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"And why do we fall Bruce?"

Comic Book Guy

I’ve hummed and hawwed for a while now about starting a running log. Finally decided to dip my toe into the water after reading the great on going threads and reports from my fellow 2018 DCM Novices. They all spoke of the value of keeping a log to track progress and to get invaluable help and support from more experienced Boardsies.

So Who am I and why am I here?!

Basically I’m the Bogeyman used my this year’s DCM mentors to keep their group of Novices in line! I shadowed last years Novice thread but stupidly never bought into the actual plan. “Slow down”, ha what kind of advice is that! Years of repeating GAA drills at match speed had me thinking that the only way of getting ready for a marathon was to do all my training runs at PMP to get game ready, big mistake. While I have since come to terms that my finish time of just under 3 54 was decent enough it doesn’t mask the disappointment of those last 6 miles where I was a physically spent, constantly cramping up empty shell!! As my alter ego might say “worst DCM Novice ever….”

As my username might suggest I’m a fan of all things Superhero! Since DCM 2018 a couple of lines from Batman Begins have resonated with me: Alfred- “took quiet a fall, didn’t we, Master Bruce?” Thomas Wayne- “And why do we fall Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up”.

So this is my log of learning to pick myself up! As it stands I’m currently just over halfway through the P&D 18 week marathon plan (Thanks for the recommendation Dealerz2.0!!) as my preparation for DCM19. So far I have got all the runs in as planned with the exception of the very first weeks long run. All has gone to plan with the exception of a couple of long runs done too quick which I was rightly admonished for on Strava (takes a while for old dogs to learn new tricks!). Have to say I’m enjoying the regime of following a plan and understanding the reasoning behind each run.

I’m not one for creative writing but hopefully I’ll be able to look back on this at a future date and have a sense of progress and maybe even learn a bit. Will attempt to keep it updated once a week between now and DCM19!

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall". - Batman (sorry I cant help myself :pac:)

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Laineyfrecks

Sure who doesn't love a good wedding the day before a marathon;)

Applegirl26

Comic Book Guy wrote: »

Not updated for few weeks. Wanted to leave it til after completing a full weeks training after the recovery week but that hasn’t happened yet so better do it now to keep things reasonably in line.

Recovery week went fine- 44 miles across 5 runs mostly at General Aerobic with strides thrown in a couple of days.

Monday 3rd February- 8 miles GA
Managed to fit this in on an extended lunch break. Nothing too exciting about this one, just churning out the miles!

Tuesday 4th- 10 miles with LT intervals
Was dreading this one tbh. 2 miles at GA and then into the first interval which was to last 22 mins. Found using the lap pace option on the watch great in these sessions for staying at a consistent pace throughout. Got through this first interval fairly well but the 5 minute recovery jog was very welcome before tackling the second interval of 18 mins. Blowing hard to start with in this one but get it done. According to Strava the first interval included a new 5k PB of 19.32.

Wednesday 5th- 13 miles endurance
This was supposed to be 11 miles but my recall of the plan when reading it earlier in the week was out!
4 miles @ 8.30/mile, 5 miles @ 8.00 and 4 miles @ 7.30. Enjoyable session and hit the paces or bit below them each mile so was happy out with that one.

Thursday 6th- 3 mile recovery run. Nice insert in the plan at this stage as I wouldn’t have been fit for much else!

Friday was to be 8 miles @ GA with strides. Was actually off work on Friday but sod’s law kept coming up with work to do at home so the day went away from me and run was missed. No big deal since Saturday was to be a tough 14 mile progression run.
Eldest son went and got a vomiting bug and did a lovely job pebble dashing his bedroom wall at 1 am! Almost an hour of a clear up before all was settled before he repeated the dose later in the night so that put paid to my running on Saturday and the missus was away on Sunday so no run then either.

Monday 10th- 8 miles GA
The now usual extended lunchtime run, nothing exciting happened!

Tuesday 11th- 10 miles with LT intervals.
2 miles at GA to warm up and then into the session. First up was 3 1200m intervals at 5k pace. Handy round number so just to add on 0.75 mile to the starting point on the watch each time. Tried to keep it reasonable consistent at 6.00 min/mile pace and got them done. A 4 min jog recovery and then into the next set of intervals- 3 1000 metre repeats. Again managed to hit the 6.00 min/mile pace for first 2 but pace inevitably dropped on the last one through a mix of fatigue and a headwind.

Wednesday 12th- 11 miles endurance
Was supposed to be 12 but 4 miles in all of which are at the lower end 8.30 min/mile pace and for some reason I’m sweating buckets, feeling bit dizzy and just totally heavy legged. Pass over a hill at this point and the feeling slowly passes so I manage to up the pace and hit the 4 8.00 min/mile and 3 7.30 min/mile to finish up although it took way more out of me than it should have.

That night my wife and eldest 2 kids were at their cousins school show. She rang halfway thru it telling me she had vomited and her sister would be driving them home afterwards. They are just in the door when our youngest buck comes down the stairs saying he’s after getting sick in bed. Ah here!
Take Thursday off to be nurse so recovery run is lost but no big deal.

