Steady As She Goes

14/03/23 - 8.54K - 45:03 (5:17/km) - HR - 125

An easy 45 mins to begin a few days of tapering. I was just conscious to make sure this was a truly easy effort.

15/03/23 - 9K - 45:27 (5:03/km) - HR - 130

Another 45 min easy effort with 5 x strides.

16/03/23 - 7.12K - 36:38 (5:07/km) - HR - 129

A final 35 min easy to finish the short taper.

17/03/23 - 5K - 18:20 (3:40/km) - HR - 159

Race day and to cut a long story short, not the day I wanted. It was an early start as I was helping out before the race but apart from the weather being miserable the body was feeling good. I got finished with my setup duties in plenty of time and did a short 2K warm up followed by some strides. Lining up on the start line it was a bit of a mess. The starting mat didn't stretch across the full length of the road so some people were lined up outside it. Not sure what happened with their times etc but it resulted in a funneling effect which caused a bit of a delayed if you were just a few rows deep which I unfortunately was.

Regardless once I got across the mat I tried to find a bit of space and get up to race pace which thankfully didn't take long. I was conscious not to push hard to try to catch up to a clubmate I was hoping to try to hand and just progressed nicely through the field a bit. Came through the first K in 3:32, ideal pace wise for the plan I had. I continued to try to push my way through the next kilometer navigating a very small climb along the way and the second K in 3:33, again pretty good for pace. Unfortunately this is where it all started to crumble. On the third kilometer I was after catching a lady from Clonmel but just couldn't keep the momentum going and the legs began to stall. There was no real climb or any reason like that, the legs just started to die. Through this K in 3:40, not a complete disaster but the worst was yet to come. The 4th K involved a horrible drag around a corner that ended into the wind. I knew I was slowing down but relative to the people around me I pulled away maybe a meter or two. Any chance of a decent time was well gone though as this K ticked through in 3:53, nightmare stuff. The final K was a repeat of the first and I tried to pick the pace back up here but really struggled. Two guys here passed me out and the lady from Clonmel. I had some good local support from family and friends which picked me up right when I needed it. I passed one of the guys with about 800m left and about 400m left as the final downhill started I went with all I had to pick off the lady from Clonmel and defend against a fast finishing guy from the local triathlon club behind me. The final K in 3:40 with a finish time of 18:20.

Once I regained some composure and stopped feeling like I was going to throw up I slowly jogged back up the final K to find my GF who was also racing. I found her and ran back down the street supporting her on to see her finish with a big PB and was absolutely delighted for her.

I was obviously very disappointed with my run because I simply don't know what happened or why I just didn't have the strength when I needed it. The heart rate tells me I was working equally hard the whole way during the race which I already knew. A few weeks ago I ran about the same in a parkrun in probably worse conditions and had a bit left in the tank that day so I'm struggling to understand it. Before the race I was feeling good and felt like the taper into it was pretty ideal too. I think I'm just going to have to chalk it off as one of those days and continue to fight another day. On a positive side I didn't come away with any injury like last year so I will take that silver lining.

18/03/23 - 12.8K - 1:05:03 (5:05/km) - HR - 126

Back to regular programming with a 65 min easy. The calves were a bit tight after the race the previous day but apart from that the body felt ok.

19/03/23 - 15.14K - 1:30:25 (5:58/km) - HR - 114

A 90 min easy run in two sections really. The first hour or so was with the GF at closer to 6:20 pace and the final 30 mins then closer to 5:15.

This is obviously not the way I wanted to round off this period of training but I can't change that now and I still think I'm in a good spot to move forward. The base building work continues this week and I'm looking forward to seeing the results of this in 12 or so weeks time. I probably won't be running a 5K race again until after the marathon but I definitely have unfinished business with this distance and the 10K too. Hopefully in the winter we can look at these again but for now it is all focus on marathon training. Staying positive and focused.

Thanks marathon2022, maybe it was a bit of fatigue in the legs but I did feel like the taper was enough and I'm following the guidance of the coach here. 5K's are a killer for sure, I would argue one of the most difficult distances to get the pacing right for if you are really trying to go for a PB.

21/03/23 - 12.62K - 1:05:03 (5:09/km) - HR - 128

Back into another full week of base building. Nothing particularly noteworthy about this run, legs ticking over nicely and feeling very comfortable on this.

22/03/23 - 17.88K - 1:20:01 (4:29/km) - HR - 144

Building on a similar session from 3 weeks ago, 20 Easy, 20 Tempo, 5 Easy, 15 Tempo, 20 Easy. This is a good solid workout building up plenty of time in the legs at tempo effort. It was a blustery day and the wind was helping more than hurting on the first 20 Tempo, averaged 3:56/km pace for this nothing feeling quite as comfortable as I would have liked if I'm being honest. Kept the 5 min float on the faster side of easy and then a hard slog for the 15 Tempo, into the wind and a nice long drag. The pace slowed as a result but a respectable 4:03/km average.

I didn't feel as strong as I would have liked on this but still a decent session. I know it helps too but when it is windy I think the hurt does more than damage than when it helps and it does make these sessions that bit more difficult. Or maybe I'm talking rubbish and it's all in my head.

23/03/23 - 12.89K - 1:06:01 (5:07/km) - HR - 126

A nice low effort easy run after the previous day.

24/03/23 - 13.02K - 1:05:30 (5:02/km) - HR - 128

Another easy 65 but with 5 x strides. I did this on a bit of an incline for something different and really just focusing on good form and driving from the glutes.

25/03/23 - 12.4K - 1:05:04 (5:15/km) - HR - 123

The legs felt a bit tired on this one and knowing the long run was coming I eased up a bit more. A nice low HR which is positive to see.

26/03/23 - 23.88K - 1:50:01 (4:36/km) - HR - 138

Starting to approach uncharted territory for me now on these long runs and I'm starting to understand why some people dread them. Again building on 3 weeks ago, 30 Easy, 50 MP, 30 Easy. I was talking in a similar route to the one I used for my tempo session earlier in the week but the wind had switched direction. I do find the 30 mins to start with drags on a bit, I'm just waiting to get the legs going and trying to not waste too much energy for when the MP effort starts. I think this is all part of the design of the session though.

The start of the MP effort today was into the wind and a bit of a drag. I find it tricky to settle into a good pace anyway so this made it a bit more difficult but I eventually settled down after about 2K of running. I was able to keep the pace pretty consistent despite the wind and any little hills/drags. Ended up with an average pace of 4:11/km for this block. I was certainly working but for the most part it felt pretty comfortable. The only negative here was feeling a small twinge in my left quad in parts of this. It did ease off and no pain since then but definitely some tightness. Hopefully nothing a bit of foam rolling and stretching won't resolve.

The 30 mins to finish off felt the toughest of all but maybe that's not too surprising with the full fatigue of the weeks training in the legs by now. I'm also not fueling on my runs yet so when that starts I'm sure it will make a bit of a difference.

Total mileage for the week just shy of 93K and another solid week of training. It is still very early days with this marathon training and I'm under no illusions about how far I have to go to hit the times I want to but if I can keep this level of work up I'll be feeling a bit more confident.

Thanks AMK, I really appreciate the advice. Getting hung up with the paces is definitely something I am likely to do so I will absolutely take that on board!

04/04/23 - 6.98K - 35:02 (5:01/km) - HR - 125

An easy 35 mins after another 2 day break to let the quad rest. It had been feeling pretty good the previous day but still one or two little twinges so I was still a bit nervous before heading out. Thankfully there were no issues on the run itself and no tightness afterwards like the previous run. Later in the day I had a good roll on the foam roller to continue to workout the one particular tight spot.

05/04/23 - 10.41K - 51:39 (4:58/km) - HR - 128

This was due to be a 45 min run but I'm in the UK at the moment and I'm not familiar with enough routes to be able to get accurate times down so just did two laps of the usual one I do when I'm here. Again the quad behaved itself and no ill effects from the previous day thankfully.

