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Speed or distance?

DeepBlue

Ok, so starting this log to try and keep myself honest on my training. Not sure if it will work but worth a try. I might also find out what I'm doing wrong.

Right, in relation to background I'm on the wrong side of 45 and have been running for the last 14 months or so. I'd classify myself as a non-competitive-but-secretly-competive runner.

The intention this year is to start training properly as my previous training was very scattered and usually not enough for any distance event meaning I'd be pretty fatigued coming towards the end of a race. Average weekly distance would have been 15 - 20K. I do also cycle so average cycling distance per week would be just over 100K. Cycling seems to help running fitness but not vice versa so cycling would usually be favoured by me.

Current PB's:
5k | 22.30 | Aug '18
10k | 47:57 | Sep '18
10 mile | 1:18:47 | Sep '18
HM | 2:07:45 | Jun '18

Goals for 2019:
5k | Sub 20:00
10k | Sub 43:00
10 mile | Sub 1:12:00
HM | Sub 1:45:00
Marathon | Sub 3:30:00

I got runner's knee on both knees back in October so dialled the running right back to just weekend parkruns. The knees seem to be fine now so I'm starting up training for a hilly 10 miler in April. I'm currently following the intermediate plan here.

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DeepBlue

Hanson's Marathon Method - Week 12 of 18

Oct 17th - Oct 23rd

Mon 17th

6mi Easy was on the plan but it was a really nice afternoon and six miles looping some football fields was less appealing than taking the bike out for a spin. Was surprised to pick up a few strava segment prs despite not being out in weeks. Must have been favourable wind directions.

Tue 18th

4x 1.5mi Strength Intervals - I got quite squeezed for time and it was after dark before I got out to do these. I tried my best to handicap myself - first by only programming half the recovery time into the watch by accident, then by going out in the dark, in the rain and within an hour of eating a full dinner. I managed to spot the timing error but it was the last thing that done in this run.

Target time per rep: 11:30

Actual: 11:30, 11:36, 11:49, ??:??

Even though I'd taken out the Vaporflies for this they couldn't overcome the feeling of running on a full stomach. I just about made the pace on the first rep, things had started to slip on the second rep and by the third rep the wheels were off. Lashing rain and running with a headtorch didn't help. I won't be doing speed sessions with a headtorch in future. Just a bit too risky as hard to judge the ground for puddles or hidden dips and I almost tripped over a fallen branch I didn't see. I called it after the third rep as it was really miserable and I didn't think anything was going to be gained by running another rep in the rain at slower than PMP.

Wed 19th

Rest Day.

Thu 20th

8mi Tempo was on the plan but instead I ran an easy 10 mile after my last visit to the physio in this block (well, hopefully last!). The last stretch of the Tralee to Fenit greenway had only just been opened so I tried it out. It will be a handy facility for runners from the Tralee area and around looking for safe, off road options. AVG pace of 8:49/mi, avg GAP - 8:29/mi and avg HR of 136.

Fri 21st

10mi Easy - Another easy plod around. With the weather being pretty miserable I was fully expecting to get drenched on this run but somehow I managed to find 90 minutes where no rain fell. Happy days! I took this one quite leisurely with an avg pace of 9:27/mi, avg GAP of 9:06/mi and avg HR of 133. Made a conscious effort to keep the effort on the easy side of easy.

Sat 22nd

10mi Easy - Yet another easy 10 miler although I stretched out this one to 11.5 miles to round up the weekly mileage. That's a little OCD. This run was back on the faster side of easy with avg pace of 8:53/mi, avg GAP of 8:29/mi and an avg HR of 137. Tbh I think the three 10 milers were starting to catch up on me. Felt a bit wrecked that evening.

Sun 23rd

Munster Cross Country Novices - This was held near Riverstick in Cork. The distance for Men's Novices was 6k which was 3 laps of the course. The course itself seemed to consist mainly of uphill with one sharp downhill section. We were expecting rain and showers on the day but thankfully that did not materialise and it was dry. The course itself was fairly cut up with quite a few sections being pretty much muck after the days racing and we were last to line up for the off. There were 106 competing in the Novices race plus another 13 U23 men. We lined up, got called to the start line and the gun went off. We tore across the field to the first turn about 150m away. I looked behind after taking the turn and there was no one there. FFS, I was last! Oh, well. I remained so for the first lap but passed one guy and then another early in the second lap. I had my eye on another who looked tantalisingly close but he, unfortunately was still moving at the same speed as me and pulled away again. On the last lap I caught up to a guy who had stopped to walk. When I reached him he started running again and pulled away. However again he stopped to catch his breath/rest and once again only got going when I reached him. This was starting to get annoying and I wish I had the energy to burn him off. Unfortunately it was he who had some matches left unburnt as he squished through the mud to finish with a 20 or 30 metre advantage. I ended up third last, 104th out of 106 finishers. I think that was my second toughest race this year after the Banna 10k. It was a case of 5k effort to reach a marathon pace finish but I guess that's what muddy, hilly XC courses do to you.

The plan had been to do a 2 mile cool down to get the day's mileage in but I had no inclination to run another step.

44 miles for the week - down on the 55 miles that was on the plan owing to Monday's bike ride, Tuesday's shortened run etc.

No medals? Ye must be celebrating the prior wins too hard.

Ye're approaching the tail end of the block. Looking good for the marathon.

diego_b

Nice one D on XC, good to read the story of the race. I have never done Munster XC before but I have done the Munster Roads race a few times and like that..bang goes the gun and sudden realisation there might only be a couple of people behind you if anyone at all! That course is proper tough from what I hear of it.

DeepBlue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119795939#Comment_119795939

Haha, that must have been it 😄 Tbh I was a bit annoyed with my run (not that I was expecting to do anything major) but when I looked at the results the whole team suffered. The level had jumped up that bit more. Our coach (who's not known for sugar coating things) commented that the level in the Munsters is pretty much the same as All Ireland level. Lots of clubs there that obviously are well steeped in XC talent.

I'm happy with the marathon block so far. Touch wood now that it keeps going in the same vein for the remaining few weeks and then it's just a matter of finishing it off. Simple, right?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119796252#Comment_119796252

One of the Gneeveguilla ladies who has done quite a bit of XC said it was the toughest course she had ever been on. I guess we were a bit spoilt on the Kerry XC course with very little mud and pancake flat!

