Don't stop moving...

crisco10 · 11-06-2020 11:06am #1

A few people around these parts might recognise my name (tho I doubt it!), I’ve been a long time lurker, part time poster on here since ~2012/2013. Was even a graduate of the DCM novices thread in 2014.

Why a Log
First off, I’m not sure this is even worth it. I’ve been toying with the idea, but not sure if my log would be in any way interesting, in which case why not just keep a private log. But who knows. I’ll just quietly delete it if it dies a death. 😊
I’ve never really had long term structure with my running, more just lurch from one 6 - 8 week period to the next, which is fine. But I’ve really enjoyed the consistency of running I’ve been doing during COVID. I think a log will keep me honest as lockdown falls away and allow me to continue to enjoy consistency.

Also, with races and parkrun missing on the calendar for the foreseeable, it is harder to just pick random targets!

Finally, I frequently drop into the Random Running Questions thread, it might be easier to compile my stupid questions/thoughts in one place, and hopefully avail of the collective genius of the boards.ie community.

Me as a runner
34 y/o male. Been running since about 2013, supplemented by lots of cycling around Dublin and Tag Rugby. Historically I was a field sports player, played a lot of soccer and rugby up to my early/mid twenties. Still play both occasionally but I have struggled to commit with work travel, hence running is a great fit for me.

In general, a strong feature of my running is that I like to work it into my life rather than protect set running schedules. E.g. I go for runs on layovers in Heathrow/Schipol etc, or run to my parents instead of driving…

PBs:
Distance Time Event
1 Mile 5:36 Boards 1M TT 2020 – Unofficial TT
5k 18:13 Irish Runner 5k 2020 – Unofficial TT
10k 38:38 South Dublin 10k 2019
Half-Marathon 1:28:16 Great North Run 2016
Marathon 3:24:00 DCM 2014

In terms of my average training load, I don’t really follow detailed plans. I just follow the general formula of 1 LSR, 1 “Workout” and 3 or so Easy runs per week. Total mileage about 40km oer week on average, although that's been higher recently.

Oh, and apart from the “Workout” and maybe 1 easy run, most of my running is done pushing a buggy with an 18-month-old in situ. The LSR is fun! I just had a look, and my little girl has “run” ~900km since May 2019. I love buggy running for a multitude of reasons.

What are my goals?
1. Keep running consistently, despite work and family, and avoid injury and/or overtraining
2. Improve my PBs (obviously).
5k of 17:xx would be sweet, but given my PB was more than 19:00 this time last year, it would be quite a steep improvement!
3. Run 2020km in 2020. Currently on 890km, so on track there.

Next Steps?
Boards TT on 4th July, I’ve chosen the 10 minute event. Would like to beat 2.8km. So will be doing 800s and similar reps in my workout session to try and dial that in. So need to research and find some sessions that fit that target..

After that, who knows…

crisco10 · 11-06-2020 11:09am

So to start the log bit, last week (W/c 1st June)

Monday: 8.5km @ 4:50/km with Buggy. Nice easy pace on a warm morning.

Tuesday: 8km @ 4:58/km. Exploring the hills around Fernhill/Bluelight, place was looking great in the sunshine.

Wednesday: 12.62km @4:27/km. Workout – 2k w/u then (1/2/3 min @>5k Effort off 60s/90s/120s recoveries) x 3 then 3k cool down.

Really enjoyed this, having googled “fun 5km workouts” on Tuesday night. The last 3 minute interval was very effort based, the first half was straight up a hill, and second half straight down again. It looks funny, pace of 4/km for first 90seconds then pace of 3/km for next 90 seconds!

Thank god for my Garmin though, woulda been impossible to keep track of the intervals without the pre-programmed workout. I always find the distance ticks by nicely on a session like this.

Thursday: Day of rest/work and family walks

Friday: 6km @5/km with Buggy. I frequently struggle with these Friday afternoon runs, I don’t want to go, but always feel better and less lethargic after. One in the can anyway, and fresh air for my passenger.

Saturday: A morning of 2 runs:
10.9km @ 4:55/km with buggy. Relaxed pace, except for the odd wind and hill! Music playing on loudspeaker for little ‘un passed the time nicely.

6km @ 6:47/km with buggy and 7 year old cyclist for company. Previous run finished at my sister’s house where I collected my niece, and the 3 of us pottered for half an hour around the local park. Lots of slow running, followed by sprints for the “races”. Fun family time. Then jogged back home after dropping niece back.

Sunday: 9.4km @ 4:50/km with buggy. Dropped papers to parents and had a chat for 10 mins. So arguably this was 2 x 4.7km runs!

ReeReeG · 12-06-2020 9:28am

Aha I was hoping you would start a log

I think you'll get some interesting inputs!
Bloody km though...

shotgunmcos · 12-06-2020 10:41am

Nice one.. you are starting from a good place. Speed there but build the endurance...

I hear you ReeReeG! Didn't mind kms when I logged on the dark side but runners smile for miles

And oh dear.. the log title puts this in my head...

https://youtu.be/vm262cXxRrU

crisco10 · 12-06-2020 11:11am

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Nice one.. you are starting from a good place. Speed there but build the endurance...