06/04/23 - 10.44K - 56:11 (5:23/km) - HR - 121

A run of two halves, the first 5K with the GF at around 6 min pace and then the second 5K around 5 min pace. The last 400m or so I let the legs go and ran around 5K pace to give the quad a final test. Thankfully again it was perfect.

07/04/23 - 12.68K - 1:01:00 (4:49/km) - HR - 134

The GF and I had travelled to a different part of the UK to visit her brother and had a hike planned later in the day but I still wanted to get out for a run so found a road on the map that it looked like I could do a simple out and back. After telling her brother my plan I was told it was actually just straight up a fell and back so a lot of climbing and maybe I should rethink it. But I do enjoy a good climb so it made it all the more appealing.

The first 2.5K was just a bit undulating heading through small village before the real climb started and it was pretty decent I must say. A solid 3.5K and a bit more of a gradient between 5 and 10%. This was supposed to be an easy effort but with a climb like this there is no real easy so I kept it a good effort the whole way. Averaging about 5:20/K with around 60m of climbing for each K but felt pretty comfortable, I could certainly have push a bit harder. Once I reached the top I turned back and started the decent. I had to slow myself down here because it was quite steep and the road quality not great and I didn't want any trips or falls. Still gliding down between 4:00 to 4:10/km feeling very easy.

This run wasn't exactly to plan but it was really enjoyable run after the bit of an injury and some spectacular views on the way back down.

A slow but long hike after this probably wasn't ideal but again well worth it for the views alone.

08/04/23 - 12.12K - 1:17:38 (6:24/km) - HR - 109

This was due to be an easy 65 min so again not exactly to plan but I was getting out with the GF for her long run. This has been 10K in recent weeks but she wants to start increasing the distance and we decided 12K which would mean a bit longer than would be ideal for me but I was more than happy to bend the plan a bit.

The body was definitely feeling it after the previous day, sore quads in both legs (just DOMS) and general stiffness so very pleased to be going at an easier pace. After the first 2K or so things started to limber up and we kept a nice even pace throughout and a great effort by her. This would have been a decent 5K pace for her a few months back so she is really coming on.

09/04/23 - 21.42K - 1:40:01 (4:40/km) - HR - 137

The planned called for a 30 min easy, 30 min marathon pace, 30 min easy but again I knew with the loops I was doing I would either have to add to one of the easy sections or the MP section and of course I went with the MP section so this ended up being 30, 40, 30. The body was still feeling the DOMS from the previous few days so the first 1K was very sluggish but I slowly started to get into a rhythm then. The 40 at MP came in at around 4:10/km which is consistent with my previous runs like this and a good effort considering the DOMS.

74K in total for the week. Obviously down on previous weeks but not bad.

So thankfully the quad issue has cleared up but I am having what I believe is a related issue in what feels like lower left my abdomen, the same side as the quad strain/tightness. Just doing general day to day type stuff I can feel a small DOMS like pain but I know it's not DOMS. Thankfully it isn't really impacting my running. I could feel it a small bit on my run today but it is manageable. The coach thinks it may be the psoas so I'm going to try to release this and see if that helps. I also have another session with the physio booked in 10 days time when I'm back from the UK.

Until then I'm happy to return to normal training and base building. We did get notice our county road races are on over the next few weeks but I'm not going to compete in them this year as I really want to just give 100% focus on my marathon training. I can do races but we wouldn't just be running them while training and would look to taper etc so every race I do will interrupt my regular training by between 1 to 2 weeks. They also increase the risk of injury and I've already had more interruptions than I would like at this early stage.

18/04/23 - 12.76K - 1:05:39 (5:09/km) - HR - 127

The usual easy run to start off the week. My legs were still feeling a bit tired even with a full days rest and I was running along the coast into the wind which didn't make it feel any easier. Even still a very comfortable effort.

19/04/23 - 18.03K - 1:20:01 (4:26/km) - HR - 142

Building on last week again, 20 Easy, 20 Tempo, 5 Easy, 15 Tempo, 20 Easy. This session went really for both tempo blocks I averaged 3:53/km and feeling as comfortable as I've ever done at this sort of pace. I am mostly covering flat ground here but there are some small drags and I'm starting to be able to just power over these not slowing down at all, a really nice feeling. Still experiencing the abdomen issue but manageable, unfortunately the physio got pushed back by a day but at least it is still happening.

20/04/23 - 12.58K - 1:05:07 (5:11/km) - HR - 127

Certainly feeling the previous days run in the legs on this one but again running as easy as the body feels like it needs. It generally just ends up averaging around the 5:10/km pace which seems to be a good easy pace for me right now. I don't really mind what the pace is on these runs as long as the legs are getting the recovery they need.

I did manage to get in with the physio later in the day and after a bit of an initially worry that it could be something more serious he agreed it does seem to be the psoas that is causing my current pain in the abdomen and related tightness in the groin. He did some work to release it which involves quite deep reaching into the abdomen area, very uncomfortable altogether but there was an almost immediate improvement in my pain when moving afterwards. It is still not perfect after the one session but I'll be going back more often over the next while to keep on top of it and hopefully get it fully resolved. At least I can continue running and no break required.

21/04/23 - 12.96K - 1:05:03 (5:01/km) - HR - 129

Another easy 65 mins but I added in the 5 x strides, excluding these the average pace was again closer to 5:10/km. I was a bit nervous doing them but thankfully no issues.

22/04/23 - 26.63K - 2:00:02 (4:30/km) - HR - 142

The long run was scheduled for Sunday but I needed to switch it to Saturday due to time constraints the next day. I'll probably have to do the same again next week. Building on last week to 30 Easy, 60 MP, 30 Easy, although the coach tells me this isn't really MP but for the purposes of this log it's what I'm going to continue to call it. This was by far the longest I've ever ran but again I felt went really well. I averaged 4:09/km for the MP block and the pacing was really consistent on it. Again I felt very strong, eating up any little inclines.

It was definitely a run of two halves weather wise though. The first half, cool, overcast and not much wind, actually pretty decent running conditions. Then after about an hour some weather front moved in, the wind picked up, temps dropped and a nice steady stream of rain set in with no let up. I was soaked right through which I didn't mind as much while motoring along at a decent pace on the MP block, however the 30 min easy at the end was just miserable. I was just counting down the minutes and seconds until it was over making sure at the end of it I was as close to my front door as possible. Despite the weather a really great run.

23/04/23 - 12.58K - 1:05:11 (5:11/km) - HR - 126

The legs were definitely feeling the week so far on this run. Started this slowly until the legs showed a bit more life and then just tipped around nice and easily. Rounded out the week at just over 95K and my longest week to date.

The positive vibes continue thankfully. I'm definitely seeing clear improvements even at this stage in the training although I am running a bit ahead of where the coach wants me to be. In particular on the long run I need to scale the pace back here just by a couple of secs per km. The worry is that I burn out during this phase of the training. This run will scale back next week to 30, 40, 30 and increment back up to 30, 60, 30 as I did this week and cycle through that again with the pace incrementing on each cycle. My pace this week was probably two cycles ahead of what I should be doing. I just need to patient and not push the process.

02/05/23 - 10.38K - 1:05:03 (6:16/km) - HR - 111

My GF was back and we had the opportunity to get out together early in the morning so took advantage of it. She is building towards a 10 mile and I've created a bit of a training plan for her so this was a long run with a mix of pace. It was good to be able to pace her for it and it worked perfectly for me giving the legs even more recovery for the harder sessions coming up.

