Sub 5 minute mile

Doesn't bode well for my brain size though 😂

It's a lot more popular nationally than I realised. Looking forward to reading some other folks race experience. I saw Jebus popped up from Cork too.

23-29 May- 31 Miles

Definitely a little run down last week so I took it handy for the most part and just focussed on getting some easy mileage in.

• Monday - 6.1 km Easy in 30 minutes
• Tuesday - 8 km easy in 38 minutes
• Thursday - 10 km easy in 41 minutes
• Friday - 8 km easy in 36 minutes
• Saturday - Chanced a 5 k Tempo here. Went out in 3:41/km pace and held it comfortably enough before picking it up a little on the last. 18:15. 3:43/km would be my 10 mile pace I think so that's usually what I aim for as a minimum for Tempo stuff and this came in at 3:38/km. So it was maybe a little quick but didn't think it was silly fast especially after an easy week up to that point.
• Sunday - 12.5 km in 54 minutes.

Braveheart 5 km Trail Race

It's called a trail race but in reality it's mixture of grass and maybe 70% path. It's a challenging course though with lots of hills, humps and hollows and not for PB chasing. My plan was to improve on my placing from 2019 when I ran my first ever 5 km race here. I came 29th in 18:45. The big difference this year was that it wasn't part of the Kia race series so when I realised this I assumed I'd naturally place higher this time round and should certainly run a bit faster. Just over 400 lined up this year versus maybe 7-800 the last time out.

Pre-race

Well it certainly was a windy day with intermittent showers but Trim missed the worst of the showers I think on the day. I made my way to the Porchfields and chatted to a few clubmates who were volunteering. The clubs best senior runner was wearing a high-vis too which got me thinking, maybe I might be leading the club home today. Off for the warm-up and I'm not gone 200 m before I spot Peter Somba in full tracksuit and barely not a bead of sweat on him trotting up the hill in the opposite direction. Okay, I was never dreaming of winning the race anyway but that doesn't bode well for who else might be lining up I thought. Another club stalwart was running too who I wasn't sure I'd finish ahead of but deployed my usual tactic of deciding to follow him for the first couple of km and see where that left me.

So the race plan was simple. I wasn't chasing a PB so wouldn't be looking at the watch and I was going to race the race as it unfolded. I made my way down the hill to the start line in the field where people seemed to be more interested in getting a place towards the back. Because I was last to arrive and from the front I'd loads of room right on the the front row which wasn't my intention but that's where I started.

Race

1st km - 3:24

The start is a 100 m uphill on grass before a 90 degree bend to the right. I'd the inside line but allowed plenty of people to pass me around the outside. We carried across the brow of hill before turning downhill and back onto a path where I spot Sean my pacer. So I begin to work up towards him slowly. As we're exiting the first field, maybe around 700m in I do a quick headcount and try to assess who's around me. 10th place with Somba already heading out of the field. Pursued by a Cork runner and a blue vested chap. These 3 are starting to gap the rest of us. In my head I think the two non-Somba runners might be going out a little too fast and the field might reel them in. Turned out to be an in-correct assumption.

2nd km - 3:30

Through the second field which is all downhill but into the wind. I tuck into the back of the chase group as we shortly exit under a bridge before turning back uphill immediately with the wind now on our back. This is the first place I work a little as I follow Sean. A couple of runners fall away heading up. By the time we're at the top of this field I'm in around 7th place.

3rd km - 3:23

Sean seems to be slowing slightly so I run up beside him for a while and then in front as I focus on the next two runners in front. He doesn't commit to following me as I move on a bit. We turn back downhill again eventually and into the wind for what everyone said was the toughest section of the course. Effectively 800 m straight of riverside running directly into the teeth of the wind. I disagreed on finding this the hardest part of the run. I was still feeling okay at this point as one of the two runners (Mullingar) makes a move. So we end up dropping a young fella here who obviously found the wind a shock to the system. I follow Mullingar along the river before finding his pace slowing too. Do I sit behind and let him shield me from the wind? 3rd place is miles ahead so I won't be closing any gap to him so shelter. Eventually though I bit the bullet and after running alongside try to move on and am now in 4th place.

4th km - 3:28

Still into the wind along the river. After I made my move I don't want to be of assistance to Mullingar so make sure to put a bit of a gap on him. Spinning the legs a little just before going back under the bridge and back uphill again. By the time the river run ended though I was starting to feel it and I wondered if I'd anything left in reserve.