I hear you ReeReeG! Didn't mind kms when I logged on the dark side but runners smile for miles

And oh dear.. the log title puts this in my head...

https://youtu.be/vm262cXxRrU

Haha, that was my intention, the sadistic side of me wants to resurrect some quality teeny bopper music.

:D

Interesting comment re endurance, I would have instinctively said the opposite for myself. My endurance is ok, but speed is lacking. What makes you say that?

I'm aware my 1/2 and full marathon times look "soft" these days but they are quite old. Looking at my mileages in 2014 and 2016, I'm doing a lot more these days. I just don't really have an interest in racing those distances, and tbh I would struggle to fit in marathon style LSRs.

Question, I quite fancy doing a progression run for the workout next week, what sort of distance should I be aiming for to work toward the 10 mins race?

E.G. 10km? Start at 5:15min/km, coming down in 10 seconds (ish!) would have me finishing at 3:45min/km or so.

Or, would I be better off doing some mix of 600/800/1000 reps?

And regarding the km: As an engineer, I cannot abide imperial units (they simply make no sense) - and my engineering blood runs thicker than my runners blood!

shotgunmcos · 12-06-2020 11:50am

crisco10 wrote: »

Haha, that was my intention, the sadistic side of me wants to resurrect some quality teeny bopper music. :D

Interesting comment re endurance, I would have instinctively said the opposite for myself. My endurance is ok, but speed is lacking. What makes you say that?

I'm aware my 1/2 and full marathon times look "soft" these days but they are quite old. Looking at my mileages in 2014 and 2016, I'm doing a lot more these days. I just don't really have an interest in racing those distances, and tbh I would struggle to fit in marathon style LSRs.

Question, I quite fancy doing a progression run for the workout next week, what sort of distance should I be aiming for to work toward the 10 mins race?

E.G. 10km? Start at 5:15min/km, coming down in 10 seconds (ish!) would have me finishing at 3:45min/km or so.

Or, would I be better off doing some mix of 600/800/1000 reps?

And regarding the km: As an engineer, I cannot abide imperial units (they simply make no sense) - and my engineering blood runs thicker than my runners blood!

Ah I get it. If training for 5- 10k then kms. Marathoners tend to go with miles as a marathon is 26.2m and marathons generally have mile markers. When I started crossing back over from tri I was running miles, cycling kms, swimming metres :cool:

Just thought the Marathon and half time (to lesser extent) were out of sync with mile, 5k, 10k (which are all similar to my times 5:35, 18:15...) as the longer.

Your AG for each PR
75.8% mile
72.4% 5k
69.6% 10k
66.3% HM
60.4% M

For the 10min perspective session.
400/800 reps at target pace is a good workout with 50% recoveries
or
Progression could be warm up, 20min progression drop 15secs every km from 4:45 or 10sec every km from 4:25.. .cool down with some strides

crisco10 · 15-06-2020 10:05am

This week was another "standard" week...I think I'll spend a few minutes putting together the next 3 weeks before the 10 minute time trial and put some shape on it. Mainly round the Workouts really.

I was also thinking this log would also motivate me to log my stretching/S&C a bit more. I'm very ad hoc about that as it stands.

Monday
Rest day, but spent time digging garden instead!

Tuesday
8km @ 4:53km Easy.

Wednesday
Irish Runner 5k Virtual Race.
Ran to Marlay as my warm up (~3k), I'd decided for this TT to use the same loop I used for the mile, and just make it a 3 lapper. This was partly out of laziness, partly out of interest to compare the effort/pace of each lap and see if it produced anything interesting.
I didn't really have a target, maybe close to 18 mins or so. So set off at something like that effort. My lap times were:

6:01, 6:05, 6:07.

So total time of 18:13. Which to be fair I was happy with as an unofficial PB. and 20 seconds better than the boards 5k TT.

That might look like my pace was sliding, but actually for 1st, 2nd and 5th kilometre, my pace was 3:36/3:37 i.e. pretty solid toward 18:00. But 3rd and 4th km did all the "damage" 3:41/3:42 per km

Reflections are the paces reflect my effort mostly, as the pain came on my pace slipped a tad and then I put the foot down and hurt a fair bit in final km. Was proper pooped at "finish line". I enjoyed it all in all.

Strange feeling setting a PB before work on a Wednesday though! quite an anti climax.

4km run home w/d

Training note: work on endurance/threshold style running to fight the 3rd quarter slide?

Thursday

8km @ 4:55/km with buggy. a very very wet one for me. Passenger delighted with splashing under her rain cover!

Friday

7k @4:52/km with buggy. easy round the block.

Saturday

Another saturday morning of 2 runs:

1st was 14km @ 4:52 with buggy. Felt nice and easy exploring various estates of Foxrock.

2nd was 4.4 @ 6:17 with buggy. Similar to last week, I collected my niece at the end of the long run and pushed the buggy along with her on her bike. a few hill sprints as she was enjoying going up and down some hills!

Sunday

10k @ 4:57/km with buggy. This was actually 3 runs spread across a couple of hours. Easy running as I made various visits to family and playgrounds.

20 mins S&C in evening.