03/05/23 - 22.34K - 1:40:02 (4:29/km) - HR - 139

There is a bit more variety starting to get added to this session now but I really enjoyed this and a really solid workout. The outline of it went something like, 20 Easy, 20 @ 4:00/km (ish), 5 Easy, 10 @ 3:56/km (ish), 5 Easy, 2 x 5 @ 3:52/km (ish) off 3 min, 20 Easy. I did have a licence to push the pace a bit which I did. The paces were actually 20 @ 3:56, 10 @ 3:51, 2 x 5 @ 3:41 however I was doing this at a flat loop in an industrial estate and I always take the paces on the watch with a pinch of salt here as I've found it can be a bit exaggerated. Even still a really solid session and keeping this on a flat loop I was feeling very comfortable throughout.

04/05/23 - 12.24K - 1:05:34 (5:21/km) - HR - 123

Slowed this down to a bit of a shuffle after the previous days workout, the body certainly needed it.

05/05/23 - 13.01K - 1:05:35 (5:02/km) - HR - 130

Another easy 65 mins but with the 5 x strides added in. The average pace for the majority of the run was closer to 5:10.

06/05/23 - 12.18K - 1:05:03 (5:20/km) - HR - 123

Moved the long run back to the Sunday this weekend so another easy 65 before it. Again I wanted to run very easy here to make sure the body was relatively fresh for the long effort. Unfortunately got a little niggle in the right hip flexor after this. It is just feeling a bit tight and a bit of trouble rotating inwards but nothing too serious.

07/05/23 - 24.11K - 1:50:02 (4:34/km) - HR - 142

This week back up to 30 Easy, 50 MP, 30 Easy. The hip was feeling pretty ok starting off but once the MP effort kicked in I was feeling it a bit. I didn't really feel comfortable pushing quite as much but still tipped along nicely for this part averaging 4:11/km which is what I should be doing for this effort anyway. The hip did loosen up a small bit towards the end of it thankfully. All in all another good session.

Total mileage for the week of 94K and the mileage is really starting to rack up now for my level anyway. At this rate by the end of the month I will have surpassed my total mileage for all of last year. Looking back over the past few weeks there is an obvious trend that I am having to slow down my easy runs to let the body recover but I've no problem with this. Any ego I used to have over the pace of my slow runs is long gone.

It's 2 months out now to the half marathon at the start of July and can't help but think about it. Both excited and a bit anxious but I've just to focus on the weeks ahead, stick with the training plan and trust it will provide the benefits.

16/05/23 - 12.25K - 1:05:20 (5:20/km) - HR - 122

A very relaxed run to start off the week. As expected, legs still tired from the weekends long effort but always good to get the legs moving.

17/05/23 - 23.8K - 1:44:01 (4:22/km) - HR - 142

I'm beginning to look forward more and more to this midweek session as I try to push the pace. This week was fairly straightforward, 20 Easy, 8 x 5 mins off 3 min recovery, 20 Easy. The recovery here is very generous even though I always jog it at a decent sort of pace so this was as much a fartlek as anything else. I wanted to push things again slightly so the goal was to start off around 3:50 pace for the 5 min blocks and try to get progressively quicker and all went exactly to plan, the paces for the reps were: 3:49, 3:48, 3:45, 3:43, 3:39, 3:38, 3:35, 3:34. Again I take the actual paces with a small pinch of salt but just happy to have maintained the progression. Another solid session!

18/05/23 - 12.50K - 1:05:28 (5:14/km) - HR - 124

An easy shuffle with legs feeling the previous days effort. It took a few hundred meters for the legs to warm up and feel like I was actually running but I was out along the coast for this so absolutely no complaints. A really lovely morning for it.

19/05/23 - 12.63K - 1:05:03 (5:09/km) - HR - 127

Another easy effort including the 5 x strides. I was going to have to switch the long run to Saturday so this was the last easy run before and was conscious not to push the strides too much. They were into a headwind anyway and the legs were still feeling quite tired so pace not great for them regardless.

20/05/23 - 21.67K - 1:40:03 (4:37/km) - HR - 135

Dropping back the distance but increasing the pace a bit on the MP or closer to HMP block, a breakdown of 30 Easy, 40 HMP/MP, 30 Easy. I wasn't really feeling great on the warm up for this but once I got moving on the harder block I settled into a decent rhythm thinking off the K's. It's good that 40 mins at this effort is now beginning to feel short. The average pace for this block was 4:05/km so starting to drift more towards HM pace but this was always the plan I believe. The only issue on this run was some GI issues which meant needing a quick break just as the harder block was finishing. Luckily I was running along the coast again and could take a quick detour to some public bathrooms. Not sure what I would have done otherwise, really not a nice feeling and no clue why it happened on this run. Nothing different directly before it or even the few days prior.

21/05/23 - 12.55K - 1:05:13 (5:12/km) - HR - 123

A final easy shuffle to round off the week. The GPS went a bit crazy on this one so I think the actually distance covered was a less and the average pace probably closer to 5:15, maybe even 5:20. Haven't had that issue before on this route so hopefully just a once off.

Total mileage for the week just over 95K and my seventh consecutive week of 90K+ distance covered. It doesn't actually sound like a lot but I'm really happy the body is getting through it so well. The sessions and paces are only heating up so this week will be very interesting. But as I've been told already on this log and by my coach paces are just a guide at this stage in the build up. After this week I should also break the 1000 mile mark for the year which is as much as I managed all of last year.

30/05/23 - 12.34K - 1:05:04 (5:16/km) - HR - 123

After a very active weekend I was expecting to feel a lot worse on this but thankfully the legs felt quite good and motored along on the slightly quicker side of what easy is these days.

31/05/23 - 22.33K - 1:40:02 (4:29/km) - HR - 137

An interesting session lined up for this, 20 Easy, 10 x 3 mins off 3 mins (target 3:37/km), 20 Easy. Only 30 minutes of harder effort this week compared to 40 for the past few weeks however pace is increasing and approaching 5K pace but thankfully the recovery is still very generous.

On the 20 Easy to warm up the legs felt reasonably ok but a bit sluggish and setting off then on the first 3 min rep I struggled to get into a good rhythm and the legs felt like they were just lacking a bit of pop. The next 5 or 6 reps felt like a real slog and mentally just had to grind it out but I was managing to hit the pace. Then finally on the last few reps the legs felt like they came alive and on the final rep I just stepped it up on more gear just to see if I could more than anything else. So the paces for the reps ended up being, 3:34, 3:36, 3:35, 3:35, 3:36, 3:35, 3:34, 3:33, 3:20. It's been a while since I ran any reasonable time at 3:20 so good to know it's still in there somewhere.

Not the best feeling session but executed pretty well.

01/06/23 - 12.51K - 1:05:09 (5:13/km) - HR - 119

Last weekend I purchased myself a new pair of super shoes that I am hoping to use for the marathon and upcoming half marathon and decided to give them a try on this and break them in a bit. They are the Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro and were selected after trying on a couple of different options. I've struggled to find a pair of super shoes in the past that feel comfortable so I'm hoping these will work.

They are absolutely not designed for slow running but I didn't want to just take them out on a long run as a first proper run in them so this wasn't ideal but it will still give me a good idea of how they would feel comfort wise. First impressions is that they are definitely a bit unstable at slower speeds and there is one potential hot spot I am a bit concerned about but hopefully the runners will loosen out a bit. They are however unbelievably cushioned and I tried a couple of short efforts closer to marathon pace during this run and they felt quick. I'll keep here updated about how I get on with them.

02/06/23 - 12.48K - 1:05:03 (5:13/km) - HR - 124

Another easy run with just 4 x strides this time. Legs were feeling a bit tired so didn't feeling like pushing it too hard.

03/06/23 - 26.13K - 2:00:02 (4:36/km) - HR - 140

Again I needed to get out for the long run on the Saturday and back to the 2 hours of 30 Easy, 60 @ approx HM, 30 Easy. The target pace for the 60 block here was 4:06 and after how I felt last weekend on the 50 block I was feeling good about this. Starting out the 30 Easy and the legs felt really good, cruising around 5:00/km feeling very comfortable. Starting out the 60 block and the first 2K on this route can be a bit slow but I was able to float along feeling strong and the first half of this block I was again averaging 4:05 pace having to slow myself down even.