DeepBlue

Hanson's Marathon Method - Week 13 of 18

Oct 24th - Oct 30th

Mon 24th

8mi Easy. I realised I'd left the watch at home as soon as I got out of the car. This was an opportunity to run naked, untethered to technology and just enjoy running by feel. I got about 50 metres away from the car and buckled when I remembered I could just record on the phone. One day I'll break the link. Not today though. Avg pace of 9.08/mi, avg GAP 8:46/mi and HR not recorded.

Tue 25th

3x2mi Strength Intervals - I was back in Tralee today and took the opportunity to do the intervals on the greenway.

15:20 was the target time.

Actual: 15:12, 14:58, 15:07

There is a bit of rolling terrain on the greenway which facilitates some splits being easier and some a bit tougher. I notice a definite wind effect too and recall a speed interval session from a couple of months back on this block where a 5x1k interval session went awry. It's a bit easier to notice now that the first couple of reps back then were downhill with the wind which made the remaining reps much harder when I turned around. It's pretty tricky to get dead flat road in Kerry! Happy with this session though.

Wed 26th

Rest Day.

Thu 27th

9mi Tempo was on the plan but it just lashed from the heavens as I was about to go out. I might still have gone but it was also a very blustery day to attempt a session and I thought better of it. First time I've baulked on a run in this block. So an extra rest day ensued.

Fri 28th

9mi Tempo - Drier today but still windy. In retrospect I could have changed directions on the route to get maximum benefit but ultimately was happier with how it transpired. Easily did faster than PMP with the wind at my back but when facing into the wind and/or elevation it was much more of a struggle.

PMP Target: 7:49

Tempo Miles: 7:59, 7:25, 7:47, 7:44, 7:26, 7:39, 8:06, 7:37, 7:41 (AVG 7:43)

I tried Maurten gels for the first time during this run. One caffeine gel before the start and another two on the move. Found them ok in terms of taste and texture - a bit jelly like. I wasn't carrying water but I'd prefer to be able the wash out the after taste. I did feel some discomfort after which I wasn't sure was due to the gels. Testing again later in the week had no negative effects so I'm putting the discomfort down to pushing a bit hard on the first MP mile which was uphill.

Sat 29th

8mi Easy - Apparently we've been getting 3 times the amount of average rainfall for this time of year. Which would explain why parts of my planned route were flooded over. Thus I was making changes on the fly. This was a damp but enjoyable run. Avg pace of 8:54/mi, avg GAP of 8:40 and avg HR of 138.

Sun 30th

16mi LSR - This was the second of the 3 16-mile long runs on the plan. I procrastinated a bit and went volunteering at junior parkrun first and then followed the DCM tracker seeing how everyone was going. Eventually I got going to the start point wearing my DCM '19 top for the day that was in it. I wanted to test the Maurten gels again so took a caffeine gel at the start and set an alert on the watch for every 30 minutes. And for the first time I carried a bottle carrier strapped around my waist carrying a 500ml bottle. I must have spent at least 20 minutes in the car still glued to the tracker watching people finish or (inexplicably) not finishing at the predicted time. Some great runs there and some unfortunate injuries.

My run did not go well. Compared to the previous 16 miler a couple of weeks ago the avg HR was approx 10 beats higher and I was ready for it to be over from the halfway point. I picked the same 8mile loop for both LSRs and wore the same shoes. I ran out of energy on the last couple of miles and stopped for a short walk on the last mile and didn't get going again. I focused too much perhaps on testing the gels and didn't eat anything that morning before starting the run at noon. I don't know why the HR was higher though. At least the gels didn't appear to have a negative effect although I just took two in addition to the pre-run caffeine one. I'm going to be unpicking this run for a while and hopefully learn something useful to take into the race although I suspect the main issue here was just poor fueling the day before and day of the run. Avg pace 8:46/mi, avg GAP 8:29/mi, avg HR 149.

57.6 miles for the week - down slightly on the plan due to the missed run.

Caffeine may have caused the spike in HR. Could also have been dehydration. Go again with the same setup but make sure you get some breakfast and water in beforehand. It may have just been an anomaly. Treviso swears by the Maurten 320 prior to his sessions/long runs so that could be an option too.

DeepBlue

Thanks M. Could well have been a bit of both alright as I was drinking all around me after that run. The cumulative fatigue may well have finally been taking a bite out of me too. On the same run two weeks prior I'd contemplated extending it to 18 miles and could have done so. Perhaps even 20 but decided not to risk it. This time there was clearly no chance of either of those options.

DeepBlue

Hanson's Marathon Method - Week 14 of 18

Oct 31st - Nov 6th

Mon 31st

6mi Easy. Did a loop with a good bit of initial elevation that is slightly longer than 6 miles and finishes with another bit of elevation. Whether I stop the watch/run dead on 6 miles or complete the extra bit is a good indication of how tired I am. Finished out the loop without issue so no after effects from yesterday's run. Avg pace of 8.53/mi, avg GAP 8:26/mi and HR 139.

Tue 1st

Strength Intervals day - I picked out a new road to do this selected on the basis that it was flat enough and long enough. I also thought it was a quiet road. However when I began the run the road had a camber and seemed busier than I would like. To add to that it was very breezy to the point that the weather would very much impact the session. So I postponed the run to the following day.

Wed 2nd

2x3mi Strength Intervals - yellow weather warning put paid to any outdoor running (imo it was probably closer to an orange warning with the wind/rain/sea swell). Thus, for the first time in years, I took to a treadmill. I'm sure I've never done intervals or speedwork on a treadmill before. I set the speed on the treadmill to the appropriate pace for the intervals but who knows how accurate it was. The paces on the watch were almost certainly wrong as I felt I was going quite a bit faster than normal. I nearly fell off the thing a couple of times when concentration wandered. I was covered in sweat at the end and looked (no exaggeration) like I'd stepped in the shower with my gear on. As this was the toughest of the strength intervals I did want to see if I'd done it "right". Hard to know really.

Thu 3rd

I brought forward one of the ten mile easy runs. This felt quite comfortable. Probably a little faster than prescribed pace but all well within zone 2. Avg pace of 8.34/mi, avg GAP 8:15/mi and HR 140.

Fri 4th

9mi Tempo - Last of the 9 mile tempos before the plan moves on to the final three 10 mile tempos. Used the same route as last week but this time without the wind and bits of rain. Practiced the gels again although this time with a swig of water to wash them down. All went smoothly.

PMP Target: 7:49

Tempo Miles: 7:52, 7:18, 7:47, 7:32, 7:40, 7:33, 7:46, 7:46, 7:47 (AVG 7:41)

Happy enough with that. I don't think I'll move my PMP and the plan would be to stick more closely to 7:49 during the race and see what's there somewhere after 20 miles if things are going ok. I'd rather feel I've a bit of a buffer than push everything to the edge. It's easy to lose ten minutes while trying to gain five.