5th km - 3:31

Turns out I didn't. I was struggling big time all the way through this km, naturally where the biggest crowd of onlookers were and there was plenty of support for Trim. To be honest this is what got my through it as the gap to Mullingar never grew from when we entered the last field. I stepped off the path onto the grass again with around 600 m to go and my legs nearly buckled with the shock. It was here of course where the photographer was stationed 😅. For the next half km it started downhill on grass before a 180 back uphill again to the finish line. I looked over my shoulder a few times here and cussed Mullingar for not leaving me alone to finish the race in peace. For a guy who didn't know the course he finished quite strongly. I was hoping he'd get a similar if not worse shock than me over the last km. I managed to hold on anyway and finish 7 seconds ahead of him and around 30 second behind 3rd place. You can only see the clock for the last 20 m but I wasn't concerned about the time, only wanting to do enough to hold my spot so let it tick past 17:30 without mustering any sort of a kick.

Time: 17:31. That was a different kind of tough to my 16:31 from a month ago.

20 -26 June - 42 Miles

Never thought I'd write 40+ miles for a week. I'm slightly behind the mileage I'd accumulated at this stage last year to trying to catch up a little but part of that 40+ was accidental as I'll explain.

I also hit 10 days consecutive running last week too, which was a first. I'm a fan of taking days off so don't plan on building massive run streaks for now anyway.

• Monday - 8 km w/ 4x150 Fast to finish up. They say you can't expect to be able to run fast, if you don't try and run fast. So depending on how I feel on easy runs during a week I intend to finish one of them with 100, 150 or 200 m sprints (the length will depend on how I'm feeling), as opposed to strides..
• Tuesday - Intervals - 4x(1,200m) w/ 3 min jog. Ran these in 4:01, 4:00, 3:59 and 3:58. Felt okay-ish. Dinner too close beforehand didn't help. Supposed to be between 2-5k pace but settled on a couple of seconds slower than 5k pace.
• Wednesday - 15 km easy in 1hr 15
• Thursday - 5 km easy in my hastily bought Saucony shoes. I've never worn anything close to them in terms of height. Trust me to read the reviews after buying them noting the only place they fall short apparently was in lateral stability. I definitely found that when walking around the house in them and worried about my ankles. But I needn't have worried once up and running. They were great and felt really really soft underfoot and light.
• Friday - 2x(2x400FR), 3min between Reps, 6 minutes between sets. Another pulled from the Internet. Usually I do a mixture of mile paced reps (R) and 800 paced reps (FR). This one, aimed at 800metre runners, was one I liked the look of. Run the 400s at target 800 pace in your early to mid season with the 5-6 minute recovery between sets. Then repeat the workout later in the mid to late season with only 3 minutes between sets. Tried to consider myself mid season and picked 6 minute recovery hoping that it'd allow me to push the pace a little more while still being able to complete the workout. The first two were in 61.9 and 62.4 with the routes being the reverse of the each other. The first rep benefitted with a wind assisted final 150m while the second had the headwind for the first 150. I revered the order for the last two running 63.6 initially, which annoyed me a little. As I recovered I thought to myself wouldn't it be great to run sub 60 on the last to make up for it. But snapping out of it I figured not a chance with the legs starting to tire. Last rep I planned to started evenly paced and not fully attack it until I got the wind on my back for the last 150. In reality, attacking meant my pace didn't wilt. Stopped the watch to see 57.6. I couldn't believe it and still don't. Whatever the error was on the last rep (surely not more than 4 seconds??) I still took it as a good indication of potential there for a decent 800. Mitigating factors - It was not a track, the wind and I was wearing my Metaracers.
• Sunday - 21 km easy - 1 hr 35. Early morning start again. With the way the weather was I picked a route that looked to be just over 15 km that would be relatively sheltered from the wind on the way out and then have the wind behind me mostly on the return. Listening to a Blindboy podcast (Keith Duffy interview) as I'd used up all my Sports ones for the week. It obviously left blind as the boy himself as I missed my planned turn. It never dawned on me but I was conscious of my distance increasing past 9km with no sign of the road I was supposed to be running back on. My pace also increased notably here as I didn't know when I might hit the road and start heading for home. Mercifully I got there at 11 km, at which point I was almost in Summerhill. No harm done really as I rounded the week off with record mileage 😁

The rough plan for the next couple of months. An 800 TT . And an 800 race at the Dublin Graded meet hopefully. Not sure what I could run at the moment but hopefully the TT will give me a good indicator. My 2022 target was to have a bite at running a 2:05. I've consciously been adding speed work back in the last few weeks with no structured plan, but also being conscious not to overload myself. The National Masters is August and I would love to run it. I'm hoping my training doesn't fall apart during the summer months with the kids home.