Unfortunately something happened around this point that I still don't quite understand, I developed almost a stitch but more like a cramp in my lower left abdomen and around the same time was approaching a small bit of an incline. My pace dropped and I just wasn't able to recover it. It felt like my legs had been zapped of any strength they had. Somewhere around the 35 min mark I had ran a 4:22 K and I was prepared to call it a day thinking the session had been ruined. I did however talk myself around and break out of the negative thought spiral. I knew I couldn't get back to target pace but even just keep this pace going and see out the rest of the block. This is something that could easily happen during a race so I treated as much mental training as anything else. I ended up getting back to around marathon pace (4:16/km) but that was all I could do. The average pace for the 60 ended up being 4:11/km.

This is first time since starting with the new coach that I haven't hit my pace in training and I know I shouldn't get too fixated on pace but it is still frustrating, particularly because I just don't quite understand what happened. It's not like I went out too fast and had started to build lactate. It was also a warm day but I started this at 9am so the heat shouldn't have been an issue. But even still maybe it was something simple like an electrolyte imbalance or maybe just simply a bad day at the office.

04/06/23 - 12.30K - 1:06:21 (5:18/km) - HR - 121

I wasn't sure what to expect after what happened the previous day but amazingly I felt ok on this. I wouldn't say fresh by any means but no ill effects and shuffled around at a very comfortable pace.

Even with the disappointing weekend long run I would still count this as a pretty good weeks training and total mileage of 98K. On the mental side of things I'm happy I've been able to keep it going even when it's not pretty and sometimes just awful. I'm not sure if it was an issue or not but I'm going to try keep a better eye on things like electrolytes/general fuelling and refuelling after runs especially with the current heat.

In other news after seeing the opinion of a few people here and chatting to the coach I have decided to change the Half Marathon from Clontarf to Termonfeckin. It is a week later but should still work for the training plan and while there looks to be a small bit of elevation it doesn't seem to be anything too severe. Hopefully it will end up being the right choice but either way a good test.

13/06/23 - 12.5K - 1:05:56 (5:17/km) - HR - 125

A run of the mill easy run. Even getting out early for this it was still 18 degrees and feeling humid. The heart rate reflected it.

14/06/23 - 17.56K - 1:20:01 (4:33/km) - HR - 141

A session of 20 Easy, 20 x 1 min on/off, 20 Easy. This is the shortest this session is going to get before working backwards to the longer intervals. The target pace was 3:30/km and after hitting close to this for most of the 2 min intervals last week I was hoping for a relatively "easy" workout so to speak but it certainly wasn't. I was doing this in a park in Dublin rather than my usual loop of the industrial estate and there is a not insignificant climb in it which definitely had an impact. The shortly recovery of just 1 min off and the volume of doing 20 reps was also challenging.

All this being said I put in a good shift and more or less hit target pace for all, I think two reps were 3:31 but the accuracy of pace for these shorter reps is also questionable. Even though the overall session was quite a bit shorter than what I've been doing over the past few weeks it was a tough one.

15/06/23 - 12.44K - 1:05:06 (5:14/km) - HR - 122

Still in Dublin for the next few days but took a different route for this out along the coast and back. A really pleasant run with the weather we are having and nice and flat too so ideal for recovery.

16/06/23 - 13.01K - 1:08:02 (5:14/km) - HR - 124

Reverted back to my usual Dublin 65 min loop for this but in reverse. I should also have been doing the 5 x strides in this but I had a bit of tightness in my hamstring so decided against it. A bit of rolling afterwards seemed to sort it all out and I've a session with the physio next week for a good massage.

17/06/23 - 24.80K - 1:50:02 (4:26/km) - HR - 140

My weekend plans meant switching the long run back to Saturday and being in Dublin meant the Phoenix Park which is in my top 3 places to run so always a joy. A breakdown of 30 Easy, 50HMP, 30 Easy with target HMP of 4:03/km. The weather had turned a bit with wind and rain and not quite as hot but still feeling relatively humid. I hadn't been sleeping great for a few nights before this and wasn't feeling confident so willing to be a bit flexible on the pace if I needed be.

Starting off on the 30 Easy and again feeling a bit slugglish but just kept ticking along knowing the first 2K or so of the HMP effort was more of less downhill so I could just ease into. In a wonderful turn of events as soon as I picked up to HMP the legs responded fantastically. The first 2K ticked by in 4:00/km pace exactly before heading to up the S bends along military road where my paced actually picked up a bit and I was through the first 5K in 19:50. I was aware I was going a bit too fast compared to target pace but the legs felt so good it was really difficult to not go with it. I just felt like I was able to glide along the whole way and the pace only picked up more for the last few K, averaging closer to 3:50/km and even still not feeling like I was pushing it. Overall the average pace for the 50 block was 3:56/km and absolutely could have just kept going. The coach did tell me at the start of this that my then tempo pace I was working with would eventually be the pace I would do these longer sessions at and I didn't believe him at the time but here we are.

I know I probably should have slowed the pace down a bit despite how good I was feeling but this really was one of those rare unicorn days where running felt amazing and I wanted to enjoy it a bit. A world of difference compared to 2 weeks ago when I struggled to keep up 4:05 pace past 30 mins.

18/06/23 - 12.43K - 1:05:04 (5:14/km) - HR - 121

I still had the good vibes after the previous day and the legs felt surprisingly ok. I started off a bit quicker than this average pace but slowed it down a bit, easy runs still need to be easy.

The run I had on Saturday is the one I've been waiting for since starting this new training program. The coach repeatedly tells me this phase is not designed specifically to have a large training effect but I know it is having some and it is great to finally really feel it. And while it's only one training run, it's also given me a lot more confidence that my targets while ambitious may not be completely unrealistic. The challenge now is to try replicate this feeling in a few weeks come the day of the half marathon and again for the marathon.

27/06/23 - 12.28K - 1:05:23 (5:19/km) - HR - 120

28/06/23 - 22.57K - 1:40:01 (4:26/km) - HR - 137

A session of 20 w/u, 10 x 3 On/Off, 20 c/d. I got to do this on my preferred flat loop of the industrial estate although it was pretty blustery so still not straight forward. Target pace for the 3 min On was 3:33/km which I was a small bit inside for most of them.

The pace for the reps were: 3:33, 3:31, 3:30, 3:30, 3:29, 3:29, 3:28, 3:30, 3:29, 3:25. So compared to about a month ago a couple of seconds quicker per rep although it still felt like a slog but I grinded it out well.

29/06/23 - 11.31K - 1:05:02 (5:45/km) - HR - 112

30/06/23 - 12.67K - 1:05:04 (5:08/km) - HR - 123

01/07/23 - 16.20K - 1:37:16 (6:00/km) - HR - 115

Pacing duties at the Roscommon 10K with my partner. It was tricky conditions again on the day with a strong enough breeze blowing and the course had a few nice little drags on it. I wasn't really sure what sort of pace she could manage for distance and she has only been over this distance once and not at this pace but based on her training I did have 6 min/km in my head so this is what we set off at. As I said there were a few nice pulls over different parts for there was a small bit of variation between some k's but overall she managed to be remarkably consistent. First 5K in 30:02, second 5K in 29:54, 3rd 5K in 30:19 which she really had to dig deep for. Even managed a bit of a sprint finished at the end. Incredibly well done to her.

02/07/23 - 12.56K - 1:05:07 (5:13/km) - HR - 120

04/07/23 - 12.51K - 1:05:07 (5:12/km) - HR - 123

05/07/23 - 25.25K - 1:50:01 (4:21/km) - HR - 142

A session of 20 w/u, 10 x 4 On 3 Off, 20 c/d. Back in Dublin for this one so not as flat a loop around the park but I was able to get consistency by running between the exact same corners for each rep and jog between them for the recoveries. Target pace for the 4 min on was 3:36.

