The main thing is keeping the main thing, the main thing

Laineyfrecks · 26-07-2021 6:01pm

All the best with your recovery, listen to the body & take it easy as long as you have to!

Treviso · 26-07-2021 6:27pm

Sorry to hear this, seriously unfortunate timing. All the best with the recovery A; plenty of time left to Manchester.

AuldManKing · 03-08-2021 6:46pm

Now, where was I...........

Oh yes - in hospital after my near death experience.

Well, like someone else - on the 3rd day I rose again (- it was actually 4 days - but it ruins the tagline).

I met the dietitian and the consultant (again) on Monday evening - from a diet perspective, I was told that my next 2 weeks would be everything unhealthy that I dont normally eat - no fiber, no seeds - so in came white bread, white pasta, white rice - out went veg, fruit, brown bread, whoewheat everything, porridge etc.

We had a pre-planned trip to Belfast planned - so I ran that by the doctor and the dietitian and got the ok (alcohol was also ok in moderation!!) - so spent Thursday & Friday in Belfast with the family.

At this stage I hadn't ran in more than a week and was gettin very itchy feet. Home on Saturday and threw on the runners for what I thought would be a nice easy run.

Good Jebus -it felt like I hadn't ran in a month - never mind 9 days. The next few days runs felt the same - I guess it'll take time to build it up.

July 31st: 6.5m 8.43 pace

Aug 1st: 7.7m 8.24 pace

Aug 2nd: 8m 8.23 pace.

Aug 3rd: 6m 8.42 pace (Quads pretty tired today for some reason - so kept it to 6 and not 8 - all on the flat and mostly on grass)

So - 10 weeks to Manchester - so much going on in my head.

Train away and do it - whatever the result.
Train for next few weeks and see how it goes.
Make the call now and drop out - build up again and go again in spring.

Will probably see how the next 3 week go 1st - see what shape I get myself into and decide.

Thanks for the texts & comments - greatly appreciated.

healy1835 · 03-08-2021 9:39pm

Pace a friend for x distance in Manchester

AuldManKing · 03-08-2021 9:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117701912#Comment_117701912

If said Friend paid for my flights and accommodation for the privilege of me pacing, then its a consideration :p

Murph_D · 04-08-2021 8:54am

Missed the drama - sorry to hear of those difficulties, Alan. You seem to be recovering well. Interesting that it happened following the diet changes - any connection? I'm sure the coach can get you back on track, I wouldn't think all is lost by any means considering the shape you've been in.

Wubble Wubble · 04-08-2021 9:21am

Glad to hear the recovery is going well. Hard to resist the temptation to quickly return to previous training paces no doubt. Best of luck with it !

ariana` · 04-08-2021 2:38pm

It's hard to withdraw from a race at any time but especially after the year+ we've had with no races! I'd probably do it, assuming you are ok now to pick up training again? How lofty is the goal, or how devastated would you feel if you had to adjust it? What are the other race options down the road? These would be the things I'd be thinking about... but ultimately if it isn't going against medical advice then I'd probably just rely on all the good training done prior to the bad luck of recent times.

Wishing you a continued speedy recovery & quick return to normal fitness A.

browne_rob5 · 04-08-2021 2:47pm

Sorry to read this Alan but glad to hear you are on the mend. Think it makes sense to give yourself a few weeks before making a decision.

Dubh Geannain · 05-08-2021 4:39pm

Maybe not Jesus but Lazarus (I think he was 4 days) would be proud of that quick recovery all the same. Great to read you're on the mend.

ThebitterLemon · 05-08-2021 6:39pm

Glad to see you recovered.

I haven’t been on here much the new format is shockingly sh1t!!!

TbL

AuldManKing · 11-08-2021 11:03am

I must say - I was tempted to not update again - I'm not liking the new format - even reading updates is not as smooth as it should be.

August 4th: 12x12 sec hill sprints - legs felt somewhat normal on the run down to St Marys hospital. The hill sprints went well, but I knew I'd have the warm glute feeling for a couple of days afterwards.

9m total

August 5th: Rest day.

Fri August 6th: an easy lap of the park after work - one of my fav runs - threw in some strides half way through.

7miles/8.08 pace.

Sat 7th: Session 6mTempo

I got really ahead of myself here, thinking that 6m would be easy enough - even went as far as doing a route for an 8m Tempo.

Done a 4m WU with strides and set off on the tempo - by mile 3 I had a stitch and was going backwards - so I took a 3min recovery.