Dublin Graded B - 800 m

I had noted @Sacksian had run a B graded race a few weeks back. The pace of that race would have likely had me in dead last but still I took the gamble on the B grade too instead of C hoping I'd get dragged around and hang on for a bit at least. That was the plan. Also wondered if I might get the chance to meet the man himself.

So five days after my TT I was out for an 800 m race running every day in the interim, including a perceived easy tempo session on the Sunday. I misjudged the tempo effort a little as my legs were tired right up until race day but I was happy I'd given myself enough recovery to do myself justice on the day.

Another windy day unfortunately and I spent the preceding hours watching the forecast hoping it would abate but it stayed fairly consistent. I had an early dinner (4pm) which I thought gave me enough digestive time before the race but was still feeling a little full as I arrived in Tallaght. Parked up 45 minutes before the scheduled race time and got my number before noting that things were running 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Drat less time to change and warm up. Then I lost my keys, which I'd left in my tracksuit bottoms in the boot of my car, which wasted another 10 minutes of looking and relooking around the car. None of this really bothered me too much though. I was going to race. Managed a mile warm up and some pickups before jumping onto the track just as we were called to the start line. They had to wait for me to change into my spikes 😐️ Made my way to the start to find I was in lane 8. Not ideal I thought as I don't know where we're supposed to break. I figure its around the first bend though.

Lap 1 - I take my marks and wait for the gun to go. I hear a faint sound and think "wait is that the gun". The guy in lane 7 is moving towards me. "Yep. Need to go". I wanted to take my place to the back of the field anyway so happily took off at a saunter but am side by side with lane 7 guy. I start my break across from lane 8 and step in on him a little before realising I was breaking too soon. "Oh ****. Sorry" I say and step back out a bit before noticing the little hemispheres on the track. I break across again taking my place at the back of the pack. There's one guy behind me somehow. I'm happy to sit behind everyone as we come around into the home straight and into the headwind. Crossing the line I feel I'm holding my own. I heard a shout for the front runner that he's 61 seconds. Great I think I certainly haven't overcooked my start. Lap 1 split - 63.2 seconds

Lap 2 - The pack starts to stretch a little and I move up a place with 300 to go. Starting to breathe heavily now but not falling apart. At 200 to go I go past another and we're into the wind up for the finish line. Into the home straight and I kick with the rest of them but don't manage to catch anyone else. Still fairly spent though crossing the line as I double over to recover. Glance at my watch and see 2:08.9 and am happy enough. Lap 2 split - 65.8.

I think I must have been around 2:08 or possibly even quicker as I chat to a guy from Rathfarnham who was racing the 3k. I tell him I'm happy with with my outing. A couple of minutes later I see the official result -

2:10.5, 5th place out of 8.

Suddenly I wasn't as happy. I was stood thinking I should have wound up my kick a little earlier... or gone out harder... or done something different. But also, it dawned on me eventually that I hadn't accounted for missing the gun going off, which explains the big discrepancy between my watches time and official one.

Mistake 1 - I overestimated the pace that the main pack would be running and had assumed if I'd just gone with them I'd get a decent time.

Mistake 2 - Breaking across from my lane too early. I'm sure that'd be a DQ in a championship type race.

Mistake 3 - Not racing it as a race and trying to beat more people. Kind of a result of mistake 1.

I'll not use my watch next time I race. I didn't look at it at all throughout but consciously started it, stopped it and hit the split button. I wore it as I wanted to see my splits. Particularly the second lap. After flailing to a 68.5 second lap on my TT I'm happier that I can kick a bit more on the second lap. So a good experience all the same.

Thanks Murph. It was my second 800 race and first outdoor. Despite the effort needed to race it I've found them both very exciting to be part of.