Total

64km total. 40km with the buggy.

crisco10 · 16-06-2020 1:56pm

So thinking of doing the following over next 3 Weds for my workout:

17th: 2 x [600,800,1000] @ 3km pace with recoveries of [90s, 135s, 180s]

24th: Progression Run (thanks shotgunmcos): approx 25min, start at 4:30 and work down in ~10 seconds per km.

1st: 4 x 800 at 3km pace with recoveries of 90s.

Seems reasonable to me, the session on the 1st is supposed to be a little light to allow for some rest for the TT on the 4th.

The rest of the week will be fairly standard, LSR (with buggy) of ~15-18km, and then about 3 or 4 easy runs of 7k ish each leaving 1 or 2 rest days....

This is the first time in a long time that I've tried to plan any training, so any input is helpful. lol

crisco10 · 22-06-2020 8:36am

Enjoyed this week, and even started doing some more S&C stuff, but didn’t mark the day or duration anywhere (sure I’ll just remember for the log right?!).
The Wednesday session was tough but really fun, rest of week standard effort tbh.

Monday
Day off, spent the day catching 7 cats (inc 5 kittens) in my garden. My audition for the child catcher in the feline Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is complete.

Tuesday:
8km @ 4:45/km - Easy morning run. Nothing strange apart from stepping in Dog sh!t.

Wednesday:
14km @ 4:37/km. Target Workout.
3km WU then 2 x [600,800,1000] w [90s, 135s, 180s] recoveries. Then 3km CD.

This was TOUGH. Wet morning out, and my first 2 intervals were running in quicksand slow. Especially the 800m which was basically straight down the hill thru Marlay park. Figured that I must be tired or GPS was not liking the rain and trees, so stopped looking at pace for remainder of session and just ran to what felt “hard”.

Got home and when I checked the splits, I was pleasantly surprised. The intervals and average paces for the 6 reps were:

2:14 (3:43min/km)
3:02 (3:47)
3:31 (3:31)
2:09 (3:35)
2:53 (3:36)
3:32 (3:32)

So a real lesson in mental battles there, as expected the first 2 reps weren’t great. But the latter four are much sharper when I just ran on feel. And interestingly, the 1000m reps are strongest (fastest pace) in each set. 😊

Training Note: Sometimes stopping looking at the watch improves your performance!
Training Note: Maybe some more dynamism in my warm up may stop sluggish starts?

Thursday
8.2km @ 4:59/km. Easy recovery after yesterday’s efforts.

Was listening to Hamilton soundtrack with the track order shuffled. Was an unusual experience…that’s the low bar of notable things on this run.

Before work, and before E (the toddler) was awake. So no buggy.

Friday
7.3km @ 4:54/km. Easy
Like last Friday, hard to get out the door. Glad I did.

Saturday
17km @ 4:53/km with buggy. “L”SR.
Beautiful morning for it, and even met a friend halfway through for a few kms. It all ticked by rather nicely at a pace that felt comfortable.
Got home and had to do some tree stump removal, so was fairly wrecked on Saturday evening!

Sunday
7km @ 5:12/km with buggy. Easy.

Usual paper run to my parents’ house; with added croissants for father’s day!

Obviously wasn’t looking at my pace, but clearly Saturday’s exertions were in the legs. My hamstrings felt like banjo strings for the first km out the door. Felt a lot looser by the time I got home though. Classic easy/recovery run in that sense.

Totals:
Week: 61.8km in exactly 5:00:00 (24km with the buggy)
YTD: 996km

crisco10 · 28-06-2020 7:29pm

Monday:
Day off. Was actually looking forward to this one, felt tired over the weekend.

Tuesday:
9km @ 4:58/km - Easy morning run. Was what it was, exploring areas of my suburban bliss. &#55357;&#56842;

Wednesday:

14km @ 4:35/km (although average speed is meaningless on this one). Target Workout.

3km warmup, Progression run of ~25 mins, Cool down.

I decided to make my warmup a progression too. So started warm up km accelerated from >5:00/km to ~4:40. The target pace for each km progression after my warmup was this (I do like tables now)

Split Target Pace (min/km) Actual Pace (min/km)
1 04:30 04:33
2 04:20 04:18
3 04:10 04:09
4 04:00 04:01
5 03:50 03:51
6 03:40 03:44
7 (only 500m) Faster 03:28

So total time of ~26mins, over 6.5km.

Enjoyed this session, (even if my left arm was seriously twitchy to keep on pace), the effort builds in the background and only hit me toward the end. I probably could have gone to 1km in the 7th split, and given it a good go at being sub 3:40 but a) that wasn’t the goal of the session and b) I was happy to bail when I did.

This was only my 2nd ever formal progression run, they are a good session. Didn’t feel as hard work as some of the interval sessions I have done recently though.

Cool down home.

Thursday:

8km @ 4:46/km - Easy morning run. Didn’t even look at my watch, was just pottering listening to podcasts. Gorgeous morning and could feel the belter of a day coming.

15 mins Stretching S&C at lunch

Friday:
8km @ 4:54/km – Easy before work.