Sat 5th

6mi Easy - Did this as a warmup, parkrun, cooldown. I think I got about halfway through parkrun before ramping up the effort. I had considered giving the parkrun a hard effort "to see where I'm at" but decided against. My watch was sufficiently impressed with my efforts to award me another vO2 max point and predict that I can run a sub 2.50 marathon 😆 😆

Sun 6th

10mi Easy - Hanson's promises to train you to run on tired legs and this run was where it felt like exactly that. The body was tired, the legs were tired but they were still prepared to go and keep going. I guess I'm doing well to get to week 14 before the cumulative fatigue is becoming more noticeable but still this run is somewhat confidence inspiring that at least that part of the plan definitely seems to be working. Part of my route was flooded but I congratulated myself on discovering a diversion via a horse trail. However my self-congratulation did not last long as this path turned into a mudfest which caked my shoes. Another week completed and still not injured! Avg pace 8:43/mi, avg GAP 8:33, HR 140.

Just over 58 miles for the week.

DeepBlue

Hanson's Marathon Method - Week 15 of 18

Nov 7th - Nov 13th

Mon 7th

8mi Easy. Lots of wind and rain today and for a while there I didn't think I'd get out at all but it cleared for a while and I grabbed my gear. I got almost to 4 mile before the steady rain returned. Got saturated but not as bad when you at least start dry. Felt a bit tired though. Don't think I'd have fancied having to pick up the pace. Avg pace of 9:25/mi, GAP 8:53/mi and avg HR of 137.

Tue 8th

Unintentional rest day. Couldn't get out so just took it a rest day and moved the interval session forward.

Wed 9th

Strength Intervals - 3x (2mi at PMP -10, with 0.5mi recovery)

Got out quite late to do these so headtorch running. Luckily the paths had been cleared of fallen leaves and other debris and it was dry and calm which made this a good bit more manageable than expected. Nobody else mad enough to be out in the dark so I had the paths to myself too. Happy days.

Target time was 15:20

Reps: 15:15, 15:05, 15:02

Reasonably ok with that although probably should have taken it a wee bit cooler.

Thu 10th

Moving the days forward necessitated moving an easy day between the two sessions so I brought forward the 8 miler. It was after dark getting out for this again and some of it was through town. Got a shout out of "Run, Forrest, Run!" from a passing car and was undecided if this was an insult or not. They promptly pulled into the shop/garage so I could have let the air out of their tyres if it was meant as a jibe. 😃

Handy enough run although another damp one. Avg pace worked out as 8:37/mi, GAP 8:22/mi and avg HR 137.

Fri 11th

10mi Tempo - Another after dark run yet again. I wasn't sure if it was possible to run a tempo session around town and turns out it was not a good idea. Also leaving it till 9pm is not to be recommended either. Other issues included stepping up/down from paths and getting jarred when you miss a downstep 'cos you're checking your watch, dealing with dark patches on the route and excessive elevation. The need for a loo stop then threw me and the session was over. What was meant to be a 14 mile run tapped out at 7.5 mile. Better than nothing but not great.

PMP Target: 7:49

Tempo Miles: 7:44, 7:40, 7:54, 8:27, 8:39..........

Sat 12th

7mi Easy - A pleasant enough run on flat terrain. Didn't try to catch up on any missing mileage from the previous day's shortened run. Kept it all relaxed an uneventful on a dry and mild run. Avg pace 8:50/mi, avg GAP 8:40/mi, avg HR 137

Sun 13th

16mi Long - The third and last of the 16 milers on the plan. The last 16 miler had turned into a bit of **** show two weeks ago so I made sure I was better fueled in advance of this one. I also took on 4 gels, one caffeine one to start and then one every 4 miles approx. The gels don't give me any noticeable boost after taking them and the fourth was pushed down. I'd say another couple of gels might be a struggle on race day. Still a relatively comfortable run (aside from the toenail bashing vaporflys)at a somewhat faster than prescribed pace. We're on the downhill slope of the plan now! Avg pace 8:13/mi, Avg GAP 7:57/mi, avg HR 143

Just over 59 miles for the week.

Less than 3 weeks to race day. It's starting to get real. 🙈

DeepBlue

Hanson's Marathon Method - Week 16 of 18

Nov 14th - Nov 20th

This week things were a bit all over the shop for me. The runs got done but not necessarily as they were on the schedule and sometimes at silly o'clock. I kept it to the the easy - session - easy structure though which was a bit easier now that there are only two sessions in the week.

Mon 14th

The Monday easy six miler got canned because the weather did not cooperate. Unintended rest day. Not a good start to the week.

Tue 15th

6mi Easy with a bit of elevation. I don't remember much about this so it must have been uneventful. 9.09/mile avg pace, 8:41 avg GAP and 136 avg HR.

Wed 16th

Strength Intervals. 4x 1.5mi with 0.5mi recovery

While on the warmup for this I doubled back to use the loo (paused the watch). Somehow this lead to a glitch where the first mile (of the warmup) got recorded as approx a 6 min mile. This would not be the only watch glitch this week.

Target Interval time was 11:30

Reps: 11:25, 11:17, 11:19, 11:30

I was struggling a bit to hold the pace on the last rep even though that section of the route had a bit of downhill. Just managed to keep it from going over target. I'd usually do a 2 mile cool down but cut it at one as I was fairly knackered by then and it was dark and miserable.

Thu 17th

6mi Easy. Took the same route as on Tuesday trying to time it to dodge the frequent showers. Got caught with a fairly nasty one at the 4 mile mark and was glad I had the full hat, snood, gloves combo on. We've been relatively lucky so far that even when wet it's relatively mild but now the cold has arrived as well. 9:04/mi avg pace, 8:30/mi GAP, 136 avg HR

Fri 18th

10mi Easy. It was after 10pm before I got out to do this. Head torch time! Anyhow got it done and it wasn't that bad and thankfully dry albeit foggy. A follow on though is that it's hard to get to sleep when you run that late. I think it took until after 2am to nod off. 8:48/mi avg pace, 8:35 avg GAP, 139 avg HR

Sat 19th

10 mi Tempo. Because of the way the week was going I decided to push the Tempo run to Saturday. The morning was spent volunteering at parkrun where the volunteers got saturated in the miserable weather. I was expecting something a bit similar when I got out in the late afternoon but it was mostly fine. From the start the legs felt quiet tired which I thought was a bit ominious. But then I thought to treat it like the last 10 miles of the marathon where the legs would feel pretty tired anyway. I had two gels with me and took the first 4 miles in and then completely forgot about the second one.