Hasn't been an easy couple of weeks. I've come down with the little bit of dizziness again. I'm convinced after all these years it's fatigue related, specifically not going to bed when I'm feeling zonked and ploughing on for several more hours. But it's not easy to just hit the hay at 7pm when there's a 1/4 dozen kids still trooping around and jobs to do. I can run through it and have in the past. The main thing I do avoid is any sort weights or strength work and hope that it passes.

25-31 July - 31.5 miles

• Monday - 5 km easy
• Tuesday - 5x1km T w/ 1 min jog, 6x200R. Easier to manage than the 3 miles solid at T effort.
• Wednesday - 6 km easy
• Thursday - 8x200FR w/ 200 jog. I was looking forward to this workout as it looked very manageable and even fun. 32-33 seconds probably should be the target pace here but I kind of wanted to test a little faster than 800 pace. 30,30,31,31,30,30,30,29 with the hard work starting after the 4th. I didn't really enjoy it as much as I'd hope and afterward the thought occurred to me that this was a 4th session in 7 days. Last week had 3 Q sessions, which was fine but with the way I'd moved days around I'd done (Friday-Speed, Sunday-Tempo, Tuesday-Tempo, Thursday-Speed).
• Friday - 10.8 km easy
• Saturday - Rest
• Sunday - 7km at 7 am before heading west for a couple of days.

01-07 August- 32.5 miles

• Monday - Planned 2x200FR, 2x600FR, 4x200R. Actual 2x200FR, 2x580FR. With the way the week was planned out I knew this would be my best chance over the next few days to get the weeks speed session in. I played a bit of soccer with the kids and then hit the track that went around the pitch we were on. Clonard county Sligo. A lovely community feature there but I've no idea what a lap of the track was unfortunately. The 200s felt stale with 33 seconds for each. I felt I was running longer on each and was certainly wary of the 600s at this stage. I gave them a crack anyway but pulled out of both. I was starting to flag early and couldn't rely on any speed from my legs. I pulled up with maybe 570-580 metres done. Both in 95 seconds so I was probably drifting to around 2:10 800 pace probably slower if I saw out the final 20 meters of each. Some work done anyway so I didn't beat myself up.
• Tuesday - Rest
• Wednesday - 17 km easy in 1hr 21. A lovely run on a pleasant evening.
• Thursday - 5 km easy in 25:30
• Friday - 3x(1m T w/ 2 min jog), 6x200R. It's fair to say I haven't enjoyed many of the Tempos this block and this was no different.
• Saturday - 5 km parkrun with our eldest.
• Sunday - 8 km easy with 5 sprints (100,150,200,150,100 with 1 minute jog between each). The sprints were to to make up for Monday's no show from my legs but nothing stressful. New tarmac in the business park made the sprints quite enjoyable.

National Masters 800m

I’d had a pretty good week and felt good Saturday morning. Made my way to Tullamore and was a little inside the stated 45 minute close for registration but there was no issue collecting my number. Out around the sportfields for a 10 minute warm-up and a few pick ups. I was feeling in good nick. Some of the other athletes talked about the womens 800 just after getting under way and I probably should have made my way trackside at that stage but finished my pick-ups. I’d stretch when I got trackside. By the time I went into the stadium and got to the gate I noticed the 800m men lined up and ready to go. “Early? F**k!”. I jump in and talk to the starter who has trouble finding my name as I hastily put on my spikes. Eventually I’m ready to go. No stretching but not a big deal, I’m well warmed up. I think I delayed the start by around 2-3 minutes so apologise to everyone as I made my way over to lane 2. We were off straight away.

Race

Lap 1 – I can see everyone in front of me from lane 2 and let it stay that way. So it was a snails pace setting off. Here is where I should have tried to position myself off the front 2-3 athletes. But I’m joined at the back by a Belfast runner in yellow who won the race last year so I figured I was in good company. He squeezed me quite a bit though as I concentrated on holding the inside and to not clip the rail. Glanced at the clock as we went through 400m and saw 72 seconds. No PB today anyway I thought but I feel super relaxed.

Lap 2 – I’m not really concentrating on the leaders yet, only the one in front of me. I don’t want to start my move on the bend and risk tiring quicker so decide that at the end of the bend I’d go. But the moment I’m about to the guy beside me (Yellow) also goes and so I’ve to check my stride before stepping out to go past a Kerry runner on the back straight. Yellow is motoring now and I follow him. I notice that the leaders are a good 15-20m further ahead but hope that they’ll come back to us. I’m on the heels of a Donore runner. I go around the outside of him on the last bend and am close behind Yellow. On the home straight I’m in 5th and thinking if I catch him and the next guy I'll get 3rd but it's not looking likely. Pushed as hard as I could but didn’t catch either of the guys ahead. I came through the line quite fast and wished for another 50m that weren’t there. 5th it was in 2:12.39.