Friday 14th- 8 miles with hills and strides
Everyone was feeling better that morning so went to work and got this one done at lunchtime. 8 hill repeats of about 12 seconds were actually fun followed by 8 100 metre set of strides.

The weekend was supposed to feature a 15 mile endurance run but I started feeling unwell driving home that evening. Didn’t get sick but no appetite or energy and ended up going to bed at 7.30! Felt betterish the next day but still no energy so not a hope of attempting that run. The youngest lad was sick in bed again that night so Sunday ended up being a write off too.

Disappointed about all the missed runs those past 2 weekends but these things pop up. After all the clean ups it will be a long time before I can eat sweet corn or grapes again!

And on a final note my mum informed me that my cousin is getting married on his birthday. “Isn’t his birthday sometime in October”? Yeah it is I’m told, October 24th, the day before the Dublin marathon :mad:
He is a mate of mine as well as a cousin so it’s not one I can avoid. A quick google tells me the wedding venue is 86 miles from the start line so it’s not going to be an ideal pre race rest day. Normal people would probably say forget the race there will be others but I would be gutted to miss it.

Great running there Batman! :cool:
Hope your family is feeling better now. Vomiting bug is just awful. It can sweep through the house like dominos.

Not a chance I'd miss DCM for a wedding. The vegetarian option at weddings tends to be a pasta dish. Can you carb load there and after the meal, head to Dublin?

Comic Book Guy

Applegirl26 wrote: »

Great running there Batman! :cool:
Hope your family is feeling better now. Vomiting bug is just awful. It can sweep through the house like dominos.

Not a chance I'd miss DCM for a wedding. The vegetarian option at weddings tends to be a pasta dish. Can you carb load there and after the meal, head to Dublin?

Thanks L.

That's the option I'm thinking of right now and would make most sense if I'm to do Dublin which I still have my heart set on doing!

The Black Oil

You busy?

Comic Book Guy

The Black Oil wrote: »

You busy?

I'm always on call :pac:

Haven't updated the log in quite a while. Initially I was waiting to nail one full consistent weeks work but that kept slipping with missed runs and having to substitute a couple of sessions for general aerobic runs because of small niggles. Extremely frustrating at the time but only a minor detail compared to what we as a nation are dealing with at the moment.

Had been training for a couple of local half marathons at the end of this month and into April but obviously both of these are now postponed. Disappointing at the time but fairly inconsequential now.

The Longford Canal Run has been given a new date just 6 days after DCM so I'll be deferring that entry until next year. No new date for the Ros Run HM as of yet. They have given participants the option of running a virtual race and sending on the details to earn our medal and tee shirt. I initially scoffed at the idea but now giving it real consideration.
On the one hand I like the idea of racing with it just being me against my watch. On the other hand its just me against the watch! No fellow runners to work off when the going gets tough, no phantom footsteps gaining on me from behind to spur me on. Think it would be mentally tough to do it but maybe that would be a good thing? hhhmmm undecided!

After that block of training my next goal was a local 5K at the end of June which would have seen me then perfectly align into the 18 week P&D plan for DCM. Who knows what the next 3 months have in store though!

While initially I felt a drop in motivation with all the race cancellations going on I think I have come out the other side courtesy of the logs and threads in here and on Strava and seeing everyone else still getting out and putting together such consistent work.

Stay safe and healthy everyone.

"Tune in later- same bat-time, same bat-channel".

Comic Book Guy

Not updated/posted in here in quiet a while!

last Monday was due to be the start of the P & D 18 week marathon plan for DCM20 so for want of bringing some proper structure to my running again I said I'd dive in.

Monday 22nd June- I used the up to 50 mile plan last year but with carrying more mileage into this year to date in comparison with 2019 I said I'd move up a stage and look to start into the 50-70 mile/week plan. Ill probably end up bouncing between the 2 depending on available time etc.
To start off it was a 9 mile run with 4 miles to be done at HM pace. I had been hoping to get down in the 1:25 range for this distance in the spring but both the races I had signed up for went by the wayside. Anyways 6:30/mile seemed a nice round number to go with for these session.
I hadn't really touched speed work since the Mile TT organised in these parts and with it being a really windy day I decided to knock it back to 2 miles at HM pace to ease into the plan. Did the opening 3 miles at GA pace before easing into it. Ended up doing the 2 miles at 6:25 pace. Was going to push on for a 3rd mile but an open shoe lace made up my mind on this in the end. Just over 9 miles for the session averaging 7:38/mile.

Tuesday 23rd June- Got into work early and worked thru lunch meaning I could hit the road early and fit in an 11 mile run at GA. Nothing really noteworthy about the run except the laces on my Reeboks opening again, seems to happen regular enough with these but there is probably only a months running left in the pair so no biggie. Just over 11 miles at 8:00/mile.

Wednesday 24th June: 5 mile recovery run. Left it until after 9pm to do this one as my wife was on a long day at work. Gave my Adidas Boston 8s their debut for this one. Got them a month or so go in the online sale. Never wore them before but been bouncing between different types so said I'd give them a try. Luckily my size were sold out and moved up a half size as they are tighter fitting than my other pairs. Felt very tight across the arch of both feet putting them on but were fine once I hit the road. Love the "Continental" tyre logo on the soles! Average of 9:00/mile.