Saturday:

2 Runs again this morning:

Run 1: 14.3km with buggy @ 4:50/km. Lovely long run before the run came, got to run along the seafront which hadn’t done in a while. Lower temps were nice too.

Run 2: 5.2km with buggy @ 6:52/km. Similar to the past few weeks, was with my niece on her bike, so pace was conversational with the odd sprint thrown in. Unfortunately, we got drenched.

Tellingly, I could feel Thursdays S&C in my glutes. A sure sign that I haven't been doing enough recently.

Sunday:
5.6km with buggy @ 5:04/km. Easy run, except for the fact the wind was gusting crazy strong! Pushing a buggy AKA a parachute meant I almost stopped dead every so often.

Overall, a good weeks running. Was less tired than last week, despite running more miles. Session on Weds felt easier too. And I wasn’t that tired after Saturday’s ~20km pushing the buggy. That said, looking forward to a lower load this week in prep for the TT on Saturday.

Totals:

Week total: 64.2km, 25km with buggy.
YTD: 1060km

MisterJinx · 01-07-2020 12:21pm

Crisco have you calculated out all your paces for Tempo, Threshold, CV etc and if so where did you get them in KM rather than miles? Looking to do the same myself but with hrunfastcoach.com it only gives the training paces in miles...

Also which race time did you base them off, your mile or 5k?

ariana` · 01-07-2020 1:12pm

MisterJinx wrote: »

Crisco have you calculated out all your paces for Tempo, Threshold, CV etc and if so where did you get them in KM rather than miles? Looking to do the same myself but with hrunfastcoach.com it only gives the training paces in miles...

Also which race time did you base them off, your mile or 5k?

Runfastcoach gives them in KMs also. If you look at the 3rd column. The first column is miles, second is 1600m, then you have 1000m (km).

MisterJinx · 01-07-2020 1:59pm

ariana` wrote: »

Runfastcoach gives them in KMs also. If you look at the 3rd column. The first column is miles, second is 1600m, then you have 1000m (km).

Ah ha, i see thanks :-)

crisco10 · 01-07-2020 2:00pm

MisterJinx wrote: »

Crisco have you calculated out all your paces for Tempo, Threshold, CV etc and if so where did you get them in KM rather than miles? Looking to do the same myself but with hrunfastcoach.com it only gives the training paces in miles...

Also which race time did you base them off, your mile or 5k?

Based off my 5k time; I used runners world calculator:

https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/a761676/rws-training-pace-calculator/

I can never remember which is which, so I just rounded off Easy/Long pace is ~5/km and Tempo is just slightly below 4/km.

As you can see, I'm a divil for my easy paces maybe being a smidge quick (esp if you take the buggy into account). I like to think that's mostly because I like to throw a little bit of an acceleration in for last k or so which drags it down, but in reality I could slow a little.

crisco10 · 04-07-2020 3:24pm

Putting up a day early this week, cos won’t get a chance tomorrow or Monday..

Monday:

Day off. An antsy day off today, really needed the pre-dinner walk to clear my head.

30 minutes S&C during day.

Tuesday:

8.2km @ 4:48/km - Easy morning run. Explored a few other areas.
I’ve been trying to “colour” in my heatmap around the area, so took the opportunity to “paint” a few estates I hadn’t run in before.
I’ve run every road within 2km at this stage, so it’s getting hard to find new areas!

Wednesday:

11km @ 4:30/km. Relaxed Workout.

Target was 4 x 800m off 90s at what I guessed would be my pace (~2:52 for 800m) on Saturday on what has become my favourite loop in Marlay. (Thanks ReeReeG!)

Splits were:
2:50; 2:54; 2:51; 2:43

So pretty on target, last one a little hot as I was having fun and it ended up being a downhill section. Might regret that on Saturday.

Again, enjoyed this session. I used to hate the speed training bit of the week but have really come to enjoy it. It is very satisfying to have a workout in the bag before breakfast.

Thursday:
8km with buggy @ 4:48/km - Easy afternoon run. Bit more painting to entertain myself. E was loving the wind through her hair so both of us had some craic.

Friday:

2nd Rest day of the week in prep for tomorrows TT. Planned my route, set up my Garmin Workout, laid out my gear. Okay, maybe I didn’t lay out my gear. I swear.

Saturday:

Boards 10 min TT (9km in total today with WU and CD)

Was pleasantly surprised when my wife volunteered to come with me to the park and go for a walk herself while I did my TT. Usually my morning’s in Marlay are entirely solo affairs. Nice to have the company having my pre-“race” coffee.

Usually WU of 3km, then started my time trail. Again using the mile loop in Marlay which I favour for workouts as well.

I actually don’t remember a huge amount, I know I checked my watch at 2:30 and saw I’d 0.73km which put me very slightly ahead of pace for my target of 2.8km. The effort was obviously climbing steadily, and the small incline at this point put me into more discomfort (not pain tho). Had the consolation of a gentle downhill coming to keep me straight though.

Hit the down hill at about 08:00 and reckoned my pace was ok-ish, so just hammered (as best I could) until the beep. My last k was 3:27 which I was happy with. Ended up completing 2.83km which felt nice. My target was achievable without sandbagging, and nice to beat by a little.