Post race

My tardiness to the line might seemed to pay me back by delaying my exit. Trackside with the athletes after, one of them pulled up the live results from which I was omitted. I debated whether I'd bother going to the officials to get my official time. I knew where I came so could interpolate. Eventually I did and spent over 10 minutes upstairs acting as another heat source to the room in which the sweating officials were busily working away.

A 60 second final lap was my only consolation here which is very good for me especially as I didn’t really kick properly until 300 m to go. The guy that won I guess was 56-57 seconds. James Ledingham.  His PB is around 1:50. So no way I was catching him once he went but. But. But... I think a bronze definitely was a possibility if I’d run the race better and just been a bit braver right from the start. Not the place to be learning lessons. Inexperience cost me and lack of race practice. I'll cherish that Masters bronze for indoors earlier in the year more now though, when I ran a lot braver.

It was hard to pick myself up on Sunday and again today. I know the track season is pretty much done so I might have to TT an 800 to try and see if I've improved on last year. Not nice putting in the work and not seeing gains. Google came in handy today though. The Griffith Avenue mile race is being run again this year. I couldn't make the last running of it in 2019 so I'm going to do that and intend to nail sub 4:50 if I can maintain my current fitness level. I'll be pacing myself to go a bit faster than that though. Hopefully low 4:40s.

22 - 28 August - 30 miles

• Monday - Off
• Tuesday - Plan 10x(400 @milePace w/ 60s rec). Actual 8x(400 @nearlymilePace w/ 60s rec).

Mile fitness tester to see what kind of shape I'm in. 10x70seconds might have suggested I'm in 4:40 shape. I was starting to gas after the 3rd and felt I wasn't going to make the 10 at that stage but wanted to do at least 8. Ended with 8 reps [70,69,70,70,70,70,70,71] so had to be happy with that. A good lung burster anyway on the last couple of reps. I'm somewhere in the 4:40s anyway I hope. Just need to hold it together for the next couple of weeks.

• Wednesday - 6 km recovery 13.2 km in 1hr 3 minutes w/ 472m elevation gain 😆

Work took me up the North on a pleasant day. On the way home I wanted to get a recovery run in somewhere but also wanted to check out Slieve Gullion Forest Park as a place to drop in with the kids sometime. Lets just say the excitement got the better of me here.

And I was off -

I'll not recount all the details of the run and the imaginary creatures I met along the way (I'll save that for the trilogy.) Suffice to say, it was one of those runs where you're not sure of the distance of the route you're following and have many moments of doubt along the way thinking "maybe I should turn around". But then "maybe I'm already past halfway". I reached one junction where I was having doubts but luckily met a couple of walkers who informed me I was on the right route back to the carpark and that it was only 2 miles further. It's a beautiful spot and I took 0 wrong turns.

• Thursday - 5 km barefoot proper recovery around a GAA pitch
• Friday - 8 km - more recovery
• Saturday - Rest
• Sunday - 14.5 km Long run with 10 km Steady (in around 39 minutes). My legs were still a little creaky for this but I comfortably covered the 10 k Steady at a decent pace. Nice relaxed breathing throughout the 10 so I knew I got the pace perfect for this.

Managed to stave off what appeared to be a dose halfway through the week thankfully and check in with 30 ish miles. Less than a week until the Griffith Avenue mile now. One more mile paced session this week and then I'm going to ease off on lung bursting efforts for a while apart from maybe one last 800 TT perhaps after next week - simply down to the fact I didn't even run under 2:10 in any of my three races this year. We'll see how the mile goes first though.

I'll try and maintain mileage and hopefully enjoy a couple of cross country races with the club in the autumn.