Tried to get going again, but the body was saying 'NO' - I was really despondent at this stage, I was quitting running and everything :)

I came to the park and just said I'd do a couple more miles at whatever pace I could muster then jog home.

I ended up with 15 miles in total at 7.33 pace - so not a wasted workout at all. Obviously my body was not ready for longer sustained periods of running.

The tempo pieces were;

3m T: 6.12/ 6.17 / 6.27 (3min R)

0.6m: 6.40 pace - (4min recovey + a 5min head down depressed walk thinking about my glory days of running being over)

2mT: 6.26 / 6.22

Sunday: Quads were a bit sore on this run - done a shorter recovery run - 5.7m /8.30 pace.

Monday: easy to the Park and home. 7.5m / 8.16 pace

Tuesday 10th Aug: Session: 7x7mins (3 mins)

This session was a good one to have - it would give me a good long run with a good few miles at faster than MP - the fact that they were broken tempos were a very good thing as I really like these and would happily do them in place of the longer tempo runs.

20min WU and strides and set off from CK Gate - most of the reps were around the 2m loop that I use.

I had a pace of 6.10 in mind (Guidance here is 10-15 secs faster than MP) but I knew that the 3min recoveries were generous for this pace and rep distance.

Completed all reps in about 6min/mile pace which I was very happy with. I kept the recovery pace decent too - 7.45's for the 1st 4 recoveries and 8.20's for the last 2.

All led to a very good session - those 'generous' 3 min recoveries - I needed every second of the last recovery as I was close to cooked.

I felt like I had done a strong session as I was knackered for the evening and made sure to eat & drink appropriately.

15miles (6.55 ave pace)

I need a couple of more weeks of sessions like this to get the confidence that I can toe the startline at Manchester

healy1835 · 11-08-2021 12:30pm

Nicely done AMK 👍 7x1.2ish miles @6min pace is nothing to be sniffed at. Fitness is still there right below the surface anyway.

New format isn't fantastic...but is it so bad as to finish off most of the A&R posters? Forum on it's last legs by the looks of things 😔

AuldManKing · 11-08-2021 1:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117737294#Comment_117737294

Maybe I'll keep it going - with less people around, I might win log of the year eventually or even race report of the year :)

AuldManKing · 16-08-2021 9:53am

Wednesday 11th: Rest day

Thursday: The start of a manic few days for me as wifey was going away, I needed to bring daughter number 2 to train station as she was going to Mayo and then go back to hospital for a checkup. As well as go back inot the office for a few hours for the 1st time in a long time.

Got out early for this one.

7.4m / 8.25 pace

Friday: Extremely Busy day in work meant I didn't get out til after 7 for this run. Still managed to walk the dog afterwards but pizza for dinner at 9pm isn't ideal prep for tomorrows long run. Went to bed absolutly knackered.

Had a good chat with coach today and we reset our targets for Manchester and beyond. He helped allay my fears about it being very close to race date.

If things pick up in the coming weeks, we may revisit - but for now the target is set.

7m/8.40 pace

Saturday: Still working a bit on Sat morning, so didn't get out til near 12'ish - I expected to be out in torrential rain, but it wasn't too bad and mainly stayed away after the 1st 15-20 mins.

The session was for 14m at 6.50-6.55 - slower than MP but a good 'structural run' to support the upcoming MP efforts.

2m WU - with the 2nd mile being a very easy 7.20 bode well for the effort ahead - I knew it would be a good day during the WU. (normally my WU miles are slowish).

The coach was saying to me about starting this at 7's and working down (reminding me of my tendancy to start fast) - I smiled at this as the 1st mile beeped at 6.39.

I settled into a very nice rhythm soon afterwards at about 6.45's and seriously it felt like I was jogging - HR was in the low 150's.

I decided after about 7 miles to run over to the hilly part of the park and go up Military and up the Upper Glen Road for additional stimulus, rather than stay on the flat.

The hillier parts did make it feel like more of an effort and certainly worked to fatigue the legs faster, HR was upto 160's at this stage. I came back around by the North Road for the final 3 miles and pushed on slightly to make up for the fact that it was a downhill finish to the zoo. Finished with 6.40/6.39/6.29 for a good 14m effort.

I took 2 gels during the run to test them out - the Maurten went down fine at 7m without water - the Torq was pure sweet syrup - wont be using these again.

Certainly gave me confidence as I've kinda struggled with these efforts previously.

2m cool down.

18 miles total.

Sunday 15th: Legs a bit tired at the start, but got going- kept the pace nice and easy.

