage. A few easy runs and the legs and mind started to freshen up though it did feel mentally challenging to get through some of the Kms. Between the MAF test result on Tuesday and the TT result on the Saturday, finally feels like the low HR approach is working for me. Looking forward to the next few weeks where I've got 3 weeks up followed by a down week with a virtual Half at the tail end of what will be the final full 4 week cycle prior to virtual DCM. One day at a time though, plenty of running left to do. Right now, one can at a time to round out a good day. :pac:
Monday
5Km @ 7:45min/Km, 137bpm. Felt great for the first 4Km of this and then bumped in to a buddy whom I spent talking to for ~10 minutes before knocking the last Km out.
Tuesday
8.05Km @ 5:41min/Km, 145bpm. I'd not planned on doing a MAF test but got off to a good start with body responding well so ran with it to see how it went. Ended up an improvement (finally!!!) on the MAF result though it wasn't the usual route so I'm going to have to line up the time to get it done on the usual route around Bushy park. I've updated my MAF results table but included an asterisk to this effort until I validate my fitness on the usual route. I'm also not sure if I should be tapering for the test, not found any info on that online.
Wednesday
8.5Km @ 6:11min/Km, 138bpm. Can't recall anything about this run other than it's on strava.
Thursday
8Km @ 6:37min/Km, 131bpm. Took it real easy for this run and finished out the last few Km on grass.
Friday
Rest day - took this off with 10mile TT the next day.
Saturday
10 mile TT @ 4:43min/Km 172bpm. 1:15:54 for a PB by 8:45.- Warmup - 0.5Km warmup and some activation drills
- 1Km - 4:31 - Got off to a good start but not overly quick like I did for the 10Km a few weeks back. First of 3Kms to be on a slight drag so made sure to keep it under control.
- 2Km - 4:44 - Still on this slight drag so maintaining focus on effort and ensuring I'm not getting in the red.
- 3Km - 4:46 - This is the toughest part of this initial drag with some parts hitting almost 5%. I run a bit here so know the terrain well so I know when to go and when to back off. Feeling in control at this early stage.
- 4Km - 4:34 - Terrain levels off and begins to descend ever so slightly. Pace picks up slightly but ensure I remain in control.
- 5Km - 4:33 - Still on the slight descent back towards the end of the first small loop. Very much feeling good. Running on the road as much as possible as roads seem to be quiet today.
- 6Km - 4:33 - This is probably the only fully flat stretch (which is run again in the 15th Km) throughout so to feel good along here whilst running a good Km time felt good.
- 7Km - 4:45 - Start up the slight drag as per 1st Km again. At the end of this Km my hamstrings are saying hello
- 8Km - 5:01 - This is the slowest Km of the lot so when I see the alert to say it ticket over the 5 minute mark I did an evaluation of where I was at physically. My form wasn't at all right so I got the arms swinging properly again and slowly over the next few Km started to feel a bit better.
- 9Km - 4:55 - Still going every so slightly uphill and focusing on form. I completely forgot to turn at the end of this Km for a brief detour through an estate but was so focused on working on my form that I forgot.
- 10Km - 4:56 - Last of the uphill drag and the turn for what should be 5Km but I see 6Km remaining and dunno why that is :rolleyes: Feeling ok but concerned that the Kms are closer to the 5 minute mark than they are to the 4:45-4:50 range.
- 11Km - 4:45 - This Km goes sllightly down and back up so I knew I could coast through and hopefully get back on target.
- 12Km - 4:48 - Biggish crossroads halfway through this Km but only had to drop off the pace slightly to make it through unscathed. Kept going. At this stage I'm not too far from the finish... or at least where the finish should've been :rolleyes:
- 13Km - 4:48 - Just need to make it through a crossroads and roundabout in this Km and the remaining distance will be relatively stress free from a traffic pov. Legs are tired. Still very much focused on form pumping the arms/legs.
- 14Km - 4:41 - This is the easiest section (for the 2nd time) of the lot. Pretty much all on path so easy to navigate and slightly downhill. Felt good seeing the pace drop when the Km alert came.