PMP Target: 7:49

Tempo miles: 7:36, 7:48, 7:33, 7:42, 7:44, 7:37, 7:26, 7:36, 7:38, 7:28

This was an encouraging run and I tried pushing harder for the last few miles. I'd be delighted if I could finish strong in the actual marathon and this run gives me a bit of confidence that perhaps it might be possible.

Sun 20th

10mi Easy. Took a route around Muckross lake with a bit of elevation. With so much rain lately I wondered if the route might be blocked with flooding but it was clear. I kept the pace easy but for the second time in a week my watch glitched and recorded me doing a mile in 14 seconds! Avg pace was roughly 9:00/mi with HR of 137 avg.

Two weeks to go and looking forward to the all-too-brief taper.

About 57 miles for the week.

Murph_D

Edit - post was based on poor analysis of data - deleted!

DeepBlue

@Murph_D

No worries. It's good to get challenged on the training to re-evaluate and especially to test my own assumptions.

There's bound to be something that I'll see in hindsight that was probably obvious. I just don't know right now what that might be.

Murph_D

I assume from that comment that you maybe saw my original post, but I genuinely deleted it when I read back over your recent training and had a better idea of where you were coming from. Your race target seems very reasonable and you have been doing more cross country racing than I'd thought, so that probably explains some of the occasional difficulties you've had with the odd session - but under the circumstances they are not overwhelming difficulties and your tempos especially have been very solid (if occasionally a tiny bit aggressive) so you're probably, on balance, on track.

I notice you started logging in the middle of the block and didn't give much context. What's the race? I assume it's not Clonakilty, as I think that's the week before. Valencia?

DeepBlue

What's the race? I assume it's not Clonakilty, as I think that's the week before. Valencia?

It's Valencia alright on 4th December.

Yes, the pace on the intervals and tempos are/were a bit hot mostly 'cos I'm not very good at even pacing and latterly as I figured I'd probably have to run overall a little faster than PMP as I most likely won't be running the shortest possible route. For the most part they've felt alright.

The current, tentative plan, is to run the first 3 miles at about 20s slower than PMP to settle in and avoid rushing out too fast, make up that lost time gradually over the following 20 while staying close to PMP, and then see what's possible in the last 3 miles. Avoiding bonking and keeping the head in the game will determine if that works.

DeepBlue

Hanson's Marathon Method - Week 17 of 18

Nov 21st - Nov 27th

Mon 21st

8mi Easy. Got this done at lunchtime on the loop I've probably used the most on this marathon block. All grand, no drama. 8:51 avg, 8:38 GAP and avg HR of 137.

Tue 22nd

Strength Intervals. 6x 1mi with 0.25mi recovery.

Target time was 7:40

Reps: 7:37, 7:37, 7:37, 7:37, 7:35, 7:33

I was trying not to be too aggressive on the reps and the first 4 came in reasonably close to target with the last two a bit hotter. All in all a fairly comfortable run and one of the easier strength sessions to finish off on.

Wed 23rd

Rest Day.

Thu 24th

Today should have been the final 10 mile tempo but with wind and rain and hail showers seemingly every 20 minutes this was not going to work out. I subbed in the 7 mile easy on the treadmill instead and put the tempo off to the following day which had a much better forecast. Even on easy pace the treadmill is just not enjoyable. Avg pace of 8:41/mi (even you can believe the watch which measured the 7 miles as 7.60 miles) Avg HR of 138

Fri 25th

10 mile Tempo

Target PMP - 7:49

Reps: 8:02, 7:17, 7:34, 7:31, 7:48, 7:42, 7:45, 7:38, 8:01, 7:46 (Avg 7:43)

While the weather was much more favourable (drier) than the previous day it was still very breezy. I had the full benefit of the breeze on some of the miles and it was in my face for others. The first mile was uphill with the elevation reclaimed on the second mile. The course was a bit lumpy with some of the miles on the uphill gradient into the wind. Left the gels and supershoes at home for this one.

Sat 26th

8mi Easy. So all easy runs left therefore this is the taper? I took a route that I knew might have a risk of being flooded. I just didn't realise how flooded it was. I decided to go through the first flooded section instead of turning back. If I'd known there was another 5 or 6 sections under water (about 2 feet deep) I might just have retraced my steps. The walking and the bit of heaviness in my legs from the previous day's tempo slowed me down. 10:04/mi, avg GAP 9:29/mi, Avg HR 135

Sun 27th

8mi Easy. Another easy 8 miler on a loop with a bit of elevation. Tried out my new Shokz Openrun headphones on this run (Black Friday!). The sound has improved but the safety seems to have disimproved as I was surprised by two cars that I didn't hear approaching. Guess I'd better lower the volume. Managed to avoid the worst of the showers to round out the week. 9:15/mi, avg GAP 8:44/mi, Avg HR of 141 (using wrist based sensor as my HRM seems to have gone awol)

Just shy of 58 miles for the week.

One week left to go!

DeepBlue

Hanson's Marathon Method - Week 18 of 18

Nov 28th - December 3rd

Mon 28th

6mi Easy. Looking forward to a week of all easy stuff. Chugged around on this one and near the start spotted a small lady with white hair with her Alsatian on a leash. The Alsatian was eyeing me up with his muzzle hanging loosely and sure enough made a lunge as I went past. I'm nearly sure I passed these two last week where he tried the same thing. One day she won't hold him back. 8:41/mi avg, 8:30 GAP and avg HR of 135.

Tue 29th

5mi Easy. A bit chillier today. Added a small bit of elevation to the route. Planned route was blocked as paths were being re-done. It makes a change from having the paths blocked by floods anyway. 8:58/mi avg, 8:30 GAP and avg HR of 136.

Wed 30th

Rest Day.

Thu 1st

6mi Easy. I wasn't sure if I'd get out today as I was travelling and it would be dark when I arrived in Valencia. However the local park was nicely lit up with a running path with guiding uplights and illuminated km markers. I followed a local who looked like he knew where he was going. I knew he was local as he was dressed as if it was freezing out. He probably knew I was not a local as I was in t-shirt and shorts. I went a little further than necessary to explore the route and it looked great in the twilight and lights so ended up with nearly 7.5 miles. Lots of runners out and small groups doing dance to music - something like a Spanish line dancing but not as kitsch. Lots of starting and stopping and feeling a bit sluggish. 9.25/mi, 9:19 GAP, avg HR 137

Fri 2nd

6mi Easy. Popped into the expo in the morning to get my bib and goody bag. Bought probably a bit too much. Got back in the afternoon for the penultimate run of the plan with an easy 6miler in the park. 8:59/mi, GAP 8:49/mi and avg HR of 136.