My quarter time splits were:
02:30: 0.7km
05:00: 1.3km
07:30: 2.1km
10:00: 2.8km

So pretty even and as I felt, lost a little up the incline as I struggled, but then recovered time quick enough.

Funny feeling though, usually in a race time goes really fast at the end, but in this challenge it goes so slowly at the end. I looked at my watch at 8:50 and was like grand only 1:10 to go, checked again expecting to see 9:30 or so…..it read 9:02! :eek:

At my pace in this TT, I would have been on for a 17:40 5km. So question I ask myself, how far off 17:59 for 5km am I? I’ll be letting that drift around in my head for the next while…

Summary:

Really enjoyed this Race week. Got a fair amount of running in, but also reduced the mileage by about 30% to allow to be rested coming into TT. And slightly surpassed my goal there.

At end of TT in Marlay, a fella (who’d I run by during the TT) that was coaching a few runners in the concert field approached me and asked was I in a club etc. When I said I wasn’t he suggested I would benefit a lot, given my speed (lol) without being in one.

My issue with this is that I like to run on my own timetable (and with the buggy). Like I’m not mad keen to be heading out midweek evenings for training etc. Am I being silly not joining one? (assuming boards doesn’t count! Lol)

6 day Week total: 36km, 8km with buggy.
YTD: 1096km

MisterJinx · 08-07-2020 10:33am

crisco10 wrote: »

At end of TT in Marlay, a fella (who’d I run by during the TT) that was coaching a few runners in the concert field approached me and asked was I in a club etc. When I said I wasn’t he suggested I would benefit a lot, given my speed (lol) without being in one.

My issue with this is that I like to run on my own timetable (and with the buggy). Like I’m not mad keen to be heading out midweek evenings for training etc. Am I being silly not joining one? (assuming boards doesn’t count! Lol)

6 day Week total: 36km, 8km with buggy.
YTD: 1096km

I joined a tri club 2 years ago. I find it's been a great experience. You get to meet others with a wide range of experience which you can learn from, a great sense of camaraderie and a support network for when things aren't running right. Like yourself I have limited time with family, although thankfully out of the buggy stage now!

I make the sessions I can make which might only be once a month or once a week depending on the routine but having others to train with really does make a difference and you'd be surprised how much more you can push on when training with a group compared to on your own. You can also learn from the few you can make and apply them to the sessions you do on your own.

crisco10 · 12-07-2020 7:31pm

Overall this week was supposed to be a bit quieter after the TT last week, and seeing all the DNS/DNF’s in the TT freaked me a little re overtraining. Like a few others on here, I’ve been putting in consistent (but heavier) mileage since lockdown. So wanted to lighten the load for a few days..

Also, I’d like to do an official race and get an official time. So I’ve signed up to the Tallaght 5km on 2nd August.

I don’t think I’ll break 18, but hope to be sub 18:30 to match my recent TT of 18:13. Rough training plan is something like this:
https://www.runningfastr.com/5k-training-plan/18-minute-5k-training-plan/

Except a more gentle Week 1 to lighten the load this week as discussed. It seems that it has quite an intense mid section (the mid point has 4 days running with no “Easy” or rest). I’ll play that one by ear, could be a bit much.

Monday:

Day off after also taking Sunday off. Can’t remember the last time I took two rest days in a row.
Felt pretty damn wrecked, so think my body is recovering a bit.

Tuesday:

7.0km @ 4:42/km - Easy morning run. Still felt tired but my pace wasn’t too laboured at the same time.

Wednesday:

8km @ 4:51/km with buggy. Another Easy one. Had planned to be solo, but little E woke when she heard me getting up so fired her into the buggy and off we went.

Thursday:

12km @ 4:27/km. Workout.

Target was 6 x 800m off 60s at a similar pace to last week’s workout (~2:50 for 800m).

Splits were:

2:50; 2:49; 2:50; 2:51 but then I just couldn’t go again. The 60s recoveries were tough since last week efforts and my general tiredness.

I was also cognisant that this was supposed to be a small step back week so backed off and considered fighting another day.

Was a little disappointed on warm down run so added 6 random short fartleks to combat that.

Friday:

Another rest day.

Saturday:

13km “long run” with buggy @ 4:48/km.

More exploring random housing estates. Felt energetic again.

Nothing strange or startling on this one, except for one major milestone – mine and E’s 1000th km of buggy running together since we started in May '19! So probably about 4900 minutes of sitting for her, and I reckon less than 60 minutes of that napping. She seems to just like watching the world go by.

Rest of day was spent tearing down a shed on my own, does that count as S&C?

Sunday:

Legs were stiff after all the work yesterday, but still had to dispose of all the detritus of the demolition job. Again I asked does this count as S&C?? lol

Week total: 40km, 21km with buggy.
YTD: 1136km

crisco10 · 19-07-2020 10:05am

This week is the 1st of 2 intense weeks (for me). Distance is a down a bit overall, but a lot more workouts. Basically every 2nd day, which is a different pace of life of me. This was supposed to be peaking for Tallaght 5km, but that’s not happening. And I can’t make the alternative date. I’m toying with doing another time trial myself just to see what I’m at. But would much prefer an official 5km of some sort….These unofficial PBs are only so satisfying.