Thursday 25th June: 9 mile GA run. took in some of our local GAA club's half marathon route for this one. I didn't start from home though, instead started about 3 miles up the road after being out and about in the car. The most notable thing early on was the heat of the day, really muggy. About a mile in and my tee shirt starts to feel heavy and weird. I know it wasn't a good choice going with black on a day like this but that cant be it and it isn't. Because I changed in the car I had put on the tee shirt back to front! Managed to change it around mid run without stopping or dropping pace! Amazing how much better it felt the right way around! 3 miles into the run and I'm dying for a drink, so hot out! 5 miles in and I give consideration to a half empty bottle of coke I see discarded by the side of the road! Manage to get it done but so glad to get back to the car. The bonus of not keeping a neat and tidy interior is that I find a 500 ml bottle of water under the seat to go with the 250 I had left in my work bottle. Its warm but beggars most certainly aren't choosers today!

Friday 26th June: 14 miles at GA
Gave the canal run from Clondra a go for this. Haven't used it in a long time and since I've last used it they have upgraded the surface so previously dried clay parts are not hardcore. Really quiet run with just a few dog walkers and cyclists on it. Went about a mile and a half past by furthest point I've gone on this route. It eventually pops out a couple of miles outside Longford town. Instead of an out and make i could probably use it in future as a HM loop. Really warm and muggy again today but not as sunny as yesterday but I'm still glad to get back to the car and done. Average of 8:04/mile.

Saturday 27th: 5 mile recovery run in the rain. Another late start as my wife was working. Miserable out but once you start running you don't notice anymore. Simple out and back along the main road with barely any traffic for company. Average of 8:56/mile.

The canal half marathon I had initially signed up for in April is now rescheduled for the end of October. I messaged them the other day and they can change my entry to their full marathon race on the same day. It's a looped route along the canal banks so won't be the most exciting of events but better than nothing if it gets the go ahead! Because of it being on the week after Dublin was due to be it means i now have a spare week in this plan so I'll just repeat this first weeks work to get it back in sync.
My GAA club is having its 8k-HM-3/4 Marathon on 4 weeks before hand. I've done the 3/4 the last 2 years as it sat perfectly with the last LSR for Dublin. The extra week means I can do the 8k as a TT that's scheduled in the plan so I might be able to cross off doing a short distance race off the list finally!

Comic Book Guy

A bit of deja vu writing this weeks update since it was simply a repeat of the previous weeks work!

Monday 29th June- 9 miles with 4 @ 6:30 pace. A nice lunchtime run around my go to 9 mile loop. The majority of the route is a narrow one car width road and for the last mile and a half of the 4 pace miles a new road surface was being laid which meant I had to slow down a few times to squeeze by lorries and other machines but got the session done a bit faster than planned with splits of 6:23, 6:18, 6:23, and 6:20. Its always funny how GA pace feels so slow after finishing these pace runs in comparison to the slog it can sometimes feel at the start of the run!

Tuesday 30th June- Had to switch runs around here as my wife was on a long day so did a late night 5 mile recovery run. Nothing too exciting, biggest job was to get off the couch towards the end of the Utd game .Amazing how 1 player has transformed the team and the football they are playing. Long may it continue!

Wednesday 1st July- 11 miles at GA. Just a straight out and back along the N5. 2 miles in and I can see it lashing rain a few miles ahead and sure enough 15 mins later I'm drowned. Still a nice run around and while not ideal I far preferred this to a couple of last weeks runs where I was gasping for a drink!

Thursday 2nd July- 9 miles GA. Pulled in a few miles from home on the way back from work. Lovely day out for a run. Another quiet back road route where I think I only seen a couple of cyclists over the full 9 miles. Biggest thing was keeping the pace in check as I found my pace increasing a few times as my mind started to wander.

Friday 3rd July- 5 mile recovery run before dinner. Back into the Adidas Boston 8s for this one to continue the breaking in process. They still feel on the tight side along the sides of my feet. Didn't lace them as tight this time but sure enough I can feel that burning feeling behind my big toe on outside of my foot and have a small blister when I get home, first one I have got in ages.

Saturday 4th July- Independence Day! Out about half 7. Had intended getting out a bit earlier but kept hitting snooze and a few of the kids came down when I was about to leave so sorted them out for breakfast first.
A 15 mile run into and thru Longford town and back home. Nice misty morning for the first 3 miles but wasn't long warming up again after that but not uncomfortably so. Managed to keep it nice and steady the whole way round. Just a few cyclists and walkers out at various points. Kinda regret not having a go at one of the 10 TT after seeing all the stuff coming through on Strava and reading the reports. Well done everyone!

So that's the re synched Week 1 done, all going well and no covid second surge means only another 17 weeks to go :eek:

Lambay island

Some good training going on here!

Comic Book Guy

Lambay island wrote: »

Some good training going on here!