05-11 September - 29.6 miles (grrr)

• Monday - 5.2 km easy
• Tuesday - 2x800R (low 1:20s target), 2x400R (70s target), 2x200FR. On my jog out I was debating 3x800 but thought better of it and think it was the right call. Ran the first 800 really controlled without forcing the pace at all. 2:23 was pretty perfect as a session starter. 3 minutes recovery before the second 800. I probably went out a little too brisk here but managed not to slow down too much in the second half for a 2:20. Was definitely glad I was only doing two reps at the end of it. Another 3 minutes before the 400s which were always going to feel easier afterward [69,70]. The 200s were [29,30].
• Wednesday - 11 km easy. Legs felt fine today.
• Thursday - 5 km easy. Another easy one but I wasn't quite feeling myself on finishing up. Bed early.
• Friday - Off. Very hard to get out of the bed today and feeling sleepy and dopey for the rest of it. So I rested..
• Saturday - Off. Extra day off to be sure to be sure.
• Sunday - 7x(1.5k Tempo w/ 1:30 jog). Supposed to be 6 reps but I'd lengthened my route a little to chase the magic 30 MPW mark. I felt pretty great at the end of the 6th rep to be honest (even with the paces averaged around 5:50/mile). The 2 days off no doubt helped. And, with a bit more road to work with I threw in a 7th which half way through I kind of regretted as I set off uphill for the remainder of it. Saw it out though but 6 would have been perfect. I was certainly feeling it in the legs in bed that night.

Probably going to meander a little bit into the winter now. I'm hoping the NIA Live will be back in December so I can try one more time to put a decent 800 to my name before the end of 2022 but I'm not going to start to training towards it yet anyway. Meath Novice CC is next weekend and unfortunately it doesn't suit. A couple of clubmates thought I'd a chance at winning it too as a lot of stronger runners are no longer eligible having won it before along with the London Marathon being on. Ah well.

19 - 25 September - 32 miles

Monday - 6.2 km easy

Tuesday - Off

Wednesday - 14.5 km in 1 hour 6. (4:33/km). Set off and was really enjoying this run but needed the bathroom not long after halfway. A ginger second half.

Thursday - Pyramid - 2,4,6,8,8,6,4,2. Started at just slower than mile pace and then slightly slower with each longer rep. It still was more taxing than I would expected with the 600s probably being the hardest strangely which were at around 5k pace.

Friday - 5 k easy

Saturday - 3.5 km of a parkrun and a little bit. Had the two boys with me for this. One took a tumble due to the other fella and wasn't best pleased. We called it a that.

Sunday - 10 km TT. I wasn't going to call this a TT because I wasn't planning on going all out for this. I decided a pace of 3:35/km would get me to 35:50 and 8 seconds quicker than a TT I did last year. It was breezy which made kms 3,4 and 9 the worst of the lot. On the flip side I was absolutely cruising on 6,7 and felt great where the wind is on your back and you could hear a mouse whisper. I didn't force the pace here on these. Just made sure I was settled before turning into the wind before the end of the 8th and for the full 9th. Worked out fairly consistent split wise when you take account of the wind. [3:34, 3:34, 3:36, 3:41(w), 3:40(w), 3:35, 3:33, 3:35, 3:37(w), 3:18]. Pushed on the last obviously and ended up with a PR for 10k of 35:44. It might have been the overall effort or the final km push but my calves were aching afterward and last night. I did call it a TT in the end (sure what else could it be called?) as I was properly gassed after finishing the last plus my calves certainly suggested there wasn't much more pushing the could have been done during it.

With all the resurrected logs I've got a dunt to at least see out 2022 here. I'd been pretty good at keeping it going this year up until the last month where my visits were more focussed on following Dublin preparations and reports. I did say I'd meander a while, I guess. I have found it hard to adjust goals after such a massive high for me though and so I slipped back a little but no harm I hope.

The plan for winter was to try and increase easy mileage run a bit of cross country and then have a stab at an NIA 800m off little targeted training to close the year out. But my mileage actually decreased (usual kids busy life etc etc.) from my nice low base of roughly 30 MPW.

Was just ramping up again at the end of October (after entering one of the 800s indoors) but managed to curse myself a couple of weeks back by commenting how I've stayed relatively healthy all year just before a stag which resulted in a nice two-day hangover, followed by a cold and then a bug to top it off.