Sat 3rd

3mi Easy. So the final run of the plan before the marathon with an easy 3 miles. Found a different route in a neighbouring park and followed a gravel path west which seemed to be mostly used by gravel bikers. Didn't bring my phone with me but figured I couldn't get far lost by going out 1.5 miles and then turning back. Took things deliberately easy. Got passed out by a massive group of runners - almost seemed like a race was going on. 9:30/mi, avg GAP 9:20/mi, Avg HR 129

Next -> Valencia Marathon Race Report

DeepBlue

Race Report - Valencia Marathon

Target: 3.24:59 or less

Result: 3.31:48

Pre-Race

I left my accommodation at about 7am for an 8:45am start. I'd checked the route the day before and it wasn't that long and took two metro lines with about 6 stops in total. However it seemed the metro was operating at a probably normal Sunday morning schedule with long waits for trains. Judging by the way staff were taking phone snaps of the large crowd waiting on the platform at the second metro they seemed surprised that there was loads of people using the most logical route to the start point. I wasn't too bothered as I figured it's chip timed so if I'm late it's not going to make a huge difference. Finding the lockers/bag drop and starting pen was a little confusing and could have benefited with more signage but the volunteers were helpful, friendly and calm so got there in the end with a bit to spare.

Race start

There wasn't really that long to wait in the pen. I'd got some dynamic stretches in before joining the pen and was probably somewhere in the middle. Before too long the front rows were moving and not long after that we were over the mats and the race was on. I was in the sub 3:46 pen based on my previous marathon time of 3:48. I could have pushed for the sub 3:31 pen based on HM times but figured there was no need as I wasn't using the pacers anyway and the roads looked pretty wide. Unfortunately the roads were packed with runners and I could not get up to my planned pace. Anytime I tried to cut through and get up to pace I was just getting blocked by another group. I'd planned a slower pace for the first 3 miles but planned to hit the 3 mile mark at 24:29. Instead it came in at 25:15 and I was nearly a minute down already. Not the best start.

After 3 miles I caught sight of pacers ahead. I thought briefly that they might be the 3:30 pacers but in fact they were the 3:45 pacers. I went past and tried not to think of the amount of time I needed to put in to them to hit my goal. At least now the road was opening up a bit and there was more space to get up to pace. The next two miles came in at 5 and 10 seconds slower than planned pace. I was feeling sluggish. I tried to push on slightly and got back on very slightly faster than pace in the next two miles. It was far too early to try to reclaim lost time by pushing hard but on mile 8 I had to stop for a pee. This seemed to take forever and cost me another 48 seconds. It was also the first time I'd ever had to stop like that in a race. This was not going to plan and I was leaving myself a lot to catch up on if I was going to get my goal time.

I should probably mention that I'd decided to use the Maurten 320 drink for this race. However I hadn't tested it in training. I had tested the gels and they seemed to work ok. At least they didn't seem to cause an issue. At the expo Maurten had a stand and a diagram for their suggested use of the product which involved taking one drink the day before and another 3 hours before the start of the race:

Each drink is 500ml. I'd also taken 200ml of dioralyte the morning of the race. This imo explained my need to stop at mile 8. However there was also another issue - my stomach wasn't happy. It wasn't in seriously bad shape - just uncomfortable. I'd been taken the gels every 4 miles. I took another at 8 miles just before the pit stop and miles 9 to 12 were about my best miles on the race very close to or under planned race pace. I was feeling better and the pace reflected that. At mile 12 I took another gel and my stomach let me know it didn't really like it. It was back to feeling uncomfortable again and I decided not to risk any more gels.

Miles 13-20

These more or less averaged out on pace - gaining a few seconds on some miles but losing a few on others. All through the race I just watched the lap screen and ran the current mile. On my lap screen I had lap distance, lap time, lap pace and number of laps completed. I mainly just looked at lap pace and noted the lap time at the end of each lap. While I wasn't doing mental maths I knew I hadn't made up anything near sufficient time to offset the time lost earlier on. My plan had been to stay steady until mile 23 and try to push on from there but now I was thinking I should try going earlier. Except I knew I couldn't as I was starting to tire and even holding on to current pace would be a challenge. At mile 20 a runner stopped to walk in front of me. His tshirt said Run '19 and this seemed appropriate. I fixated on another runner's tshirt which said "Don't think. Run!". That seemed like pretty sound advice.

Miles 21 to finish.

Instead of pushing harder after mile 20 I started going backwards losing 10 seconds off pace and then 20. Hitting mile 23 I knew I had to take another pit stop and again it seemed to take forever. Another minute down. Back into the race and I was into the last few miles. The legs didn't respond to any requests to pick up the pace except that I wasn't losing as many seconds as previously. The last 0.6 of a mile into the finish was back on pace.

While I had displays set up on the watch for heart rate and overall distance and pace I never looked at them during the race so it was only at the end that I saw my time.

I knew I wouldn't get the goal time but was disappointed not to break 3:30 and was feeling very "meh" trotting through to collect the medal and post race goodies. It was that feeling of taking an exam you thought you'd prepared well for except to get questions that didn't suit you. These though were self-inflicted issues that could well have been avoided.

When I got over my sulking 😄 and sat down a few days later to look through the race there was a lot of positives to pull from it. Take out the pit stops and I'm easily sub 3:30. Take out the stomach discomfort and there's probably another couple of minutes clawed back. The marathon beast has not been tamed yet and once again I've a result where I should have done better but there's a few more lessons learned on what to do and what not to do. And there's a lot that worked well on the day. In terms of running gear the vest top and club shorts both worked well, the decathlon flip belt was a disaster as I was spinning it around like a hula hoop trying to find an opening to take gels from, the 250ml decathlon flask worked well and the sunglasses were comfortable and did a good job. One thing that surprised me was how non-sweaty I was at the end. I'm usually a soggy mess after an hour running at home but running at the lower relative humidity in Spain was a different experience. In all the weather conditions were perfect. The only time I felt it warm was when we were tightly cramped at the start. The course was also really flat and ideal for consistent miles. It took until after half way for the HR to get out of zone 2 and it only got above the high 150s towards the end.