- 15Km - 4:27 - Home straight now, running on the road for most of this and am feeling strong. Know I can throw a bit more at it now that there's not much to go...look at my watch, why is there so much left? I should be finishing right about now!!! Felt good seeing the time for this Km.
- 16Km - 4:35 - Didn't realise my navigational error till after the run but I just get on with it and take a turn off the main road to a much quieter area so I can hopefully power through the remaining distance.
- 0.09Km - 0:24 (4:17 pace) - Last Km alert goes and I try my best to sprint as hard as I can. The distance had been ticking down and with on the fly calculations (which have been poor in the past) I had an idea that I could get under 1:16. Watch starts beeping that the workout is almost over, keep pumping the legs and arms and hear the final beep to see the time and am exhausted but thrilled. Ended up completing the run in the car park of the local pub... but it was closed Had it been open I'd have gone in and ordered a pint regardless of how disheveled I looked after the run.
Delighted with how it went. I knew a PB would happen but didn't expect that much of a jump from last year. Big improvement on last year's FD10 which didn't go well due to the hot conditions on the day. Conditions couldn't have been better this time though. This distance (and longer) feels more enjoyable than the 5Km/10Km, less time spent hanging on for dear life I guess. Though I did kind of spend the latter part of the run wondering if the legs would just fail on me. Few niggles from today which may very well disappear after a couple of sleeps but booked in for physio on Monday just to give the legs the once over.Next week's 10 mile TT will be the first time running the distance since FD10 2019 (1:24:39) so my expectation is to come away with a PB under the 1:20:00 mark. Somewhere around 1:17:xx-1:18:xx would be good I think.
In retrospect, it feels like the above is top notch sandbagging but genuinely didn't expect to be able to come away with that PB. I input my 5Km time (boards TT) at the time of running it through the calculator from the grad thread and it gave me a time of 1:16:57 and I didn't expect to even reach that as I've put faith in calculators before only for them to bite me.
Sunday
Rest day - this is going to be a rest day tomorrow. Perhaps some light cycling/walking with the boys but nothing more strenuous than that.
Total
Run - 96Km
Cycle - Nadda
No.|Date|Avg |Mile 1 |Mile 2|Mile 3|Mile 4|Mile 5
1|12/5/20|9:18|9:01|9:07|9:23|9:36|9:26
2|9/6/20|9:22|9:09|9:11|9:29|9:38|9:28
3|4/7/20|9:32|9:15|9:26|9:38|9:48|9:34
4|25/8/20*|9:09|9:34|8:53|8:42|9:14|9:23
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Monday
8Km @ 6:48min/Km, 134bpm. Recovery run on grass.
Tuesday
13Km @ 6:07min/Km, 136bpm. Felt really good during this run even if it was late in the evening.
Wednesday
13Km @ 6:04min/Km, 136bpm. Another evening run, felt really good again during this.
Thursday-Sunday
Unscheduled break - One of the boys had a temperature for a brief period on Wednesday so it was decided by the medical expertise we use that he should go get covid tested. This has lead to all being on lockdown at home. Wife is also dealing with her own injury which means she's off work which in turn means I'm off work looking after the boys. The young lad which is due to get tested has been bouncing around here for 48 hours. Grateful the weather has been good so we can burn off their energy in the garden. We feel it's a common cold though we've taken the covid stuff pretty seriously since it began so we're following orders. He's getting tested on Sunday and hopefully results back on Monday. No running until Monday evening at the earliest. If it comes back positive, then I'd imagine I'll be out of action for 2 weeks which may lead me to begin running the back garden. The lack of running is a first world problem but frustrating nonetheless.
Total
Running - 34Km
Cycling - Nadda
18 of the 24 weeks of this training block complete. 1,100Kms run. 108 of the 114 runs completed with the 6 missed runs totalling 80Km. On paper that looks good thus far... trying to convince myself of it after 4 days off my feet.
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Feels like I should be happier with this week but I'm just bloody tired and fed up with being tired. I'd say I was a hoot to be around all week. I'd hoped to post my plans/thoughts for taper in a few weeks but I'll post about it in a few days. Lower body just aches all over. Still need to muster up the energy to go shower after this evening's run. Physio on Tuesday to alleviate the doms. Down week ahead, praise jebus.