Thanks D, I'll wait to get over tomorrow's long run first before feeling it's s good start!

Enjoy the hols!

Comic Book Guy

July 6th- 8 miles with strides, 7:44/mile av.
WFH again today so head out at lunch time. Another out and back along the main N5. Thinking maybe I should invest in some headphones or something for these type runs as I'm getting tired of the same road and knowing exactly where the mile markers are! Nothing too exciting bar almost missing the rain but being caught in the last 15 minutes. 10 sets of 100 metre strides but I just do my usual thing of on for 20 seconds with a 40 second recovery and going again.

July 7th- 12 miles GA, 7:53 min/mile av.
My wife and kids were gone to her sisters for a sleepover so had the house to myself- bliss!! Horrible wet day out meant I kept putting off the run in the hope that it would clear but no such luck. I eventually grasped the nettle at half 4 and set off. Definitely not a route for headphones as majority is on quiet narrow country roads. I'm soaked 50 metres after leaving the house but I like running in the rain once you get over the initial start. A more comfortable long run than the last couple of weeks so hopefully the legs are getting back their muscle memory!

July 8th- 5 miles recovery, 9:01 min/mile av.
Out and back along the main road again- boring! I don't know if its a mind set thing or what but always have the feeling during these recovery runs of how am I supposed to run 1 min/mile faster the following day!

July 9th- 9 miles GA, 7:49 min/mile av.
A trip around my go to route for this distance after day in the office. Nothing too exciting apart from a few clowns not really slowing on the new road surface when passing me meaning I get a nice scatter of loose chips onto the legs!

July 10th- 5 miles recovery, 8:58 min/mile av.
Boring!

July 11th- 16 miles, 7:35 min/mile av.
Was supposed to throw in 8 miles at 7:00 min/mile or bit under. Really poor night sleep the night before for whatever reason meant I didn't have the energy for full 8 miles so made do with a 4 mile block through and around Longford town and another 2 mile block on the way home into a nice headwind. Bit disappointed not to see the 8 miles through but its probably shone a light on how poor my sleep pattern has been since Covid lockdown became a thing, staying up late most nights watching films and working my way through Red Dead Redemption 2! Definitely something I have to take more heed of from now on.

Treviso

Is the 7min/mile pace your planned marathon pace J?

Comic Book Guy

Treviso wrote: »

Is the 7min/mile pace your planned marathon pace J?

Not sure yet T, waiting to get stuck into the LT element of the plan to see how I'm fixed. Another 4 weeks of basically base training before I start at that.
What races have ya in the diary yourself?

Treviso

Comic Book Guy wrote: »

Not sure yet T, waiting to get stuck into the LT element of the plan to see how I'm fixed. Another 4 weeks of basically base training before I start at that.
What races have ya in the diary yourself?

Ah grand so, still up in the air so. My OH followed the 50-70 mile P&D for DCM last year. It's very similar to the one we did but with loads and loads of extra easy miles

With Charleville cancelled, my OH signed me up to Ratoath HM. It's on the same weekend so shouldn't affect my plans. Hopefully it goes ahead

Comic Book Guy

Treviso wrote: »

Ah grand so, still up in the air so. My OH followed the 50-70 mile P&D for DCM last year. It's very similar to the one we did but with loads and loads of extra easy miles

With Charleville cancelled, my OH signed me up to Ratoath HM. It's on the same weekend so shouldn't affect my plans. Hopefully it goes ahead

What did she think of the plan T? Had she done the lower mileage one prior to that?

Treviso

Comic Book Guy wrote: »

What did she think of the plan T? Had she done the lower mileage one prior to that?

Yea she had done the lower mileage plan previously. She said it was more of the same except a few more reps added to sessions, extra miles added to midweek and weekend's MLRs. She recommend that you add hill sprints into the plan as it is lacking there. So where it advises strides, you could alternate between them and 20sec hill sprints.

As with every P&d plan, there was struggles with the LT runs and general mileage fatigue. But it all worked out for her in the end, finished well ahead of me and only 3 mins behind yourself

Comic Book Guy

Treviso wrote: »

Yea she had done the lower mileage plan previously. She said it was more of the same except a few more reps added to sessions, extra miles added to midweek and weekend's MLRs. She recommend that you add hill sprints into the plan as it is lacking there. So where it advises strides, you could alternate between them and 20sec hill sprints.

As with every P&d plan, there was struggles with the LT runs and general mileage fatigue. But it all worked out for her in the end, finished well ahead of me and only 3 mins behind yourself

Cheers T.

Comic Book Guy

Haven't updated in a couple of weeks so might as well put an entry in now when my WFH account is locked again!

July 13th- 13 miles GA.
Nice morning run taking in the majority of our local half marathon course route. Just a matter of putting the head down and chugging through the miles.

July 14th- 11 miles GA
An out and back along the N5. Thanks to a strong wind it was a tale of 2 halves....into the wind to start felt like a bit of an effort especially climbing the hill at the last half mile before turning around and almost coasting home.