It's back to the drawing board with regards to nutrition though both in terms of what to use and how to properly test it. But that's for another day.

I enjoyed a few beers and some grub with @corcaigh07 and @Itziger and some others we got talking to. Good craic there. My stomach finally returned back to normal the following day while waiting for the plane home. 😶

Mr. Guappa

Congrats on the PB. Seems like a tough day out but not a bad outcome at all considering so much went wrong. It seems there's plenty easy gains to be made with a bit better race-day preparation?

I think you've done a Hanson plan a few times now, be it here or for a HM previously? I wondered if you'd any thoughts on how this block went? That "taper" would scare the life out of me tbh! Also wondered about the XC races - seemed a lot of extra "work" to be adding to any marathon block, nevermind one as regimented as Hanson.

Great report @DeepBlue and well done again on the PB. The target you had in mind will fall soon enough.

Wottle

Super job, win or learn!

Definitely one of the more congested starts for sure.

diego_b

Excellent report there D. Well done on getting a fine pb on a tough day it reads. Can definitely see you going sub 3:30 on another outing.

How come the change in strategy around the gels/nutrition? I think that certainly had a big effect here on your stomach issues on the day which is a real pity.

DeepBlue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119985710#Comment_119985710

Thanks A.

I'd say there's gains to be made alright with a happy stomach while running and proper fueling. There's probably even easier gains to be made by getting diet on point. I was about a half stone heavier on this marathon compared to DCM '19 and that cliché that you can't outrun a bad diet is definitely true.

Yes, I did the half marathon block previous to this for Cork and then did the full version for Valencia. I think it was an advantage to do the Half version first (even if I mangled the end of that block) and get used to that system as intervals were new for me and took a bit of trial and error to figure out how to do them correctly. The paces are also tougher for the half version so the full one seems a bit easier in comparison.

I found the plan tough but manageable. While it didn't work for me on the day I imagine that if everything had gone well I'd have been a lot closer on the day. Still don't think I'd have made the target though. There's still some secret sauce missing to get the marathon time to align with that suggested by my half and 10 mile times.

Since the plan is pace based a relatively flat course is needed for the speed, strength, tempo and long runs. Also you'd need a good two hour window on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the intervals and tempo which is not always the easiest to manage.

The plan does seem to pass by quickly as each week seems like a test to pass - will I hit the paces for the intervals? Can I keep the pace up for the tempos? It doesn't really get dull.

It's quite rigid so not much scope for switching things about like you occasionally have to for weather and life.

While I wouldn't entirely rule out using it again I think I'll use a plan with more long runs next time (to trial fueling better) along with speed sessions and marathon paced runs.

I don't think the XC racing made any difference. The races were relatively short (longest was 6 miles) and I had no negative impact.

The taper was useless imho. I don't think I got any benefit from it. If it was supposed to leave you refreshed and more energised for the start of the race it failed. If anything the easy runs on the taper felt quite sluggish even at quite an easy pace.

DeepBlue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119987000#Comment_119987000

Thanks D.

Regarding the stomach issues - the best analogy I can give is to compare it to car sickness. If you break car sickness down into three stages:

Stage 1 - your stomach starts giving you signals that it's feeling "off"

Stage 2 - those signals grow, get worse and you're at the pre-nausea stage

Stage 3 - you're throwing up

My issue was in the stage 1 phase - mild enough but a bit of anxiety that it might get worse. Thankfully it did not but I still think it has an impact on RPE and how much energy you have available to throw into the race.

The plan had been to use the Maurten but it had been developed late in the training cycle. I'd done almost all of my runs all year unfueled including the half marathon. I'd ordered the gels and tried them out but delayed on the drinks as I wasn't sure which were best - 320 or 160. I gambled a bit on the drinks and it didn't pay off. Tbh because the long runs are relatively short in Hansens I'm not entirely sure I would have caught the issue but there isn't an excuse really for not, at least, trying the stuff first before race day.

Now, looking again at the instruction pic I posted in the report, it seems that the pre-race drink is more for sipping over the 3 hours pre race rather than forcing it down in one go like I did. 🙈

Live and learn.

skyblue46

The secret sauce....3 years of aerobic running! There are very few, if any, who convert 5k and 10k times to match what race predictors say is possible. Why? Because possible assumes an equal level of preparedness for the distance. This takes time. Relax, build the easy running and mileage

DeepBlue

The advantage of doing very little running is that it's pretty easy to update the log.

I took almost two weeks off after Valencia and, perhaps naively, expected the legs to be back to normal by then. Not so.

December 5th - 11th

Off. No running. No of anything.

December 12th - 18th

Sat 17th

5.2mi 8.36/mi, HR 148 avg

First run back after the marathon. Had no particular plan other than to let the legs do what they felt like doing. Thus pace was a little faster than easy. I was surprised by how much fatigue was still in the legs - primarily in the quads. I rarely use the foam roller (mine is more of a rolling pin type thing) so gave them a going over after. Plenty of tender spots still there.

December 19th - 25th

Mon 19th

6.2 mi 8:25/mi, HR 151 avg

Another run where I wasn't running to pace or HR - just letting it settle on what felt comfortable. The legs felt a good bit better than the previous Friday. I was also starting to come down with some bug.

The bug mostly consisted of coughing, scratchy throat and copious nose-blowing but otherwise fine. It did put paid to running for the rest of the week and most of the following week.

December 26th - 31st

Fri 30th

3mi 8.18/mi, HR 155 avg

The bug has mostly cleared so I ventured out. Very breezy headwind for the first section of this run but it was then at my back for most of the middle section. I've left the HR monitor at home for the post marathon training runs so not sure how accurate the HR readings are. That went reasonably well so I reckon I'm ok to get back out.

Fri 31st

3.1mi 7:12/mi, HR 168 avg

I haven't run parkrun in a while. I went out far too fast in the first km and paid for it in the remaining 4k. I've got out of the habit of committing to a parkrun as it's "just a parkrun". I'd like to get back into the habit of attacking these on a more regular basis and start threatening the PB which is getting a bit long in the tooth at this stage. Well off that pace at the moment though.

May as well finish off the week even if it's technically a new year ...........

Sat 1st January 2023

3.1mi 8:07/mi, HR 157 avg

Inch Beach parkrun. I was going to be the VI guide for a local runner at a race later in the day and as he is stone mad for running I asked if he'd like to do the NYD parkrun also. He was up for it. The plan was to take the parkrun easy and save our effort for the race later on. That plan got shot to hell in the first half km. We had shot off a bit too fast but settled into 5 minute kms or thereabouts and mostly kept that going until near the end. Still ended with R knocking over 1 and a half minutes off his PB at Inch so first job done.