Missing weeks:

• 26Sep-02Oct: 25 miles. One 10 mile run and 5 miles steady in here.
• 03-09 Oct: 25 miles. Looking back I was trying to make up for the lower mileage and forecast lower mileage. Also I knew that I'd be on the road alot the following week too so would be doing even less then. I logged 5 miles steady, another steady run finishing with 3 K T, Intervals session 15x300on, 150off and an 8x1kT w/ 1 min jog.
• 10-16 Oct: 21.5 miles. Just one session of 9x1kT w/ 1 min jog.
• 17-23 Oct: 31 miles. Sessions. Intervals 10x400 w/60s jog, 10 mile run Steady finishing @ Tempo pace for the last couple of km.
• 24-30 Oct: 35 miles. Sessions. 7x1k T w/ 60s jog. Time to wake the legs back up = 4x(100Fast,200Fast). Intervals 4x800 w/ 2min jog
• 31Oct-06Nov: 22 miles. 4x400R, 4x200FR. Definitely lacking in speed in the legs. 10 miles Steady. Off to the ill-fated stag for the weekend where I'd planned to complete my weekly mileage by running easy but it never materialised.
• 07-13Nov: 17 miles. Horrible horrible week which I finished off by running in the Meath Senior Cross Country.

Meath Senior Cross Country

This weekend was my last chance to run cross country this side of Christmas I figured. Feeling really guilty for putting my name down but not being able to make the last couple of races I dragged myself out for this very much not in 100% condition but hoped the race buzz would see me round if I took it easy enough. We'd 7 runners present. On a good day I'd maybe be the 2nd-3rd home I reckoned. But then again, I've no experience over 8 k so what do I know. I could be outside the top 4 today so I can just enjoy a trot around the course near the back. That was the plan anyway. 5 laps of one mile over a very dry hilly course with lots of long grass.

Lap 1. I went almost to the back and didn't even look at the leaders concentrating on who was around me. I was determined to finish stronger than I started. I'd say I averaged 3:56 pace. A couple of my clubmates still managed to be behind me here despite me holding myself back. I was feeling good at this stage though.

Lap 2. Right I can pass a few here maybe I reckoned and did so on a couple of hills. Take it steady though. I went by one of my team mates halfway through the lap here giving him some encouragement as I do. This put me third for our team so I was just going to try and hold the effort level now until the last lap and kick then if I could. The body had responded when I needed it to here but maybe not quite to the level I might have expected, so definitely wasn't getting excited. There might not be a kick for the last lap, but I can certainly hold this effort. Lap 2 maybe 3:53 pace.

Lap 3. Boom! Not happening for me today. This is only the 4th km and I'm struggling big time. I slow right down. I get repassed by my team mate again toward the end of this lap and consider dropping put. Really don't help myself at all here or for the next lap or so by continually telling myself "what do you expect. You're shook after being sick all week and are risking getting sick again". Pace 4:15.

Lap 4. Going past the finish line with all the encouragement and the crowd always give you a little push to hang on. So I know I'll make it to the next hill at least. I look around to see if I can see any of my club colours behind me. No sign for a good 300m back and lots of other runners. There's one fella that is ominous by his absence. "God why am I still running" followed shortly by "Oh there's my teammate". He'd pulled up on lap 3 and was now cheering me on. He wasn't going to be catching or taking up the mantle if I drop so I knew then I was going to have to see it out if the team were going to have a chance of a medal. Main thoughts now are "hang on" and "If the guy behind starts to close try and kick a little to discourage him". Pace 4:13.

Lap 5. I try to tell myself I could catch at least 3-4 people ahead of me on another day (perhaps to make myself feel a little better) but if I even tried such a stunt during this lap I might pass out. Just get home. The last lap involved very little in the way of bursts really even allowing myself to slow in places as the guy behind me wasn't closing. Last lap around 4:10. I was greeted by one of my teammates as I crossed but couldn't talk. I went off to lie on the grass for a while before returning a few minutes later.

That was tough. That was humbling. That was cross-country racing. We got a team bronze by 4 points so I'd made the difference in the end being our 4th finisher in 21st place overall. Roll on the Master CC in January :)

I'm simply assuming at this stage I'll get back to feeling much fitter during the week. I couldn't have lost that much of my conditioning in such a short space of time. Let's see how the week goes.

21 - 28 November - 30 miles

Monday - 6x (1kT w/ 60s jog). Racing Thursday but I wanted to get a decent session in at the start of the week so went out on Monday. Kms were 3:44, 3:41, 3:41, 3:37, 3:40, 3:30*. With Thursday's race in mind I decided to pick up the pace a good bit for the last 200 of the final rep, hence the quicker time.