July 15th- 5 mile recovery run
always find these runs a bit of a drag and a bit boring tbh. About a mile into it my local mechanic pulled in beside me for a chat. He had done a few jobs on my car a few weeks previously and I ha told him to let me know the damage but this was the first time I had seen him since. 500 quid :eek: My boring recovery run had ended up costing me 100 euro per mile!!

July 16th- 9 miles with 4 @ 6:30 pace.
I'm always apprehensive about these sessions as they come after a session where I find a way slower pace a bit tough and I'm wondering how I'm supposed to be x:xx/mile quicker. Nice day out for it anyways so I once again selected my go to 9 mile loop. 2 miles at GA pace to warm up and then I'm into it. Ended up bouncing along nicely although pace was hard to judge with a wind that was against me and with me for different sections so ended up looking at my watch a fair bit to try and stay on pace.
Despite this I ended up doing the 4 miles on the fast side with splits of 6:20, 6:16, 6:13, and 6:22. Strava gives me a 3rd fastest 5K so there's that but I would hope to be tighter to the required paces for the next attempt.

July 17th- 5 mile recovery run. No sign of any debtors today :pac:

July 18th- 15 miles GA
Another nice morning out so cross the Shannon and hit into Longford for a loop thru the town and back home again. Nothing too exciting about it. Noticeable the amount of caravans, roof racks etc heading West! Met a strava friend starting into his cycle on the home leg. Met him again 4 hours later still speeding around while I was coming home from the ALDI run!

Comic Book Guy

July 20th- 10 miles GA with hill sprints
The plan had strides but I changed it to hill sprints on the advice of Treviso. Took in my usual 9 mile route for this one. About half a mile before the short steep hill I was going to use for the sprints I had to stop for quick toilet break. Bad idea, real warm out and I was sweating so about 20 bloody flies honed in on me. Had the annoying pricks for company until I got to the hill. Did 10 sprints up this short incline (about 13 seconds to get to the top). Kept losing them during the sprint before they would start whacking into me on the recovery jog to the bottom! Still had them for company for the next mile before I got out of the tree lined road and after that the breeze knocked them back.
The run was supposed to be 9 miles but I forgot to factor in the running up and down the hill!

July 22nd- 14 miles GA
I was supposed to do this run the previous day but we took the kids on a day trip to Bundoran to beat the monotony!
Nothing too exciting about this one. Just into Longford town along the bypass and back again. average of 7:55/mile.

July 23rd- 9 miles GA
Back in the office today so did this one during an extended lunch break. Lovely day out so an enjoyable run out on the quiet road through Mote Park. Only discovered I was supposed to do 11 miles when I checked the book that night, ah well no real harm done! Average of 7:57/mile.

July 24th- 5 mile recovery run
Jut the usual out and back along the main road hard shoulder. Average of 8:58/mile.

July 25th- 18 miles GA
Longest run since the marathon last October. Had forgotten about stashing a water bottle somewhere so had a free choice on which way to go once I got to the top of our lane. Decided to turn left and head around the bog and the 9 mile loop. Added in some other loops off this one to make up the miles. Not too warm out so not having any water wasn't really an issue. Felt comfortable throughout. Nice one to get under the belt. Average of 7:50 per mile.

Treviso

Comic Book Guy wrote: »

July 20th- 10 miles GA with hill sprints
The plan had strides but I changed it to hill sprints on the advice of Treviso. Took in my usual 9 mile route for this one. About half a mile before the short steep hill I was going to use for the sprints I had to stop for quick toilet break. Bad idea, real warm out and I was sweating so about 20 bloody flies honed in on me. Had the annoying pricks for company until I got to the hill. Did 10 sprints up this short incline (about 13 seconds to get to the top). Kept losing them during the sprint before they would start whacking into me on the recovery jog to the bottom! Still had them for company for the next mile before I got out of the tree lined road and after that the breeze knocked them back.
The run was supposed to be 9 miles but I forgot to factor in the running up and down the hill!

July 22nd- 14 miles GA
I was supposed to do this run the previous day but we took the kids on a day trip to Bundoran to beat the monotony!
Nothing too exciting about this one. Just into Longford town along the bypass and back again. average of 7:55/mile.

July 23rd- 9 miles GA
Back in the office today so did this one during an extended lunch break. Lovely day out so an enjoyable run out on the quiet road through Mote Park. Only discovered I was supposed to do 11 miles when I checked the book that night, ah well no real harm done! Average of 7:57/mile.

July 24th- 5 mile recovery run
Jut the usual out and back along the main road hard shoulder. Average of 8:58/mile.

July 25th- 18 miles GA
Longest run since the marathon last October. Had forgotten about stashing a water bottle somewhere so had a free choice on which way to go once I got to the top of our lane. Decided to turn left and head around the bog and the 9 mile loop. Added in some other loops off this one to make up the miles. Not too warm out so not having any water wasn't really an issue. Felt comfortable throughout. Nice one to get under the belt. Average of 7:50 per mile.