3.1mi 8:03/mi, HR 164 avg

Beaufort 5k. This race kicked off at 12 so we had a bit of time to recover. Both the 5k and 10k races started at the same time before diverging after 1.5k or so. We took off at a more sensible pace this time and managed to more or less maintain that throughout while again flagging slightly before the end. There was a bit more undulation on this course compared to the pan flat parkrun. We chipped a few seconds off our times from the parkrun and R got another new PB for this race and picked up his prize for visually impaired runner.

Some notes on the year just gone:

I finished the year with 1730 miles done, up from less than 650 the previous year and a substantial increase even on the 2020 and 2019 where I'd just trickled over the 1,000 mile each time.

The vast bulk of the 1730 miles was taken up with training blocks for the Cork Half Marathon (532 miles) and Valencia Marathon (967 miles) both using Hanson Plans.

In total I ran 18 races:

1 Marathon (Valencia - PB 3:31:48)

3 Half Marathons (Cork - 4 seconds slower than PB, Dingle x2 (not racing))

4 10 Milers (Dungarvan, Mallow (PB 1:13:16), Cobh 10, Cork City 10 Miler)

2 10k (Adare (PB), Banna (PB))

2 5k (Kerry Roads Championship, PWC BHAA 5k (2 seconds off PB)

4 Cross Country (County Novices, County Masters, County Senior, Munster Novices)

1 Trail Race - Torc IMRA 8k

1 Track Race - Kerry Masters 3000m

Overall I had PBs at 10k, 10 mile and marathon and was very close to PB times in the 5k and half marathon. After the latter half of 2021 being blighted by an Achilles tendon injury that showed no signs of improving I would not have predicted that kind of year. There were also a number of firsts for me this year - first time representing the club, first time doing a track race and first time doing Cross Country.

As for 2023 - I won't predict anything but I hope to run less and get back cycling more as that got sacrificed for marathon training. I may try experimenting to see if I can substitute some easy runs with cycling and see how that works out. The current plan though is to start the year with base building and then tackle a 5k block and see where we go from there. The next tentative plan for the marathon is a 2024 Spring attempt but I can see myself getting lured into returning to Valencia since a couple of friends have registered so who knows.

DeepBlue

Another week where the log is easy to update due to very little running. 😳 Twice this week I was heading out the door with all the gear on only to be stopped in my tracks by the heavens opening.

2nd Jan - 8th Jan

Tues 4th

7.1k 6.26/km, HR 133 avg

Oh yeah, I've changed from miles to kms as one of my New Year's Resolutions. We'll see how long that lasts. This was just a 45 min very easy run. It was strange at first to run so slowly but I was surprised at how quickly I got used to it. Disappointed to see the paths in the park flooded over again as it cuts off so many routes and doing the same non-flooded sections time and again gets boring.

Saturday 7th

5k, 4.26/km, HR 169 avg

After a 2.5k warmup it was time for another parkrun. I was gagging to do a hard 5k in the final weeks of marathon training but resisted as it was "off plan" and why risk it. I'm sorry now I didn't as I'd have a benchmark to check against. There has been no marathon bounce to my 5k times from this marathon block unlike last time when I was setting PBs for the distance. Maybe the bug I picked up over Xmas is to blame. Anyhow the target was 21:45 after last week's 22:02. I set the target on the "Peter's Race pacer" widget from the Garmin IQ store which I'm hoping might work as a poor man's Pace Pro which my watch doesn't have. In reality when I'm running at 5k pace I don't have enough spare energy to scrutinise the watch but it does have a field showing how far ahead or behind pace you are. More importantly they're colour coded so blue is good and red is bad. The colour is enough for me. (Actually I think I'll try the hi-viz version which has less fields and ahead/behind is more visible)

I prefer to use real pacers though and another parkrunner A was a good option. On a good day for both of us I'd say she'd be about 15 seconds ahead so if I could stay within touching distance I should do ok. She shot out of the traps at the start while I tried to take the first km easy. However I was almost level at the end of the first km and passed her out. She remained just behind however and I expected her to pull through but she stayed there for the first and second lap. This kept me honest with the effort but on the third lap she made the move I was expecting and pulled through and made about 35 seconds on me on the final lap. I think perhaps I could have pushed slightly more although my HR was telling me I was at my limit finishing in 21:50 but it was good to feel like I was semi-racing. If I continue to cut off 10s or so per week and get down to the low 21.xx I can try and start targeting my parkrun PB.

I've the Tom Kelly 8k in Ardfert coming up next Sunday. Tinman says I should be able for sub 36 so we'll see if the race buzz on the day brings out an effort.

After doing the Cork City Half for the last few times I signed up for the Limerick Half at the end of April for a change. Kinda surprised at the cost of 65 euro though - that seemed a bit pricey. Last year's races were mainly run on half marathon and marathon training but the current plan is to concentrate on 5k and 10k training (after I first ~~finish~~ start base training).

Murph_D

Ashamed to say I'm only catching up on the Valencia report. Sorry it didn't go to plan. You seem to have identified several issues that I'd agree with, but ultimately any race where you're not feeling good in the first quarter is going to be a struggle, I think - you referred to a slow start which I personally wouldn't have worried about, but the struggle to pick up the pace from mile three was a bit of a red flag. Ultimately skyblue's advice there is the thing that will make the most difference, I think. It's still a good marathon result though and well done on the PB.

DeepBlue

Another not so hectic week on the mileage front. The seemingly incessant rain easily dissuaded me from venturing out but didn't seem to knock a feather out of those I follow on Strava - a hardy bunch, no doubt! However I did get a few more kms in than last week so at least it's going in the right direction.

9th - 15th Jan

Thur 12th

3.9k at a very leisurely 7:57/km. It wasn't until Thursday that I ventured out to give a hand at the Club C25K. In truth this was simply a few warmup and cooldown drills interspersed with a lot of walking and chatting broken up by a few brief runs. Not really sure it ought to be part of my claimed weekly mileage but I'll take anything I can get atm.

Fri 13th

3.4k. Looking at my training log I see I was last at club training last September when marathon training sessions got too long to fit into the hour. Good to be back. 5x 400m with 2min standing recoveries was on the menu followed by a 1k cool down. Averaged 1:32 for the 400's. Fiddling around with the tinman calculator I figured this equates to 19:30 5k pace. That means nothing of course but we have to draw confidence/motivation from somewhere.