Tuesday - 6.5 km Easy

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday - [RACE] Track and Field Live 800m. I wasn't taking this race extremely seriously in my prep but had tried to inject some faster paced stuff in the last 3 weeks and wanted to give it a good go. This was just to give me a marker of where I've left myself at this stage of the year. Conclusion is not in great 800 shape but not atrocious. Hard to resist a min-report...

As is customary for track races despite there being a 40-minute delay to proceedings when I arrived I still managed to nearly miss the start of the race. I think that's 4 track races in a row for me where I'm tying my laces as they're lining up. Ridiculous stuff really. The meet gained twenty minutes back from the time I decided to go for a 5k jog which I'd shortened to 3 as I started to feel anxious that that might happen. I arrived back into the arena as the 800 ladies were about to start and the 800 men were in the middle of the track. Panicked but I still needed the toilet so off I went trying to remove layers as I ran. The 800 was condensed from 3 to 2 heats and I was stood with a host of young sub 2 lads. The director (thankfully) rechecked his board and they decided to move me in with the first heat where I shared a lane to start.

Start - We set off and I move out much quicker than my lane buddy to take up second position as the lanes broke. I tried to match the pace of the guy in front and went through the first 200 in 31. The next 200 the gap grew a couple of yards, but I was feeling comfortable with the pace and didn't feel the need to sit on him. I didn't feel there was anyone very close to me either, so it was turning into a 2-man race. Lap 2: 33s. Into lap 3 and I'm on my own as the gap has grown further to about 15 metres. I don't believe I'm completely out of touch though but am feeling the effort big time at this stage. However, I know I can still kick for the last 200 and will go at the bell. By the time the bell comes the gap is still around 15 metres. Lap 3: 34s. I kick as best I can, and the gap starts to close. It's not rapidly closing but I feel I can catch him before the line. Legs are a tonne weight, and the lungs are gasping but I'm a metre behind coming off the last bend and get right up beside him as we approach the finish where he responds with a little kick of his own. We dip at the line but I think he's got me by a hair. This turned out to be the case with Two hundredths of a second in it. Time: 2:11.18. Last lap: 32s. Funny how you feel you're kicking at the hardest you've done the whole race but still not as fast as the first 200m. The 800 is a very interesting event.

I hope to put in a solid 3 weeks and return again on December 14th. December is due to be crazy, but I haven't broken 2:10 for the 800 this year. I have to believe I can run faster next time out, once I don't get sick or injured and keep the training sensible.

Friday - 12 km easy around Baldoyle and Howth. Working in the area I went for a trot seeing if I'd happen upon the famous Howth Hill. I'm not sure if that's where I ended up but it was hilly enough.

Saturday - Off

Sunday - 4x400R, 4x300FR. Game face on and a decent middle-distance workout. Hit the target pace no problem on the 400s (70s) but found the 300s tougher with the lactate in the legs hitting early on. The jogged recoveries became partially walked for the last two 300s but I hit the time for these but with effort the race possibly still a bit in the legs 49,48,48,48.

An okay week. Punctuated with a wedding on Friday but still hit my mileage target so tipping along. I've another wedding right on top of Christmas too and going to miss two vital days in work as a result. Daft stuff.

I passed last year's mileage total yesterday so 3 weeks up on 2021. I'll get really close to but likely won't break 1,500 miles for the year.

05-11 December - 32 miles

Monday - 6.9 km easy in 33 minutes

Tuesday - Intervals 4x(1k w/ 2 min jog) [3:19, 3:19, 3:19, 3:16]. First few hard Ks in a while. I wasn't as comfortable as I would have liked going into the last but choosing 2 mins instead of 2:30 jog in between probably played a part.

Wednesday - 6 km recovery. This was the 4th night in a row I got out after 9 pm so made sure I'd try and get some daylight running in.

Thursday - 10 miles in 1hr12. Midday run. Quickened a little in the second half as I warmed up. Long run for the week done before a couple of days off.

Friday - Off

Saturday - Off again.

Sunday - 5x300FR, 4x300R. I'd trotted up to the business park hoping there'd be a bit of grip for some fast stuff. It wasn't to be, so I went back to the Porchfields where the path there provided a little more traction for what were now going to be shorter reps. It was nice and cold and these were a little all over the place but I was happy I did something at least. Fast 300s were [??, 47, 47, 46, 48] with the mile paced ones [54, 53, 52, 52]