Monday
10Km @ 5:55min/Km, 143bpm. Young lad's results came in at around lunch time and the four of us couldn't wait to get out the door. The eldest lad joined me on his bike and I was just thrilled to be out running again.
Tuesday 14Km @ 6:24min/Km, 141bpm.
Wednesday 14Km @ 6:25min/Km, 136bpm.
Thursday 14Km @ 6:07min/Km, 138bpm.
3 really dull midweek runs. New life schedule is not conducive to anything over 10Km during the week so felt tired/dull/annoyed after these. I could probably get these done at 5:30/6am, I just don't have the desire/motivation to get up that early like I did during the winter months.
Friday
5Km @ 7min/Km, 134bpm. Recovery on grass with my running buddy that I ran with most of last winter. He's slowly getting back in to things. Was good to have a bit of company to shoot the **** with. Looks like it'll be a regular thing which is welcome. He opted to sit out the 20 miler on the Saturday though. :P
Saturday
32Km @ 6:27min/Km, 143bpm. Average HR doesn't really tell the full story. HR was doing well till the bottom of Booterstown avenue but as I started descending and seeing the pace whilst keeping it within my usual HR ranges, I decided to ignore HR to just get the remainder of the run done. Legs were tired at this stage so keeping at around 6:30min/Km was tiring but there were a few times I'd to run to make traffic lights and the legs responded well so felt good about that.
Sunday
17Km @ 6:21min/Km, 134bpm. Sh!t run was sh!t. After skipping out on family stuff to get the 20 miler done the day before, I needed to be available to help out at home and give the OH a well deserved break from the 2 monsters. Ended up starting the run at a little after 8pm and the legs and head weren't in it from the start. Was supposed to be a 2 lap course, got the first one done and decided I'd improvise my route for the remainder which was a big mistake. Had about 2Km left to do to hit the weekly target and just stopped. No injuries and the leg aches weren't too bad, just felt like I didn't want to run.
Total
Running - 106Km
Cycling - Few spins on the commuter, can't even remember the last time I'd a decent spin New bike also not coming till the new year :( 0 -
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Monday
6.5Km @ 7:07min/Km, 129bpm. Recovery on grass. Body/mind still fatigued after the prior big week. Had company for the run so wasn't that much of a struggle.
Tuesday
9Km @ 6:09min/Km, 130bpm. Took it easy for this, still very fatigued and had physio later in the day. Physio went well, legs were still aching up until then.
Wednesday
9Km @ 6:12min/Km, 134bpm. Easy run covering most of what I was expecting for the TT on Saturday. Legs still not right after last week, even after the physio.
Thursday
9.5 @ 6:12min/Km, 141bpm. Same route as day before but got out early in the dark, cold and wet morning. It's been a long time since I got out this early and it felt good to get it done and duster prior to starting the day with family and then work. Mid left of my left quad was still aching, grabbed an epsom bath later in the evening which settled it over night.
Friday
Rest day - cycled in and out of city centre to grab a box of Maurten gels. Felt good to stretch the legs on the bike but I sure do not miss cycling around the city. Sad to see some of the cafes/restaurants in the city closed but I guess it's to be expected after almost 7 months of lock down. Settled in the end for the sausage roles in The Green Bench cafe which are a Friday only special, magnificent. :cool:
Saturday
1/2 TT (21.13Km according to strava) - 1:41:46 @ 4:49min/Km, 169bpm.
Got up at about 6:30am and grabbed some tea and toast with jam. Then the usual waiting game for the bowels to do their thing. During the wait, I finished off the book about John Delaney and the FAI, worth a read if you're anyway interested in how corporate governance of any organisation should not be done, ****show is an understatement.
After the recent 10Km (45:59) and 10mile (1:15:54) TTs, the recommended calculator from the grads thread had me down for a 1:41:22 (4:48min/Km) which I felt was slightly optimistic. I knew prior to the slight increase in pace during the 10mile TT, I was comfortable continuing at around the 4:50min/Km pace so I decided that my plan/goal for the 1/2 TT was to get trough the 16Km/10mile mark with an average of 4:50min/Km pace and see where I'm at then.