Sat 14th

7.6k at 6.23/km. This was a very easy 45 minute trot around the park. I went slightly above pace for very easy but at least the rain held off and only came down after I was back in the car.

Sun 15th

Race Report - Tom Kelly 8k - 36:23 "Chip Time"

I hadn't slept well on the Friday or Saturday night so when I woke on Sunday morning after not hearing the alarm I thought at first that I had woken too late and would not have time to get to the start. I was disappointed relieved to see that I actually still had plenty of time and no valid excuse to stay in bed.

It was my first time running this race and despite getting a very detailed pre-race guide from the organisers I had only skimmed through it but did note that most of the climbing was towards the end of the race. Bib collection was quick and easy and had a quick catchup with @diego_b from this parish. For once I did a number of proper warmup drills and got some pre-race kms to warm up and stay warm. Conditions were a bit chilly with quite a strong breeze. A quick chat with my nemesis R at the start line who, unfortunately, has regained most of his form lately and thus I was unlikely to trouble him in this race.

The run briefing informs us that the wind will be in our favour for the first 5k and then we just need to survive for the remaining 3 and with that we're off on a sharp downhill start. R take off and I'm temporarily blocked behind a VI guided runner which allows R to get about 10 metres or so on me. By the time we turn through the first bend into the downhill section proper he's extended that lead. I wasn't likely to stay with him for much but I was hoping for a bit longer than that.

With the downhill the first km comes in at 4:07. The course flattens out and I try and keep things steady. Kms 2 and 3 come in at 4:24 each with the 4th km a slightly slower 4:28. At this stage I'm already thinking a taking a breather in the next km and perhaps then pushing on the final 3k. At this point S passed me and he's clearly paced it well. He tells me afterwards that he slowed down slightly to allow me to get on the train but I didn't realise. He'd be at least a minute faster than me on the 5k so probably unlikely I would have kept up with him anyhow. Kms 5 and 6 have the elevation and I slow down here to 4:43 and 4:52. In hindsight the elevation was not that bad and seemed worse on the graph. We turn right for the final section and I can see S has pulled well ahead. I spot a St Brendan's runner who I'd finished ahead of at last summer's Banna 10k and try and target him. However the gap is too great even if it's narrowing there is not enough distance left to favour me. There's a nice downhill to the finish line which is hidden behind a final turn and we're done. I was happy with that. Kms 7 and 8 had come in at 4:37 and 4:30 to give a finish time of 36:23. A good day out on a good course and a nice bit of work done for the morning. St Brendan's AC always seem to manage the weather well as the hail shower only came in after I'd finished and could nip under some shelter. I don't think I've ran an 8k previously so that will have to be a new PB :)

So about 28k in total for the week but I feel the running mojo coming back a bit and hopefully I can start increasing that to something respectable in the coming weeks.

diego_b

Well done on your race there D and you did indeed get lucky with the weather. I would have liked to have caught up with you further but as you'll see on my log I was slightly busy and distracted. Glad you enjoyed the course, it's a fair course and people seem to enjoy it. I always enjoy meeting R there at races, he always tells me about how little training he's doing and yet to me appears to always smash it out of the park no matter the distance.

DeepBlue

Jan 16th - 22nd

Mon 16th

Rest Day.

Tue 17th

45min Very Easy. Chilly but dry and nice running conditions with blue skies and a bit of sun. I took a bit of a hilly route for this and slowed down the pace but not as much as I should have as avg HR came in at 141bpm and and about 13% of the run brought the HR into zone 3 which is not what you want when the run is supposed to be very easy. I noticed that I could see Skellig Micheal from a high point on this run. I probably only realised because I was wearing sunglasses and when I took those off there was too much glare to see. Always nice to spot something new about an area you've lived in for decades. 7.3km in total.

Wed 18th

Rest day

Thu 19th (Afternoon)

60min Progression. I can't remember the last time I did one of these. Each time the watch would beep I'd get a rush of blood to the head and put in an accelation that was too much and have my watch beeping madly at me until I calmed down again. It's quite tricky to judge how much to speed up when you're only going faster by 10s/km.

I enjoyed that even if I started too fast and was quite jerky with my accelerations. 10.9k for the run with avg HR of 144.

Thu 19th (Evening)

Assisting with the Club C25K. I got my times mixed up and arrived an hour early for this. It was pretty cold. Not as bad as earlier in the week but still quite nippy with the snow having been brushed off the track but the track was still a bit slippy in places. I gave a hand with the juvenile training to keep warm. I met one of my fellow XC teammates who was there with his kid and who suggested we do long runs together. I normally run alone so this could be a nice option to shorten the long runs with company. And then it was time for the adult C25K group. Even with gloves on my hands were frozen although they finally warmed up on the last walk/run rep. 4.68k at 7.14/km and avg hr of 136.

Fri 20th (Morning)

45min Moderate. I'd texted a friend of mine if she wanted to meet up for a run on Friday morning as I was free. She runs her easy runs a little faster than me so even though over 90% of the run was still zone 2 it had crept into the moderate pace zone overall. Still it was good to have company for the run. Avg HR was 143 for 8.6k at 5.29/km avg.

Fri 20th (Evening)

I'd forgotten I had club training in the evening and might have skipped it except I'd already said I'd be there. After warmup and drills it was time for 6 x 300m sprints with 2 minute recoveries. These came in 1.05, 1.08, 1.05, 1.06, 1.10, 1.09. I think the morning run was catching up on me for the final reps or maybe I was giving myself an out. After cooldown we did some stretches and planks. It's so long since I did planks that they were torture. 4.5k in total.

Sat 21st

40min Easy. The temperature had climbed a bit and it was a nice mild day so took the option to do parkrun at an easy sedate pace. Spent 30 minutes going round chatting to a couple of other runners. Got scanned and started off to do the remaining 10 minutes and joined another friend on his cooldown. This was done at a faster pace than I'd done the parkrun. 7.8k for the day with an average HR of 135.

Sun 22nd

70min Easy. The base plan had 90 minutes easy and I was debating on whether to go run at all or not. I had about 28k ran the previous week and I'd be doubling that this week. In the end I decided to go for an hour and ended up doing slightly more. The terrain was a bit hilly and, again, I didn't slow down enough to account for it. 11.6k at 5.57/km and avg HR of 144 was the result of the day's efforts.

Total for the week - 55.3 km

This week was definitely an improvement and I can feel the running mojo coming back to me. That might simply be down to the better running weather.