The pace for the reps were: 3:36, 3:34, 3:33, 3:33, 3:31, 3:32, 3:31, 3:32, 3:32, 3:29. Again a noticeable improvement since I did this session a few weeks and apparently another sub 1:30 half during this according to Strava. However I think I pushed this one a bit too hard. My legs haven't felt as tired after a run in a long time and the calves in particular were very tight.

06/07/23 - 12.33K - 1:05:04 (5:17/km) - HR - 123

The legs and body in general were still really feeling drained from the previous day on this. Thankfully I had a session with the physio later to get a bit of treatment and loosened out.

07/07/23 - 12.55K - 1:05:38 (5:14/km) - HR - 124

08/07/23 - 14.45K - 1:05:01 (4:30/km) - HR - 138

Starting to taper for the race next Sunday on this session, 20 Easy, 15 x 1 On/Off, 15 Easy. However I ended up doing this on the treadmill. Going to bed the night before this, all was ok apart from the legs still feeling a bit tired. But when I woke up for some reason I had a very strange pain just above my right knee which is my "better" one. It's not really a pain I was familiar with but did seem to be improving the more I moved but I was still a bit concerned. I decided to use the treadmill so that if there was any signs of an issue I could stop and not be stuck a couple of kilometers from home. Thankfully it went fine and since then no pain at all. A very strange one indeed.

09/07/23 - 11.71K - 1:05:02 (5:33/km) - HR - 116

Again my legs were feeling trashed so I took this one very slow. Of course just as I headed off on the run it started to rain, and rain, and rain some more, even with a bit of thunder and lightning. And just as I came to finish my run it brightened up with blue skies behind me and no rain for the next few hours.

A big week this week with the half marathon on Sunday and I am feeling quite nervous ahead of it. The legs feeling so tired the past week hasn't helped but on my run today they seemed to have recovered well enough and with a nice taper this week I don't think this should be an excuse. I actually took a drive around the loop it is going to take place on and there are some nice little hills especially on the finish but I can't think too much about that. It is what it is and if I wanted a perfectly flat loop I should have stuck with Clontarf last week.

I guess the anxiety is more just about what sort of shape I'm actually in and what pace I should target. This phase of training has been going well and I've executed most of the sessions I've been set. However there have been some of the longer sessions that didn't go to plan and this definitely gives me a bit of self doubt. To be on target for a sub 3hr marathon I would want to be somewhere around the 1:25 mark so about 4 min/km pace. The furthest I've raced before is 10K so it just seems like such a big step up but I have to believe I'm capable of it. I've a call later in the week with the coach to talk about the race and targets etc, so hopefully that will settle the nerves a bit.

I also need to remember this isn't the goal race but even still I want to give a good account of myself. Hopefully I can report back with a positive update next week.

11/07/23 - 8.35K - 43:17 (5:11/km) - HR - 123

The real start of the taper with a 45 min easy run. The legs and body was starting to feel much better on this thankfully.

12/07/23 - 11.65K - 55:56 (4:48/km) - HR - 130

A mostly easy run here with 8 x 45 sec @ 5K pace off 1:15 thrown in to keep the legs ticking over. I was being quite conversative on the 45 secs on not really caring too much about the actual pace and just working off effort instead. All very controlled and comfortable.

13/07/23 - 8.89K - 45:04 (5:04/km) - HR - 122

I was really starting to feel the reduced mileage and taper here, legs starting to feel really fresh and strong. Pace is a good 10sec per km quicker than the usual easy runs feeling probably more relaxed too.

14/07/23 - 9.19K - 45:43 (4:58/km) - HR - 128

Another 45 min easy with 5 x 20 sec strides

15/07/23 - 6.98K - 35:28 (5:04/km) - HR - 127

A final 35 min easy to keep the legs ticking over until the big day. The weather was pretty shocking on this so really just hoping it would improve a bit for the race.

16/07/23 - Termonfeckin Half Marathon - Race Report

The big day and everything had gone exactly to plan, now it was hopefully just a matter of execution. Thankfully the weather had calmed down a small bit, there was still a decent wind but not quite as severe as the day before. I had a good chat with the coach during the week about tactics and the plan was simple. A conservative first 5K followed by a steady 10K and then hopefully be able to push on the last 6K or so. Really the main thing was to not get too excited if feeling good and push hard too early. Half marathons should feel relatively comfortable for a good portion of it or so I'm told.

Arriving on location and everything looked really well setup. I was there with plenty of time to spare as I had to pick up my number of on the day but that was completely hassle free. This left me loads of time before needing to warm up so just chilled for a small bit with my partner who had come to support. This is only the second running of this event and looking at the results last year there wasn't huge depth at the top end of the field but there looked to be a few more quicker looking athletes around this year. Eventually the time came to warm up and got an easy 10 mins in as planned before getting changed. The legs felt pretty good and I decided to run along some of the main road which would have the headwind just to get a feel for it and yep still a decent wind for sure. But tried my best to put it out of my mind. Going to the start then I did a few strides to prime the legs and I had that jelly like feeling but I knew it was just nervous energy. The legs were well rested and I had plenty of energy, no reason to believe otherwise.

Lining up at the start and I positioned myself at the front. If I was hitting my target time of 1:25 there still shouldn't be huge numbers around of me so I thought that was fair enough. As the race started I was really surprised by just how many people race off like I would expect from a 5K but I ignored all that and just try to settle into my pace of around 4:00/km.

The first 5K, the early part was into the headwind but I just focused on staying relaxed and not waste too much energy. I got passed by a good few people here but I wasn't letting that bother me. After turning off this road there is a nice bit of a downhill but the coach said to stay relaxed here again and not try to bank time. I was still probably quicker than what we had discussed but I was feeling very comfortable and again another one or two passed me out here. By the end of the first 5K we were onto a nice flat part of the course alongside the river and the wind was helping here. Through the first 5K in 19:53, a bit ahead of target. The heart rate was a bit higher than expected and I was sweating a bit more than I would have liked but from an effort point of view I was feeling very comfortable so just settle in now.

The second 5K and by this stage the field had stretched out and settled down and there was no one coming up behind me but I was very much isolated. However there was someone in a green top who had passed me out earlier that was now starting to struggle and come back to me. I passed by him quickly and just motored on at a nice steady pace. The next people ahead of me were a group of 3 in white tops but they were a good few hundred meters ahead so not really thinking about them too much. The last 2K of this stretch was a constant little uphill though, nothing severe but noticeable. I kept my pace up and could see they were slowly starting to come back me. By the time we got to the end of this 5K the gap was down to about 30 meters and we were due to turn back along the main road and into the head wind. Through the second 5K in 20:00, perfect pacing and still feeling very comfortable.

The third 5K and this is what I had been fearing, about a 5K stretch along an open road into the wind. I was expecting to slow down a bit here naturally but I knew I was feeling good. After a few hundred meters of turning onto this road I had caught up with the group of 3 in front of me. I was considering settling in with them and just working with them for this stretch of the race but they were slowing down too much and I just felt strong enough to go on my own. So head down and just grind it out. There was another considerable gap of a few hundred meters to the next person in front of me and I wasn't really thinking about them to be honest but after 2K on this stretch the gap had closed considerable and I was going very strong, in fact I had picked up the pace just a fraction. By about 14K we were back to where we turned onto the main road at the start of the race and we would be repeating the next few K so I knew exactly what was coming up. By the end of this 5K I had flew past this other runner and there was a bit of a downhill coming up. Through this 5K in 19:51.