Got my usual activation drills (hips, glutes, hams and calves) done before leaving the house. Took a gel and then headed out whilst settling in to a light jog for a warmup and got down to start position.
0-5Km (4:40, 4:51, 4:55, 4:54, 4:53)
Fairly uneventful first 5Km. I made sure to get out as close as possible to 8am to make sure the roads were as quite as possible as I wanted to run on road as much as possible. Most of this is flat to slight drag so happy to get through this just under overall average target pace.
6Km-10Km (4:42, 4:45, 4:45, 4:47, 4:47)
The 2nd half of the loop is mostly downhill. I down a gel as the watch ticks 6Km. At about 7Km I almost turn my ankle on a cats eye, lucky to have dodged a bullet here. Watch ticks 10Km and I'm almost halfway there with a couple of seconds to spare on my average pace.
11Km-15Km (4:52, 4:56, 4:59, 4:54, 4:57)
Back around to the drag section and the legs are feeling it. Still managing to hold targeted average pace of 4:50min/Km but I'm starting to have doubts if I can hold it till the end. Down another gel around the 12/13Km mark which is my last one for the run. Just needed to get through this 5Km section and I knew I'd know where I'm at then.
16Km-20Km (4:52, 4:50, 4:51, 4:34, 4:35)
A few times I look at the watch, the average pace drops to 4:51min/Km, which is still on for a good PB but not what I want today. Ever so slight downhill till about 18Km where it decline increases. It's at the end of 18th Km that I see a runner up ahead that I know well so it gives me a bit of motivation to pick up the pace (what a running w@nker I am) as I catch up to and pass them! Kept that pace going through till the watch ticked 20Kms.
Final 1.1Km or so
Struggled here to keep pace. Fighting till the very end and once again finished the TT in a pub car park. Was so out of breath at the end, took me a few minutes to gather myself. Felt I was going to vom at one stage.
Delighted with the PB for the 1/2. It was really close to what the calculator proposed but I knew myself that it would've been tough to nail that time.
I've some thinking to do now with regards to virtual DCM on what I think I can get out of it and what I should try to get out of it. Might post about it again in a few days when this wine has wore off.
Sunday
Rest day though we're due to be walking around Dublin zoo. 0 -
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Right then, 4 weeks to go. One full week of running before the taper. Yesterday's 1/2 was the last TT before the full but I do have another 20 miler next Saturday. I plan on adding PMP but will see how the body is after the 1/2 before definitely doing some this week.
Week|Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday|Saturday|Sunday|Total
4|8.9|12|12|12|8.9|32|18.7|104.5
3|6.7|9|9|9|6.7|24|14|78.4
2|4.5|6|6|6|Rest|16|7|45.5
1|Rest|4.8|4.8|4.8|Rest|4|DCM|56.6
The goal for the virtual DCM is sub 4 and I feel it's a much more realistic target this year.
This marathon prediction calculator was mentioned a number of times in last year's novices thread as being fairly good at predictions. I'm unsure how to rate my TTs in terms of fast/average/hard difficulty so I'm being conservative and inputting them as fast. The numbers I've input are as follows:
Weekly mileage - 45miles weekly average since I moved to 7 day/week running since start of July. This includes the upcoming week so hoping that goes to plan.
1/2 TT - 1:41:44 with a Fast rating
10Mile TT - 1:15:54 with a Fast rating.
This provides a predicted finish time of 3:50:40 which would be 5:28min/Km.
A sub 4 target comes in at 5:41min/Km which get you home at 3:59:48.
Taking a conservative approach, a PMP of 5:35min/Km is going to be my target which would result in 3:55:35 finishing time. It'll also allow me to adjust pace later on if required and have some time in the bank should I need it.
I want to get it right this year by running the entire thing and hopefully nailing the sub 4 goal so if anybody has thoughts/opinions on the above, I'd love to hear them.
I curiously input my numbers for last year's training and the calculator predicted 4:10 which would've been a better approach then trying to hang on to the 4 hour pacers and then coming undone. Lesson learned. 0 -
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