Monday:
Had another rest day, was off work so family day. Was supposed to have a 30 minute easy, but wasn’t forcing it in on a fun day…

Tuesday:

Workout – 10 x 400m @84s with 60s recoveries

Out before work and really struggled with this one. Just couldn’t keep the pace on target, consistently quicker. Splits were: 80, 80, 81, 82, 82, 83, 81, 81, 79, 78.

I did this on grass too (laps of a football pitch basically), which was a nice change. Legs were starting to feel heavy toward the end (which I assume was the target) but far from cripplingly so. I enjoyed trying to make my last splits the quickest. But wonder will the mis-pacing be a problem down the road…

11km all in with warm up and cool down.

Wednesday:

6km @ 4:42/km with buggy. Easy one round the block – nice to have some sunshine back!

Thursday:

Workout – experimenting with “Kenyan Hills”

Had been reading about Kenyan hills and they sounded like fun, so found a hill up in Stepaside that was about 10% incline. Simple enough goal, run reasonably hard up a hill (~200m long) and then maintain the pace back down the hill, turn around and repeat. Did this continuously for 10 mins. 3 mins recovery then another 10 minutes.

Enjoyable session actually, obviously the last couple of climbs in each set was tough but perversely the steepest section was the last bit and on each rep I enjoyed really pushing up that section to my turnabout point. Then it actually took some concentration to keep the pace up on the downhill return as opposed to recovering.

Second set was slower than my first, in the first ten minutes I had covered 2.35km but that dropped to 2.26 in 2nd set. Effort was still high, and legs a bit stiff after.

10km after warm up and cool down.

Friday:

rest day.

Saturday:

Workout – 6 x 800 off 60 secs

I’d tried this session last week and forced the pace and only completed 4 reps, so today my approach was a bit different. Instead of chasing time, I thought I’d chase effort (i.e. hard) and see what happened with the times.

Had planned to do in Marlay, but it wasn’t open at 7:20 when I got there, but luckily I’d spotted the other park frequented by some people on boards that is about 500m lap (567m apparently!) nearby so headed there.

Splits were: 3:03; 2:51; 2:52; 2:54; 2:54; 2:53

The 1st split was quite up hill but still I knew my effort wasn’t quite hard enough so consciously upped it from there on. Lots of interesting thoughts on this one having failed the same session last week.

Last week I was targeting 2:50ish from the start, which maybe was a smidge too quick, but would that really make that much of a difference? Or was it just a different day, better sleep etc? The potential for overthinking is tremendous!

By end of session: 13km @ 4:30/km.

Sunday:

13km with buggy @4:53/km
Gorgeous morning to be out. More exploring of random housing estates

Week total: 54km, 19km with buggy.
YTD: 1191km

crisco10 · 22-07-2020 10:13am

Busy week this week, so gonna put up 2 log entries!

This is week 2 of intense weeks (for me). It’s quite fun, the 5 “sessions” in 6 days was tiring but felt rewarding. More than once I had to remind myself that I was forcing my body to adapt!

Monday:

Workout – 3 x 5 Hill Sprints with 2mins between sets

Due to family logistics, I actually had to do this with the buggy. Sure, just builds the strength more right? Used the steeper half of the same hill in Stepaside I’d used last week. Took about 30 seconds to “sprint” up. I defo got a few strange looks as I ran up and down the steep hill with a buggy. Particularly off one woman sitting on the grass for the entire session!

The buggy did produce some problems for my form etc. It was hard to keep arms going, shoulders back etc when there was a buggy to be pushed.

The average pace for this session was my slowest in a long long time, as all my efforts went into pushing a buggy up hill.

9km with buggy @ 5:17/km

Tuesday:

Workout – 6 x 1km @ 3:35 with 90s recoveries

Enjoyed and hated this in equal measure. I’d been looking at this session in the plan apprehensively since I started. It looked like a long, hard session, with no rest/easy days for 4 days before it.
Out at lunch in the sun, lovely to be out, but was glad of the shade at times…

Splits were: 3:35, 3:32, 3:34, 3:37, 3:36, 3:36

Very happy with that, the average of the splits was 3:35, and a pretty tight spread. It was funny, each lap almost had the same set of feelings:

1st 600m - “God this is slow, need to accelerate a bit but it’s so hard”
Next 300m - “ok, hang on, you will be on the last stretch soon”
Last 100m - “Come on, try to accelerate to the finish”

Actually, was writing negative log entries in my head on the 4th split, but copped myself on and started scripting more positive thoughts to get through the hump.

Other thing to note, over first 4 intervals (and the 3 recoveries in between), I had an 18:58 5km. This means nothing, but I like it for some reason.

12km all in with warm up and cool down.

Wednesday:

6km with buggy @ 4:57/km with buggy. Easy one round the block – a little bit wet, and gave a neighbour quite a scare when I came round the corner with a buggy but nice to loosen out after yesterdays exertions.