Hey J, are you doing all GA runs instead of the MLRs or you just calling them GA? From spying on your Strava, I'm not sure you're doing the MLRs correctly if you are. They should be like a progress run, where you start at around MP+20% and work your way towards MP+10% (sometimes throwing a MP mile at the end for confidence building). That's how I read the book anyway

Let say you were looking at sub 3, I would break the long run into 3 parts. First section at 8:12, second at 7:51, last bit at 7:31

Comic Book Guy

Treviso wrote: »

Hey J, are you doing all GA runs instead of the MLRs or you just calling them GA? From spying on your Strava, I'm not sure you're doing the MLRs correctly if you are. They should be like a progress run, where you start at around MP+20% and work your way towards MP+10% (sometimes throwing a MP mile at the end for confidence building). That's how I read the book anyway

Let say you were looking at sub 3, I would break the long run into 3 parts. First section at 8:12, second at 7:51, last bit at 7:31

Great spot T, thanks a million for pointing it out.

I don't know how I missed that ,actually I do because I just flicked to the actual plan pages and started from there without actually reading back through the run descriptions. Have a 15 mile run this weekend so will start doing them properly from then.

I better read back through the book to see what other mistakes I've made

Comic Book Guy

July 27th- 9 miles with 5 @6:30 pace
Back to my usual 9 mile bogside loop for this one. Traffic was busy along the main road so wasn't able to cross over at the usual point so just kept going and did it anti clockwise for a change.
2 miles at 8:00 pace and then into the speedy stuff. The usual struggle with breathing and honing in on the correct pace for the first minute of so but after that its reasonably comfortable. Manage to dial the splits in pretty well with 6:32, 6:25, 6:25, 6:23, 6:26 to show. Glad its 5 and not 6 all the same.
Average of 7:07/mile.

July 28th- 5 mile recovery run.
Straight up and down along the N5 at 8:55/mile.

July 29th- 14 miles GA
I mix up the route a bit today just to break the monotony. Run into and out of a few different cul de sacs on the Longford side of the Shannon. Finding these middle distance type runs a lot more comfortable than 5 or 6 weeks ago so the base building must be taking effect. Average of 7:53/mile.

July 30th- 11 miles GA
Pull in a few miles from home after day in the office. Take in more bogside roads for this one. Small bit of tiredness early on but it doesn't take long to leave the legs. Fairly humid out which reminds me that I must remember to bring a wrist band out in future. Average of 7:53/mile.

August 1st- 18 miles with 9 @6:50
Was supposed to do a 5 mile easy run the previous day but this fell by the wayside with few different things at home and kids GAA being back.
Had meant to stash a water bottle somewhere along the route but totally forgot. Have a few Maurteen gels still left over from last year so took one before setting off, expiry is April 2020 but chanced it anyways.
4 miles at GA and then into it shortly before Longford Town FC ground. As per usual I find the first minute or so tough and I'm wondering how I'm going to last but that soon settles down and I just take it mile by mile. Take a different route out of the town to link up to the N4 but spend a lot of it second guessing myself as the road gets narrower and narrower and thinking I've managed to get lost! The 9 miles finishes up just past the soccer ground again and the splits are in a range from 6:51 to 6:46 with the exception of the very first one at 6:54. Its only when I look at the book later than I see I made a mistake and it was supposed to be 10 miles at 6:50 pace

Last couple of miles and I can feel a funny rubbing feeling on the outside of my big toe and think I'm getting a blister. A small bit further down the road and I can hear a small squelch type sound with every step, I didn't cut one of my toe nails properly and its cut the toe beside it. its like that scene from Psycho when I step into the shower!!
Average of 7:20 /mile.

August 2nd- 5 mile recovery run
I decide to make up for Fridays lost run by doing it on Sunday morning instead. Nice run just to ease out the legs after yesterdays effort. Small bit more blood in the sock after it! Average of 8:52/mile.

Last couple of weeks I've noticed a small bit of pain under one of my knee caps towards the end of some of the longer runs but more so later that day while sitting on the couch. Dr Google tells me it may be Patella Tendonitis so going to keep an eye on it and do some exercises for that area.

Step back week this week so fits in well.

Lambay island

Fair play J. Some great runs you are putting in. Now, if only you learned how to read the plan

Comic Book Guy

August 3rd- 12 Miles GA

Haven't ran along the Royal Canal in a while so decided to take that route today. Very warm muggy day out (It's fierce close as we would say locally!). Good few cyclists and dog walkers making use of the walk way along the canal for the 3 miles or so that the route takes in. Nothing else too exciting to report, just a matter of chugging out the miles.
Average of 7:56/mile.

August 4th- 8 miles GA with strides

The older 2 kids first day at Cul Camp so head out for this one after they are dropped off and have a clean up done at home. Just an out and back along the N5. Bit of fatigue early on but it soon passes. Start the strides around the 6 mile mark, supposed to be 10 by 100 metres, I just substitute tem as a 20 second burst for handiness. Nice to feel the burst of speed even it is just in short bursts!
Average of 7:42 min/mile.

August 6th- 10 miles GA.