The last 5k+ and at this stage I knew with how I was feeling the target time was almost a guarantee baring a complete disaster, it was just a matter of how much I would break it by now. This was where the plan was to pick the pace up which I did but I wasn't sure by exactly how much I should. There was still 6K of running left and there was the risk of blowing up so I couldn't just sprint off. The next group of runners in front of me I couldn't really see until I reached the bottom of the downhill but the gap was considerable enough again so I wasn't really considering getting up them, just grinding out the last few K. The pace was certainly starting to feel less comfortable at this stage but I was still moving well. However there was one last sting in the tail to come, a tasty little hill during the last 1.5K and I was probably conserving myself for this a bit. Again to my surprise just before getting to here I managed to real in one of the runners in front of me and just as we approached this hill I got up on his shoulder. I pushed hard here and he tried to go with me but I managed to pull ahead. The last 600m or so then was relatively flat, there was one runner another hundred meters or so ahead of me and I know I could have made more of an effort here to maybe try to catch him but I was happy to just cross the line at this stage. The runner I had passed did make a final effort to catch me so I had make a bit of a last ditch burst to stay ahead of him which I did successfully.

Crossed the line for an official time of 1:23:27 and 11th place overall.

To say I'm delighted is an understatement. This is well beyond anything I was hoping for and such a huge confidence boost and validation of the effort I've been putting in the past few months. Everything really did just go perfectly today and it is such a wonderful feeling to see everything come together. I think I may have actually found a new favorite distance to race. If I'm being really honest I think I probably left a bit out there too and probably had another 30 seconds if not more in me. I paced it really well but could probably have pushed harder in parts knowing now what I was actually capable of. Being the first time to race this distance it is tricky to know exactly when to push. But this is all if's and but's and I'm still thrilled with the end result. Obviously this is the only HM I've done but I would absolutely recommend it. There is some elevation change, in particular the finish hurts but overall I think it is a fast enough route to be honest.

Hopefully all this means I'm in a strong position for the sub 3 target. I know my coach is confident I am and maybe even a bit quicker. For now I'm just looking forward to getting into the next block of training and pushing on even more. That is after a nice recovery week of course 😁

18/07/23 - 7.2K - 45:04 (6:15/km) - HR - 107

My partner wanted to get out with me on this run which was absolutely perfect to start off a recovery week. This was day 2 after the HM and I had developed a case of DOMS in my quads after feeling pretty good the day before. The weather for this was a bit miserable and after a tender few first hundred meters I enjoyed it.

19/07/23 - 10.52K - 55:48 (5:18/km) - HR - 122

Still a bit of DOMS for this. Increasing the time on the feet slightly to 55 mins but keeping the pace very relaxed and not forcing it anywhere. The legs were definitely still feeling tired.

20/07/23 - 12.34K - 1:05:04 (5:16/km) - HR - 119

The legs were finally starting to feel a bit more alive on this one but still holding back the pace to make sure it stays easy.

21/07/23 - 13.01K - 1:06:07 (5:05/km) - HR - 123

Easy 65 mins including 5 x strides. The legs were feeling better again and it was nice to have that feeling of speed in the legs with strides. Nothing crazy pace wise for those, something around 3:20/km

22/07/23 - 12.35K - 1:05:10 (5:17/km) - HR - 122

Not sure why put the body was feeling very tired on this so I did my best to listen to it and keep it very relaxed.

23/07/23 - 24.12K - 2:00:02 (4:59/km) - HR - 127

The plan had me down for a 2 hour easy run but it was probably a bit harder than easy towards the end. Surprisingly after the previous day the legs and body was feeling really good on this. The first 30 mins or so of this was uphill into the wind and I was running just on perceived effort but the pace was a bit quicker than the rest of the week, closer to 5:10 I reckon. The next 60 mins or so then was all downwind and I was cruising very relaxed and easy just below 5:00/km pace. The last 30 mins then was back into the wind and this is where I should have eased off the pace but I kept it up and the perceived effort definitely increased a bit.

I know it's silly to say but I wasn't expecting to feel as tired in the days after the HM so while this run wasn't to plan I'm happy with how I felt.

So after 3 weeks of a mix of taper, racing and recovery it's back to the grind before the marathon which is only 12 weeks away if my counting is right. I'm expecting the mileage to start increasing on the weekend long runs which is all uncharted territory for me but I can only feel confident after how well the last block has gone. If I can replicate that consistency I know good things will happen.

It's been a while since my last update, each week I mean to get around to it but just been very busy and then end up waiting too long and thinking I'll do it next time, but here is the past few weeks:

01/08/23 - 12.48K - 1:05:48 (5:16/km) - HR - 126

02/08/23 - 13.61K - 1:00:02 (4:25/km) - HR - 139

This was going to be a higher volume session but with getting back from the quad niggle the coach decided to scale this back and just do a simple 20 easy, 20 tempo, 20 easy to test it. All went well thankfully and 20 minutes tempo averaging 3:45/km. Looking back at it the pace was very consistent and I remember feeling pretty comfortable on it.

03/08/23 - 10.48K - 1:05:02 (6:12/km) - HR - 107

04/08/23 - 12.83K - 1:05:50 (5:08/km) - HR - 126

05/08/23 - 12.35K - 1:05:03 (5:16/km) - HR - 121

06/08/23 - 24.91K - 1:52:01 (4:30/km) - HR - 138

This was a bit of a mixed long run, 30 Easy, 35 HMP, 5 Easy, 6 x 45s on, 1:15 off, 30 Easy. Remembering back to this one and the HMP effort didn't feel as comfortable as it probably should have but it was still well executed and when it came to the 6 x 45s there was plenty of pace in the legs.

Weekly Mileage - 86.6K

08/08/23 - 10.09K - 1:05:02 (6:27/km) - HR - 107

09/08/23 - 17.08K - 1:15:52 (4:27/km) - HR - 140

This was supposed to be a session of 20 Easy, 12 x 3 on, 35s recovery, 20 Easy but I misread the instructions and only did 10 reps 😅

The specified pace for the reps was approx 3:50/km which I was expecting to feel pretty comfortable even with the short recovery and it very much did. I ended up picking up the pace a bit as the reps went on and honestly this was one of the easier sessions I've had in a while.

10/08/23 - 12.37K - 1:06:03 (5:20/km) - HR - 124

11/08/23 - 12.69K - 1:06:02 (5:12/km) - HR - 125

12/08/23 - 25.75K - 1:53:18 (4:24/km) - HR - 145

Long run of 2 miles easy, 12 miles MP, 2 miles easy so starting to build the marathon pace efforts now. The coach has this at approx 4:11/km which is 2:57 pace. We will see how realistic that is but I'm happy to go with it right now. I chose a new route for this out some long main roads into neighboring towns but on this particular route the first half was pretty much straight into the wind a few nice rolling hills so it was a bit more effort than it should have been to hold the required pace. The first half was actually a few secs per km slower but then the way back it picked up a bit and ended up averaging exactly 4:11/km for the 12 miles.

The legs were pretty tired after this not helped by playing a round of golf too.

13/08/23 - 10.20K - 1:07:06 (6:35/km) - HR - 105

Weekly Mileage - 88.1K

15/08/23 - 12.29K - 1:05:13 (5:18/km) - HR - 123

16/08/23 - 21.74K - 1:34:43 (4:21/km) - HR - 141

Progressing on from last week this time 20 Easy, 15 x 3 On, 35s recovery, 20 Easy. Straight away this didn't feel as comfortable as the previous week. I was definitely feeling the longer run at the weekend. The target pace here again was around 3:50/km which I was hitting perfectly and managed to feel stronger as the session went on even with the short recovery. In the end I picked it up a bit for the last 2 or 3.

17/08/23 - 12.61K - 1:06:28 (5:16/km) - HR - 124

18/08/23 - 10.96K - 1:05:07 (5:57/km) - HR - 115

19/08/23 - 7.76K - 40:03 (5:10/km) - HR - 129

19/08/23 - 5.05K - 26:57 (5:20/km) - HR - 126

20/08/23 - 32.19K - 2:26:13 (4:32/km) - HR - 140

My first 20 miler and truly into peak marathon training now. A breakdown of 3 miles warm up/down, 14 miles at 4:21/km pace. With the pace being about 10s per km slower than last week I was hoping this was going to feel easier but it really felt a lot harder than it should. The route I chose probably didn't help again, a long out and back along some rolling hills. The way out the wind was helping but it didn't feel like it, the way back it definitely hurt. Despite feeling how I did I managed to hit the pace exactly as prescribed averaging 4:21 for the 14 mile block and my first 20 miles and highest mileage week ever under the belt.