MisterJinx · 22-07-2020 11:28am

Good sessions there! I'm not sure if I'd be brave enough to do a hills followed by 1km reps on successive days so well done. I did some hills on Sunday and really felt them yesterday on a steady run.

crisco10 · 27-07-2020 9:29am

Thursday:

Workout (kinda) – Fartleks with the buggy

Was a fun one, bit of a warmup then run hard for 1 minute; easy for 4 minutes for about 30 mins.

E enjoyed going fast a little too much, and got demanding when I started going easy! &#55357;&#56841;

9km with buggy @ 4:30/km or so.

Friday:
rest day.

Saturday:

13km with buggy @ 4:42/km

Was taking this at an easy pace – all the sessions over the last week were definitely catching up with me. And was relieved at this! Ran to Marlay and pottered there before colouring in a few more estates in the area. Marlay was pretty busy on a fine Saturday morning!

But strangely, my natural easy pace seemed quite pacey (relatively). Had to keep telling myself to slow down.

Sunday:

8km @ 4:57/km. Stiff at the start of this, but was nice and loose by the end.

Love those types of easy runs.

Week total: 57km, 37km with buggy.
YTD: 1248km

crisco10 · 27-07-2020 9:32am

MisterJinx wrote: »

Good sessions there! I'm not sure if I'd be brave enough to do a hills followed by 1km reps on successive days so well done. I did some hills on Sunday and really felt them yesterday on a steady run.

Yeah, tbh I think it was the whole point of the mini plan I was following. Off a good base, do an intense 2 weeks with oodles of hard work. This week ahead is basically all Easy running and I'm pretty sure my body needs it.

The Hill Reps didn't linger too long, but the Kenyan Hills the previous Thursday definitely hung around a while. I was also careful with my route choice for the 1km Reps, it was a flat loop of UCD. Just to avoid engaging "climbing" muscles!

MisterJinx · 27-07-2020 2:23pm

crisco10 wrote: »

The Hill Reps didn't linger too long, but the Kenyan Hills the previous Thursday definitely hung around a while. I was also careful with my route choice for the 1km Reps, it was a flat loop of UCD. Just to avoid engaging "climbing" muscles!

Just googled Kenyan hills... looks like a tough session, funnily enough my 3 hills are interconnected and I was thinking I could run loops of them. Maybe towards the end of my block when I've got more hills in the legs and ready to progress

crisco10 · 02-08-2020 1:46pm

A more relaxed week for me this week, only one run that wasn't at Easy pace.

Signed up to the popup 5km race in Mondello week next week (13th). Not sure what the course is like but I hope it's not a windy evening. So plan for this week is 2 or so sessions (prob 3 x 1 mile anyway), then 2 or 3 easy. Just to tune up a bit after the quiet week this week.

Monday:

7.5km with buggy @ 4:50/km

Easy Run, felt a bit heavy legged.

Tuesday:

7km morning run @ 4:45/km

More easy running, and still felt a little stiff. It’s mad how my muscles seem to have tightened up since I STOPPED doing the sessions over the last 2 weeks.

Wednesday:

Workout – 5km “Tempo” @ 3:44/km

The last session of this random training plan off the internet called for a 3 mile Tempo at 6min/mile pace. But I rounded when converting to make it a 5km. Also give me an opportunity to log a (not) parkrun.

Off to my now usual lockdown training location of the DBR mile loop in Marlay…3 laps of it and off I go. Km splits were:

3:42, 3:41, 3:42, 3:40, 3:36.

A bit like my 10 x 400 the other week, I just couldn’t slow down. And I don’t mean that as a humble brag. I just felt like Declan Moffit, the only way I could slow down was if I came to a sudden stop which I wasn’t going to do. Anyway, was happy that I didn’t let the extra pace catch me in the last splits, and I took the governor off for the last km. 5km time was 18:21, which is my 2nd fastest 5km ever, and 8 seconds off PB. Which for a tempo run is something I’m happy about. I was pretty gassed at the 5km mark though. So not really a Tempo run, more a relaxed TT!

This plan has been enjoyable! Am I at sub-18 fitness? Tbh probably not, more even (and aggressive) pacing and race day adrenaline may get me 18:0x but not sure it would be more than that.

11km in all for the day after WU/CD.

Thursday:

7km @ 4:45/km. easy and just listening to podcasts

Friday:
rest day.

Saturday:

14km with buggy @ 4:45/km

More exploring of random housing estates, taking it easy except for the undulating nature of the route. Was quite humid and muggy which also made it a little harder than usual.

Sunday:

6km with buggy @ 4:45/km. Nothing special here, just a run to excuse all the pastries I ate when I got home.

Week total: 52km, 28km with buggy.
YTD: 1301km

crisco10 · 05-08-2020 12:28pm

The goal of this week was to just get the legs going a bit more in advance of the 5km race on 13th. In my head I split the week into 3 blocks, each block had an easy run and a trickier run of sorts.

Monday (Block 1):

8km with buggy @ 4:54/km
Easy Run on a bank holiday, had lots of little hills to keep it interesting.

Tuesday (Block 1):

Workout – 3 x 1 mile off 90s; goal pace of sub 18min 5k

I’d done this workout back before the Boards 5k TT and it was pretty accurate in terms of prediction for that one. Did it on the Marlay mile loop which is flat, and also (mostly) sheltered from the wind.