Was supposed to do a 5 mile recovery run once my wife got back from work but had been up a fair bit the night before with our eldest having a stomach bug so was too tired and lazy to head out.
Did this run on the way home from day in the office. Took in the bog side circuit with a small 1 mile mini loop added in along the way to make up the distance. Really warm and muggy out again and my old mates the frantic flies are back on my case at the usual spot. No strides or hill sprints today so no chance to ditch them so have them for company for a couple of miles, head wreckers!
Average of 7:52 min/mile.

August 7th- 5 mile recovery run
Just the usual handy out and back along the N5. Just about get finished before a decent thunder shower hits.
Average of 8:50/mile.

August 8th- 15 mile long run
Thanks to Treviso I did a quick catch up on the run descriptions for the plan!
Broke this one up into equal parts: 5 miles @ 8:10, 5 @ 7:50, 5 miles @ 7:30. It definitely took away the monotonous feel from the run. Headed into Longford for the route along the by pass and then back into the town for this one. Really foggy out when I started but pretty warm out already and the sun has pretty much all the fog burnt off when I'm homeward bound. Pretty quiet out with the exception of a few cyclists at different points.
Enjoyable run all the same, probably ran the latter 5 a bit on the quick side going closer to 7:20 than 7:30.
Average of 7:47/mile.

August 9th- 5 mile recovery run
Did this one to make up for the midweek run I missed out on. Also a nice excuse for a short break from the house, we had my wife's 2 nieces over for a sleepover- a 3 year old and a 1 year old. Had forgotten how much work they can be at that age in terms of having an almost constant eyes on policy!
Headed out as soon as their mum landed, also handy as I knew the 3 year old was going to have a mini melt down about not being able to stay an extra day and so it proved :pac:
Average of 8:51/mile.

And so that's the Endurance part of the plan covered. Now to move onto the section labelled Endurance and Lactate Threshold

OOnegative

Ah the good auld Midlands saying “It’s fierce close”!!!

Comic Book Guy

OOnegative wrote: »

Ah the good auld Midlands saying “It’s fierce close”!!!

Just one scale below "horrid close"!

Comic Book Guy

August 10th- 10 miles with 5 @ 6:30 pace.

Usual feeling of dread over this type run! 3 miles at GA pace as a warm up before getting into it. Pace a bit all over the shop early on but eventually settle into it. Warm out again but not too bad. It being 5 miles means I can mentally update my % progress easily as a form of distraction. Splits are 6:24, 6:22, 6:21, 6:19, and 6:21. On the pacey side but it'll do.
Average of 7:09/mile.

Playing footie out in the garden that evening with young lad and rolled my ankle while walking across the drive to collect a stray pass. Oh the initial pain, had to lie down for a couple of mins to let it pass. Have previously partially torn ligaments in the same ankle a few times donkeys years ago. Ice pack on it for a while and luckily it feels ok.

August 11th- 5 miles @ easy

Small it of swelling on my ankle when I wake up but it's fine to walk about on etc. I'd be doing a roll eyes if I seen it written in anyone elses log but I hit out that night for these easy miles. No pain in the ankle at the start so I press on and it holds up throughout.
Average of 8:55/mile.

August 12th- 14 mile progression.
A gentle progression run split into 3 parts, same as last week. 4 @ 8:10, 5 @ 7:50, and 5 @ 7:30.
Decide to hit over for Newtownforbes, never been too far in this road apart from Longford HM last year. New route is a nice distraction, some decent drags along it but benefit from these too since it's an out and back. Ankle is still tiny bit swollen but no discomfort from it.
Spend much of it wondering how Ronnie is getting on in the snooker v nemesis Selby!
Average of 7:45/mile.

August 13th- 11 miles GA
Did this one again after day back in the office. Really warm out and probably the first run in the plan to date where I had a mental motivation battle about whether I could be bothered or not to actually do this one. Knew I'd be thick with myself later on if I gave it a miss so pushed on and did it.
Just an out and back along a few different quiet roads, nothing of interest about for entirety of the run.
Average of 7:51/mile.

August 14th- 7 miles GA with hill sprints.
Head out late afternoon for this one after the electricity went while I was watching the first snooker semi final. Heading out earlier than planned also meant it was only couple of hours since dinner which today was a full Irish grill. Trust me, it ain't s good pre race meal! Could feel sausages and pudding sitting right at the very top of my stomach the whole way round!
An out and back to a short but fairly steep hill for the sprints. Did 10 reps and thankfully my dinner stayed in place!
Average of 7:45/mile.

August 15th- 20 mile run

Oh this was a horrible run and all of my own making. The previous 2 18 mile runs I had without stashing water along the route and it wasnt an issue so i fidnt bother to do so for this one thinking an extra 2 miles wouldnt make any difference.
What I had forgot to factor in was that I was starting this one 2 and a half hours later than those runs. To compound my mistake I only had s point of water in the 3 hours before hitting out.