Weekly Mileage - 102.5K

22/08/23 - 12.33K - 1:05:16 (5:18/km) - HR - 125

23/08/23 - 21.67K - 1:35:02 (4:22/km) - HR - 139

This weeks session was 10 x 4 on, 90s off in between the usual 20 mins, target pace again 3:50/km. I really wasn't looking forward to this after the long run at the weekend and started off feeling very sluggish but hitting pace. It was really a hard grind of a session but managed again to grow into it and finish stronger than I started. Overall the average pace for these was closer to 3:47/km, a good bit shy of the 3:30's before the half marathon but feeling as hard with the shorter interval and miles in the legs

24/08/23 - 10.17K - 1:07:30 (6:38/km) - HR - 108

25/08/23 - 12.50K - 1:05:04 (5:12/km) - HR - 123

26/08/23 - 11.50K - 1:06:21 (5:10/km) - HR - 115

27/08/23 - 32.20K - 2:21:42 (4:24/km) - HR - 142

Another 20 miler and I'm going to need to get used to this distance quickly. The breakdown for this was 2 miles warm up/down with 16 miles at 4:18 pace. The past two long runs I had my partner with me on a bike which helped with the delivery of gels/water and also provided some high visibility coverage on some roads I'm not exactly comfortable running on but I didn't have her for this. Instead I decided to use a 2 mile loop close by. It was pretty perfect in that it had a bit of undulation so still challenging and I could leave some gels and water at a corner to pick up on different laps as I passed by.

The run itself went a lot better than expected as I was feeling wrecked before hand. For about 15 of the 16 miles I felt quite good but could feel the body running out of the steam on the last mile. Still holding the pace but more effort than the rest of the run. Overall ended up averaging 4:14/km for the 16 miles which was ahead of the target and something I know I'm really not supposed to do on these runs so I won't make that mistake again.

Weekly Mileage - 100.3K

29/08/23 - 12.31K - 1:05:04 (5:17/km) - HR - 124

30/08/23 - 21.69K - 1:36:02 (4:26/km) - HR - 138

This weeks session was 8 x 5 min on, 2 min off with 20 mins either side, target pace of 3:50/km. Again very much doubting my ability to execute this but I was able to deliver. The first few were around 3:47 pace and the final 4 intervals I was able to increase the pace a couple of seconds each time finishing in 3:36 pace. A strong session on tired legs.

31/08/23 - 12.33K - 1:05:13 (5:17/km) - HR - 118

01/09/23 - 10.04K - 1:07:29 (6:43/km) - HR - 108

02/09/23 - 32.36K - 2:24:45 (4:28/km) - HR - 140

I was in the beautiful location of Killarney for a few days holiday so need to switch the long run to the Saturday before a round of golf later that day. I had already scouted out a loop which took in a lap of Muckross Lake and I don't think you could find a better location to suffer through 20 miles 😅

The breakdown for this was 3 miles warm up/down, 14 miles at 4:11/km pace. The lap of the lake really did have lots of tiny rolling hills, only a few meters long at times but constant which made it feel like I was constantly surging then slowing down. It made it entertaining but difficult to pace and the trees messing with the GPS at times didn't help either. I still managed to come in with an average pace of 4:12/km for the 14 miles so pretty pleased with that.

03/09/23 - 10.01K - 1:06:30 (6:39/km) - HR - 106

Weekly Mileage - 98.7K

So a lot of weeks and for my background a lot of miles. The body is certainly feeling it and there are small little aches and pains everywhere to be honest. Thankfully nothing that is stopping me from running and I'm getting regular massages which are undoubtedly helping. There is one bigger issue in the abdomen area that I'm going to need to get sorted but I'm hoping I can leave that until after the marathon.

A few positives however, I finally found a pair of carbon shoes that I wore for the last long run and I think will work for the marathon, the New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite V3, a right mouthful to say. Comfort wise I have no issues with hotspots, the only issue is a small bit of heal slippage on one foot, but my feet are about half a size different in size unfortunately. Tying the laces a bit tighter seems to be enough to resolve it so I'm pretty confident I'll go with these for the marathon but I'll continue to use them on the long runs to be completely sure.

I've also found a good pair of shorts for holding gels/water etc on the longer runs, something I've been struggling with. Pretty satisfied these will be the shorts for the marathon too. On the gels side I've tried two different ones so far, ones made by Kinetica and then Maurten. The Kinetica ones are quite sugary and a bit bigger in size/weight compared to the Maurten however I've had no issues with them. I only tried a Maurten gel for the first time on the last long run and I was not expecting the consistency of it at all. So different to the Kinetica and I almost got sicked when I first took a bit. It is a type of consistency I hate and would avoid at all costs in other circumstances but just had to power them down during the run. So still unsure what to do here. I'll experiment a bit more before deciding.

Just 6 weeks now left until the marathon itself and I do feel a bit like the body is just about hanging on from an injury point of view. Also at the moment it feels like every run is on tired legs but I guess that part should be expected. The next 3 weeks will be the toughest I'm sure so I just need to get over that before hopefully starting to taper.

05/09/23 - 12.05K - 1:05:04 (5:25/km) - HR - 123

The usual easy run to kick off the week but the body was feeling quite tired so took it very easy. My right leg wasn't feeling 100% before this, basically since after the long run last weekend, particularly in around the hamstring/glute area, but didn't feel like anything too serious at this stage.

06/09/23 - 21.02K - 1:32:22 (4:24/km) - HR - 142

20 mins Up/Down, 5 x 8 mins @3:50 off 3 mins @4:45

Walking up before this run and I was getting some familiar pains from years ago when I had my herniated disk and sciatica in my right leg. I was in a bit of denial though and didn't think it was really anything like that. Headed out and on the 20 mins warm up everything felt fine. Soon after then when doing the reps I was definitely struggling a bit. I wasn't in pain so to speak but rather discomfort and felt like I was lacking a bit of drive/power off the leg. It ended up being a very hard session just about hitting the required pace on each rep but it felt a lot harder than I think it should. I'm sure some of this could have been tired legs but definitely something up with the leg. I put a call in to the physio and managed to get an appointment the following evening. I also gave the coach notice and we agreed to just see what the outcome was before making any firm decisions.

07/09/23 - 10.39K - 1:05:08 (6:16/km) - HR - 113

This was the last day I was going to be able to get out for a run with my partner for a few weeks and my legs wasn't necessarily feeling any worse after the session yesterday. It felt ok on this but with the pace I wouldn't expect to struggle anyway.

Had the physio session later this evening and it is sciatica or at least sciatica like symptoms, pain in the glutes and tingling down the leg and into the foot, actually it's mostly in the foot to be honest. However he and the coach are hopeful it is piriformis syndrome/deep gluteal syndrome. My right glute area was badly locked up and something likely in spasm so a lot of painful work done to help release it all. Along with doing some exercise and another physio session next week it is pretty much a waiting game to see how/if it improves.

10/09/23 - 8.65K - 43:49 (5:04/km) - HR - 128

Gave it two days rest to see how much of a difference it made and day to day there were some small improvements. In general there is just a persistent low level tingling in my lower leg/feet like a very mild pins and needles but apart from that no other real pain or discomfort. The run itself however still wasn't ideal. I wanted to do about 40 to 45 mins to just test it out and again when running easy it was pretty ok, that tingling was still sort of there but got tuned out after a while. However I picked up the pace to around marathon pace for the last 1.5K and then started to feel discomfort in my glute just where it meets the hamstring and a bit of the hamstring itself. It is difficult to know if there was the same loss of power like the session during the week but the harder pace just wasn't comfortable.