7.1m / 8.45 pace.

62 miles for the week - highest mileage week since Nov 2020 believe it or not. Typically I'm a 70-75m at this stage for the Marathon - so it'll be interesting to see how it goes.

AuldManKing · 18-08-2021 12:51pm

Boards is a bit of a ghost town - but I'll continue to log until Manchester and then see.

Monday: an 8m loop down to the PP and back - Listening to one of a couple of Spurs Podcasts about the victory v City. I avoided any podcasts concerning Dublin GAA. Positive affirmations only allowed :)

8m / 8.16 pace

Tuesday: Session - 10x(3/1/1/3) - Lactate Shuttles - affectionately known as Grenades in the training group as you'll blow up doing them. (Blowing up is actually important - if you dont, then you paced it wrong)

The idea of the session is to train the body to shunt lactate around the body - the paces for the session are;

3m at 10k pace / 1min shuffle / 1 mi at 5k / 3min easy.

The sesson is quite easy early on - 10k pace for 3 mins is not that difficult - the important thing is to run at the right paces so you get the correct reaction. For this reason the 1 min shuffle after the 10k pace is important.

I done this all on the 2 mile loop Chesterfield/North Road/ Old Lamp Road - 5 laps! with a 20min WU/CD either side.

10k paces were 5.45-5.50 / 5k paces 5.30-35 / Shuffle was exactly that and the 3min easy around 8.00-8.30.

All was going well - I remember thinking on the 7th rep that I could do this all day and not blow up.

On the 8th rep, I noted a bit of tiredness creeping in.

The 9th rep was tough and the 10th rep - kaboom - the 10k/5k segments were the slowest of the 10.

Mission accomplished.

The overall session worked out at 16 miles - which is what I want to be doing at this stage.

16m total at 7.11 ave.

Saturdays session is 13m at 6.25-6.30 as part of a 19m run.

Definitely in a better place now than some weeks ago. Confidence is rising.

Murph_D · 18-08-2021 9:59pm

Shunt lactate? How does that work? 🧐

AuldManKing · 19-08-2021 9:59am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117773823#Comment_117773823

'Shunt' is probably the wrong term - Shuttle is a more appropriate term. The workout is trying to train the body to be more efficient at:

Faster Rep: Body increases lactate

Slower Rep: Shuttles lactate and reuses it as energy.

We've a lady in our training group who has a PHD in all things lactate (no, not a Doctor of Lactate........) who gave an interesting presentation on this recently. (Shunt is a different term for a different workout)

Maxxx17 · 19-08-2021 11:02am

You guys are pretty funny. LOL.

AuldManKing · 19-08-2021 11:16am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117775200#Comment_117775200

thanks for the valuable insight Max.

AuldManKing · 23-08-2021 11:27am

Wednesday: Rest day.

Thursday: an early 8m - cant really recall it.

8m/8.20 pace

Friday: 7m down to the park and back

7m/8.15 pace

Saturday: session - 3WU/ 13 6.25-6.30/ 3CD

Prepared well for this one - I knew it was important to get it done, both for the pace and for the mileage. The thoughts of the pace didn't phase me having done 14 at 6.40 pace the previous week.

I drove to the PP and set of on the warm up - wearing the Endorphin Pro 2's - I was finding them very slippy on the PP surface and didn't fancy doing the session with that on my mind - something similar happened a while back that resulted in me getting a slight quad strain.

So I hightailed it back to the car and drove home to change into the Next %. I was sweating buckets at this stage, given the humidity.

Started the session close to the house and was finding 6.25's tough from the off. I reckoned I'd get a 2nd wind after a few miles, but I was struggling.

1st 4m were 6.26/6.26/6.25/6.28 and I knew that I was not going to do 9 more. On the 5th mile I was really forcing the pace and the effort was certainly higher than MP. I took a reset for 2 mins and tried to get going again, but the body was having none of it after another mile.

Decided to not continue (as I couldn't) and just jogged home.

2 weeks prior to this - the coach and I had a conversation around Manchester - his advice then was to not do it. He reckoned I'd be forcing the pace and it could lead to injury or illness. We compromised on the pace and that led to the previous 2 weeks training where I did churn out some good sessions.

However - the fitness wont be there in time to give Manchester a good rattle - it would be a gamble to keep going for another few weeks - do the race and then spend 3-5 weeks recovering from what could be a great race or a sh1te race. , so we agreed to change approach for the coming months and focus on 10k-10m fitness.