Splits were:
5:43, 5:46 & 5:50.

Bit disappointed at the clear slide thru the reps, but the average pace of the 3 was equivalent to a 17:57 5km. I also think the last rep suffered for being uphill in the first half, where as the other two were downhill in first half. The intensity didn't grow uncontrollably through the session either.

In conclusion, I think that IF conditions are perfect and IF everything goes right I might be able for it. But it could equally all blow up. Lol. Certainly worth giving it a go next week, worst that can happen is I have one of those days and look for another race off more training.

12.3km in all including WU/CD. (and a 18:46 5km nestled in there (inc recoveries)

Wednesday (Block 2):

6km @ 4:50/km. Easy round the block listening to podcasts.

Toying with a session like this tomorrow as part of block 2:
10mins @ MP, 7 mins @ LT, 5 mins @10k and 3 mins @5k. 3 mins recovery in between. Looks like fun, but little worried it might be a bit much 7 days before a race.

Dubh Geannain · 05-08-2020 3:51pm

I like the look of that 5k prediction workout although I suspect it's much harder than it looks on paper.

Not specifically training for a 5k at the moment myself but I'd always be interested to see what sort of 5k shape I'd be in. Or I could just run another 5k TT of course.

Edit: I meant to ask, what buggy do you run with or do you know what makes a good running buggy? I likely have some buggy running ahead of me in my near future.

crisco10 · 05-08-2020 4:31pm

The other workout I've seen mentioned as a predictor is 6 x 1k off 90s or so either. Which when I did it a few weeks ago produced a similar average pace for me...but I'm always aware of statistics not applying to the individual.

Re the buggy, I run with an Out n about Sport V3 (which is basically identical to the V4). I literally stalked adverts/donedeal from the day she was born and landed one when she was about 6 weeks old. But then it stayed in the attic until she was 6 months (you're not supposed to take em running until then).
Important things for me (and considering I was getting a buggy solely for running) were that it was light and big wheels. Didn't care that it was impossible to wheel around tight spaces like shops. The most important things from a safety perspective are:

-the front wheel locks (which means you need to wheely to turn)
-wrist strap. so if you snot yourself at some point the buggy doesn't fly off without you.

There's a few Facebook groups that have lots of info too, and people reply very quickly to any questions asked:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1190065294341971
https://www.facebook.com/groups/593961123953064

I'd recommend buggy running. Especially if you start when they're young. So many advantages and benefits for everyone in the house. I've bombarded you a little here, but it's randomly something I'm sort of passionate about. Let us know if you need any more info.

Lambay island · 05-08-2020 7:49pm

On that Marlay mile you mention? Is that a loop around near concert pitch and pond you do or is it a section further up on the parkrun route? Either way, some solid reps there for your target.

crisco10 · 06-08-2020 9:09am

Lambay island wrote: »

On that Marlay mile you mention? Is that a loop around near concert pitch and pond you do or is it a section further up on the parkrun route? Either way, some solid reps there for your target.

Thanks, I hope so! It's the concert pitch and then out into the playing fields and back to the house loop. I actually think it's a smidge longer than a mile but close enough.

Dubh Geannain · 06-08-2020 10:57am

That's great info cheers. She's at five and a half months now so getting close. I'll be waiting until she's out of the pram and sitting upright on her own anyway.

crisco10 · 10-08-2020 9:43am

Disaster this weekend when the 5k in Mondello was a victim of the Kildare lock down. I'm destined (along with a lot of others) to keep missing races this year.

Given I'm on holidays next week in Waterford/Cork, I would have like to do a 5k race before then to see what this training over last 6 weeks has done. So if I can't find a race around Dublin this week, or maybe even Waterford next week I'll just do a 5k TT on Thursday in Marlay.

So back to the log..

Thursday (Block 2):

Workout – 9/6/4/2.5 mins @ MP/LT/10k/5k with 2.5 mins at easy pace in between.

The strange numbers are because the planned session was 10/7/5/3 but thought that looked a bit much 7 days before a race so I knocked ~10% off everything.

This is a really fun session and I will be returning to it, the book I was browsing referred to it as an “Anaerobic refresher”. I assume the goal is that you do the 5k pace at the end on fatigued legs from the gradual build up.

I just enjoyed the building effort, but also the variety meant the run ticked by enjoyably. It only really “hurt” toward the end of the 10k and 5k reps. I had to guess my MP and LT from various online calculators, mad that my predicted MP is know about 50 seconds quicker than my actual MP! LT was a vague beast so I made an estimate and what looked right for the session based on MP and 10k. So target paces (which I hit) were approx. MP of 4:07, LT of 3:55, 10k of 3:45 and 5k of 3:35.

12km @ 4:20/km all in including WU/CD

Friday (Block 3):

6.2km with buggy @ 4:46/km

Easy and crazy hot run. Thoroughly pleasant.

Saturday:

Rest Day due to family plans. First missed Saturday run in 20+ weeks.

Sunday:

12.2km with buggy @ 4:44/km.
More exploring of random housing estates around the area.

Week total: 57km, 25 km with buggy.
YTD: 1358km

Don't stop moving...

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