First 7 miles were fine, all done at the required 8:10 pace. At this point it was really warm and my t shirt is already fairly wet with sweat. At the 9 mile mark I start running up a road in a neighbouring parish that I hadn't been up before just to extend put the run. Paces for these miles were still fine at the 7:50 pace but at the turnaround point I'm absolutely dying for a drink and I still have 8 miles to go. Pass a few cyclists and it's a killer seeing their water bottles so close but yet so far!
Into the last 7 miles and I up the pace to 7:30 . Manage to keep this pace for 3 miles but then have to make a pee stop, surprised I have any remaining moisture in my body!! Takes me a few minutes to actually get going again. Ease back on the pace just to make sure I can see the run thru. Cursing the crap land around me meaning there isnt even a cattle trough available for relief, oh yes I was that desperate! Eventually get home with just over 20 miles done, was supposed to be 21 but that extra mile could get well and truly bent at that stage.
Really annoyed and disappointed at that run but I guess it's a painful lesson learnt.
Average of 7:51/mile.

Lambay island

Dam water issues.....One of my DCM training runs in a dark early October last year.(may have been a 16 miler). I had one of those running bottles which has the hand groove and with a black lid on it. I was doing an 8 mile out and back job, so had a bit of water first and stashed bottle on the route then for the way back to pick up. The pick up was hasty and I barely changed stride. Without looking, I proceeded to take a sip. To my utter horror, I felt something slimey cross my lips. I spat out instantly to see a slug hurdle through the air. I was telling that to Laineyfrecks on a warmup run in Bohermeen and she nearly got sick there and then

Comic Book Guy

Lambay island wrote: »

Dam water issues.....One of my DCM training runs in a dark early October last year.(may have been a 16 miler). I had one of those running bottles which has the hand groove and with a black lid on it. I was doing an 8 mile out and back job, so had a bit of water first and stashed bottle on the route then for the way back to pick up. The pick up was hasty and I barely changed stride. Without looking, I proceeded to take a sip. To my utter horror, I felt something slimey cross my lips. I spat out instantly to see a slug hurdle through the air. I was telling that to Laineyfrecks on a warmup run in Bohermeen and she nearly got sick there and then

That's nasty D! And here I am making dinner right now!

Laineyfrecks

Lambay island wrote: »

Dam water issues.....One of my DCM training runs in a dark early October last year.(may have been a 16 miler). I had one of those running bottles which has the hand groove and with a black lid on it. I was doing an 8 mile out and back job, so had a bit of water first and stashed bottle on the route then for the way back to pick up. The pick up was hasty and I barely changed stride. Without looking, I proceeded to take a sip. To my utter horror, I felt something slimey cross my lips. I spat out instantly to see a slug hurdle through the air. I was telling that to Laineyfrecks on a warmup run in Bohermeen and she nearly got sick there and then

Oh my god it has made my stomach turn again...thanks for the recap D

Comic Book Guy

August 17th- 6 miles @ easy

Night time run with the hi vis on for this one once my wife got home from work. Really quiet out, was able to run a lot of it in the middle of the N5 for the craic! no real carry over from the long one on Saturday but still glad it was at an easy pace.
Average of 8:53/mile.

August 18th- 14 mile progression run

Decided to try a new out and back route for this one to our neighbouring village- Rooskey (also our GAA club rivals!). I don't run on this road as its one of those busy back roads without any road markings and no hard shoulder and has 2 really bad bends on it. However it was before lunch time so opted for it on the spur of the moment.
Usual 3 blocks of paces- 4 @ 8:10, 5 @ 7:50 and final 5 @ 7:30.
The new route made a nice change, and got around the 2 bad bends in one piece both on the outward and homeward journey.
Average of 7:44/mile.

August 19th- 5 miles @ easy

Usual out and back along the N5. Brought a head lamp to go with the hi vis for another night time run.
Average of 9:02/mile.

August 21st- 11 miles with 6@ 6:30
Was supposed to do this run the previous day but we spent the day at home doing a big clean and I was wrecked after it!
So did it on Friday instead after a day in the office. Did my usual thing of pulling in few miles up the road from home and setting off around the bog loop. 3 miles at GA pace and then into it. Tough first mile and a bit into a strong head wind. Then turned left so it was coming on fully sideways and eventually it was helping me out for a mile or so towards the end. Felt pretty comfortable the whole way round bar the first mile, the day off really helped! Splits were 6:34, 6:25, 6:30, 6:25, 6:23, 6:29. Third best 10k time too as per Strava.
Average of 7:04 min/mile.

August 22nd- 20 mile long run

Had intentions of heading out before 7 for this one but it was absolutely belting rain so delayed it for about an hour. Bit wary of the distance this time due to the session the previous afternoon but the miles flew by thankfully.
Helped big time having stashed a water bottle at the 5 mile mark (no accompanying slugs D!!), was able to use a 5+ mile loop twice to get back to it during the run. Also stashed a left over Maurteen gel from last year that I found at the back of my kit drawer. Out of date since April but did the trick!
A lot cooler than last weekend so wasn't drowned in sweat this time either.
Nothing else too exciting about apart from the re introduction of post long run Chocolate Milk- the kids and I were delighted!! :pac:
Average of 7:47/mile.

August 23rd- 3.5 miles @ easy

Was supposed to be 5 miles but brought the young lad out with me on his bike for his first time on the proper road so didn't want to go over board on him. Slower run as a result but no harm!
Average of 9:31/mile.