Given how the previous 18 months or so have went with race cancellations - me not doing this Marathon is no big issue for me - I'm not overly disappointed. On the positive - I will get to race more in the immediate future (rather than just 1 race in October)!!

Sunday: Legs were quite tried & heavy on Sunday: just a few light miles to ease them out.

4m/8.30 pace

55m for the week

ThebitterLemon · 23-08-2021 2:42pm

Share a bath with me in San Seb or Valencia? 🤣

TbL

AuldManKing · 23-08-2021 3:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117793308#Comment_117793308

DD is going to San Seb!! You wont ditch him like you ditched me.

I was thinking of Valencia or a Spring Marathon - but the idea of not running a spring Marathon and just racing a bunch is also appealing

Treviso · 23-08-2021 9:30pm

Im in the same boat with regards to Manchester, but my decision was probably a lot more straightforward to yours. If you're anything like me, I bet you have checked out every possible race available to you from October to December - that's exciting at least. Not often that you'll get the chance to race these Autumn races without a marathon looming over

AuldManKing · 30-08-2021 8:55am

So, following the long run debacle last week - I fired an email to the coach about doing the Antrim Half Marathon - I had an entry but timing didn't suit the coaches plans for Manchester - with that now not happening, coach agreed on doing the HM - we both felt a PB was achievable (1.21.41).

Monday: 7m around the PP - loved how the legs felt today.

7m / 8.10 pace

Tuesday: 20 mins WU / 8x45 secs / 20 mins CD

I was chuckling after this as I looked at Healys 'tune up' (5x1mile) - a difference in approaches - both equally valid.

Legs felt supersonic after these.

Booked a hotel room 30 mins from the start line.

6.5m

Wednesday: Obligatory Rest day - I had bought some SIS Nitrates in advance of Manchester, so said I'd trial them in advance of the HM. Not as bad as the Beet it shots on the stomach - but you have to do a 3-4 day loading of 2 shots per day.

Thursday: 6m / 8 min miles

Friday: Easy paced run with 5 strides - getting the gear ready today - realised that I had no real plan for the race - so settled down to look at the course, the temps, humidity etc. Getting that familiar race nerves at last!

Wifey asked me to go out to the local for dinner. 1 pint served me well - ok ok - I had a 2nd for luck, but left it at that.

4.9m

Saturday: An easy 3 miles, was about a half mile from he house crossing a road and I miss the kerb and jar my foot.

Immediate reaction was it was just a jarring - it'll come right in a min, run it off.

Nope - a lot of hobbling home - I iced it immediately - it wasn't the ankle - but the side of the foot/instep. Rested it and compressed for a couple of hours and then went for a tester walk. I couldn't really put weight on that part of my foot and felt myself compensating when walking by turning my foot inwards. Not a great sign and there was no way I was going to run a HM on it.

Think I was more devastated by this than Manchester - probably by the closeness of the race.

Also lost my hotel fee as it needed to be cancelled by the morning....sheezzzzz

Sunday: Foot felt a bit better, but still sore, I made the correct decision as I wouldn't have been able to race.

Really enjoyed seeing the results come in on Strava - some fantastic performances all around. Delighted to see the Lemon do a 1.26, Healy have a stormer and Elaine run a 'da' inspired PB.

Time to knuckle down, get back fit with some consistent week upon week of training - I'll make plans then.

Murph_D · 30-08-2021 9:40am

That’s tough luck, Alan. 😟

Laineyfrecks · 30-08-2021 9:51am

That was sh!t luck Alan but there'll be more races for you, main thing is get the foot better!

Aw thanks for the mention, Da inspired PB, love it🤗

AuldManKing · 08-09-2021 12:22pm

Monday 30th Aug - Sun 5th Sept;

All easy runs this week - done an easy run on Monday on grass - just 5 miles as a tester for the foot. I unretired the Novablasts as they are more of a structured fit to protect the 'sore' part of the foot and a bit firmer on the underfoot.

Meant to have a rest day on the Wednesday but ran 4m as the head needed it - work is still hectic, running still on the forefront of my mind - the disappointment of not doing the Kilbeggan 10m race, Manchester, the Antrim Half - the obvious Runners Low to counteract the high - ............I'll not be in race shape for ages, I wont race again til 2022 etc etc - 'oh woe is me'.

I then had a good exchange with my coach - we made sense of the running madness and all is good in the world - 'how wow is me' :) .

Saturday brought a vanilla 16 miler - easy pace. I was looking forward to it as I hadn't done a plain long run in a long time - but it took a lot out of me - probably the time on feet as opposed to anything else. My Glutes also very fatigued afterwards. - worked out at 7.50 pace for the 16m (2hr 6min) - I felt worse after that run than I did 3 weeks back running 14m at 6.40's. Strange game indeed.

All in all - 53 miles for the week - all easy paced.

Highlight of the week was my daughter flying through her leaving cert - she's had a difficult time over the past 2 years - so delighted to see her do so well.

Monday 6th: 8 miles easy in the Costa del Phoenix Park - baking hot - kept much of this on grass as I could - done a lot of stretching afterwards - something I've been neglecting a lot (along with S&C work).

8m / 8.10 pace

Tuesday: Session: 20 min Tempo + 8x1min on/off (5k pace)

Delighted when I seen this on the schedule - Tempos are my goto method to regain whatever I've lost - but was still apprehensive about it.

20min warm up, some strides and set off - my plan was to keep it about 6.05's or 6.10's if needed. Mile 1: 5.55 (Somethings dont change). I was going around the 2 mile loop of the North Road, Chesterfield - but the breeze on the North Road was woeful - so as Mile 2 beeped on the way back up Chesterfield I crossed over to go along the OS road.

Mile 2 was 5.52 - which was a disgrace really - this was meant t be a Tempo - not a 5k/5m race paced session!! It also meant I was really struggling in the last mile. I nearly called it at 3miles (rather than 20 mins) - but kept going with a higher cadence to finish out. Mile 3 was 5.59 with he last 2+ mins at 6.02 pace.

Certainly not Tempo pace - but felt good to move the legs at pace for that duration.

5mins recovery down to Chapelizod road for the next piece - 8x1min's at 5k pace. The 1st 4 were into a stiff enough wind, I turned and the next 4 were so much more manageable.

20 mins cool down home - nicely B0ll!xed - haven't felt like that in a few weeks - its really a nice feeling in a mad sort of way.

10.9 miles total.

Another good day as my Leaving Cert superstar got her 1st choice college place and a new part time job. All's good in the world.

Laineyfrecks · 08-09-2021 2:31pm

Well done to your daughter on her results, 1st choice & job...proud dad😊

AuldManKing · 12-09-2021 4:26pm

Wed: Rest day

Thursday: Legs feeling a bit weird this week - like they need a good rub or stretch or something. Not a muscular thing - just a weird feeling since the easy run last weekend.

On the cards today was a return to Hill Sprints - but this time the shorter explosive 8 sec variety with a 2.30 min recovery.

After a conflab with the coach o the grade of hill and speed of the sprints - I used the same hill at St. Marys, which according to Strava is a 6% grade.

Done the 8 sprints - trying not to overthink them - run tall, dont lean, pump the arms. The 2.30 recoveries were actually ok - I thought they'd be a bit awkward but 2mins 30 comes around quite quickly - in 2mins 30 seconds actually............

Jogged home - foam rolling and stretching.

8mile total

Friday: 7 miles, just after lunch - more stretching to get rid of that damn feeling in the legs.

7m / 8.26 - all on grass.

Saturday: Session - 10m at 6.40 working down to 6.30

I was a bit apprehensive about this one as I had found last weeks 'easy run' a bit of a grind at 7.50 pace.

3m warmup with Strides to the CK Gate and I was off.

1st 3miles were handy enough - I was considering a different route, but the wind was actually strong enough in your face up Chesterfield, so I chose the remaining miles carefully.

At 5 miles, I started to feel a bit 'meh' - I had done 14m at this pace recently, quite comfortably, so this hurt the ego more than the body. I actually remember at about 6m thinking about canning the session and just running easy - the lungs felt ok, but the legs could not get moving comfortably. Decided to do a couple more miles and leave it at 8m in total - when I reached the 8m mark - I considered 1 more mile as it would have had a half mile downhill, but I'd be forcing it. let it be at 8 and tagged on an additional CD mile for 15 total.

15.2 with 8 at 6.37 (ave)

Sunday: A few easy miles and the 1st run in a while where the legs felt 'normal' - that icky feeling was gone and I was at peace with the world.

7.9m / 8.18 pace.

57 miles for theweek.

Its awful looking at Strava and Social Media at those racing good times and doing brilliant Marathon sessions. Decided that I'm not going to chase fitness - I've nothing on the horizon so, just going to get the head down and let he fitness come to me. I know it wont take long to be back in decent shape again - then I'll look for an opportunity to use the fitness.

The main thing is keeping the main thing, the main thing

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