I'm trying not to be all doom and gloom but I really worry this could finish my chances of even getting to the starting line. If things stayed as they are now I really don't know if I could manage a marathon at any sort of decent pace. I'm holding out hope that this will improve and hopefully very quickly otherwise I also won't be able to maintain the fitness I've been building either. I am going to try to keep up the easy runs in the coming days and no mid week session. Hopefully by the weekend there will be more of an improvement but I'm really not feeling confident right now. I'm feeling like this is pretty much a disaster right now.

Hi @sann sorry for only replying to you now. Unfortunately sciatica seems to be a very individual thing in terms of both cause and recovery but I will let know what has happened for me. I am back running and never really had to take a prolonged period off because I could still manage easy running thankfully, albeit with a mild discomfort but I couldn't run at any decent pace. For me the most prevalent symptom was a tingling/numbness down leg and radiating along my foot along with some leg weakness. Those symptoms have more or less eased off but I still have some discomfort in the glute/hamstring area which I particularly notice when running at a harder pace. For me it took probably 3 to 4 weeks for those initial symptoms to truly go but even now I get the very infrequent bit of tingling if sitting down at the wrong angle.

My issue does seem to have been caused by deep gluteal syndrome/piriformis syndrome and it has taken 4 weeks of some solid physio session to get this area even somewhat released but again the cause of yours could be very different. I haven't exactly been the most sensible with mine trying to run through a lot of it but the best thing you can do is listen to the advice of whatever healthcare professional you are seeing and hopefully the symptoms ease up. Like yourself I don't think my time goal is going to be realistic anymore but all we can do is chalk it off as bad luck and learn for the next time.

Thanks Dubh Geannain, I appreciate it.

12/09/23 - 12.44K - 1:05:03 (5:14/km) - HR - 128

13/09/23 - 12.69K - 1:07:11 (5:18/km) - HR - 122

14/09/23 - 11.52K - 1:00:48 (5:17/km) - HR - 124

15/09/23 - 13.46K - 1:05:07 (4:50/km) - HR - 128 (Treadmill)

16/09/23 - 12.65K - 1:05:02 (5:09/km) - HR - 128

17/09/23 - 18.01K - 1:30:15 (5:01/km) - HR - 128

This was week was mainly just easy running trying to recover from the sciatica. Throughout the week the symptoms were slowly improving and running easy was relatively comfortable. I did throw in a small bit of quicker pace work towards the end of the week to see how I felt with the most being 10 mins at the end of the 90 min run. The harder effort was still uncomfortable but improving.

Weekly Mileage - 80.7K

19/09/23 - 12.62K - 1:05:21 (5:11/km) - HR - 132

20/09/23 - 13.55K - 1:00:02 (4:26/km) - HR - 141

The first real proper test of the leg with 20 up/down and 20 tempo (3:48/km). Completed it successfully and while still uncomfortable it didn't really get worse during it although the right side with the sciatica did seem to fatigue a small bit towards the end. Fitness wise I feel like I've taken a big step backwards as this felt a lot tougher than it should really and even on the HR data I could see some HR creep which I usually don't.

21/09/23 - 12.36K - 1:04:06 (5:11/km) - HR - 125

22/09/23 - 12.84K - 1:04:04 (4:59/km) - HR - 129

23/09/23 - 12.47K - 1:06:22 (5:19/km) - HR - 122

24/09/23 - 32.19K - 2:20:56 (4:22/km) - HR - 147

This was a make or break run, 2 miles Up/Down, 16 miles MP+ 5 secs. At this stage 3 weeks out from the marathon I needed to know if I had any chance of completing the goal of a sub 3. I had chatted with the coach about this and I was going to use a 2 mile loop so if I needed to bail out I could. Going into it I really wasn't feeling confident but knew I had to give it a go. The 2 miles warm up felt ok and then into the harder effort. I could feel a mild tightness in the hamstring/glute area similar to what I have been experiencing for a while now but it was relatively low level so I wanted to stick with it for a while.

I had actually used this loop for the exact same session 4 weeks previous and straight away the effort for the same pace seemed harder and the inclines were that bit more of a struggle. After about 12 miles at MP I was definitely struggling more than I should, in particular on any incline and the tightness was getting worse over these too. In hindsight I should have called it a day here but I pushed through as best I could but the pace definitely slowing down by a few secs the last few km. Overall average pace for the 16 miles was 4:14/km. As tough as it was physically this is probably the toughest run I've done mentally, knowing that I could have stopped every 2 miles and would have had plenty of valid reasons. So at least one positive is winning that mental battle.

Comparing the stats to the same run 4 weeks previous the heart rate was about 5bpm higher throughout the whole of the MP for the same pace and this just confirms how I felt. Directly after the run the leg was sore but it actually settled relatively quickly and thankfully by the end of the day didn't seem to be any worse off.

Weekly Mileage - 96K

26/09/23 - 12.01K - 1:05:19 (5:26/km) - HR - 125

27/09/23 - 19.03K - 1:23:02 (4:22/km) - HR - 143

Extending the run from the previous week, 20 min up/down, 2 x 20 min tempo off 3 min jog. This was due to be at 10 mile pace but I wasn't completely comfortable going straight into that so started at HM pace and increased the pace gradually. It went about as well as I could expect really, still the same tightness in the leg but it didn't get any worse throughout it. The first 20 min tempo averaged 3:55 pace and the second averaged 3:47 pace. Again I'm not really feeling particularly fit or strong on these runs but I'm hoping this will improve.

28/09/23 - 12.24K - 1:05:30 (5:21/km) - HR - 124

29/09/23 - 9.43K - 48:36 (5:09/km) - HR - 128

This should have been another easy 65 min but I was just feeling rubbish and everywhere sore/tight so got a few strides in towards the end of the run to try and shake off some of that stiffness but cut the run a bit short.

30/09/23 - 13.10K - 1:08:35 (5:14/km) - HR - 125

01/10/23 - 28.97K - 2:05:41 (4:20/km) - HR - 146

Technically starting to taper now although I feel like I should be ramping up again, so 2 miles up/down, 14 miles MP. Up early for this one in the phoenix park and the amount of people/groups out running was astonishing, it truly is peak marathon training season. The previous few days running I had been feeling really stiff, tight, flat, all the bad things so I wasn't sure how this would go but again had to try. The 2 miles warm up felt ok and I set out at MP which we had been planning to be 4:11/km so I decided to see if I could do that. It took me a few km to get into any sort of flow but after 15 mins at MP I got to the Upper Glen Rd and could settle in.

I was able to keep the pace tipping along for 10 mile or so but again I was working harder than I really should have been. The last 4 miles though I had to pick the effort up even that bit more heading into some wind and struggling a bit and two slowish km's slipped in. The last 2 miles was back along the Upper Glen Rd and Military Rd and I happened across what looked like some club members out for probably their usual steady Sunday run and they were tipping along nicely themselves. I was sort of catching them but then was increasing the pace without realising it trying to get up and past them and a 3:50 km slipped in heading downhill here. The finish was along the S bends and while I was struggling I didn't completely die.

Average pace for the 14 MP ended up being 4:09/km so a couple of seconds faster than planned but this is definitely not sustainable for a full marathon. The leg was very similar to the previous week, bearably uncomfortable is the best way I can describe it.

Weekly Mileage - 94.7K

I was hoping after the last weeks to be able to tell if I going to be ok for the marathon or not but unfortunately I don't feel conclusive one way or the other. Fitness wise, even though I've been hitting respectful paces the last two weeks I feel like I've gone backwards quite a bit and I'm struggling to understand it really. I only took 2 days of a break after which I was able to keep up easy running. The injury is obviously still limiting me in some way and I will admit I'm not feeling very fluid in my stride. I could be reading into way too much but again comparing my long run at the weekend vs a previous one a few months ago at the same pace in the Phoenix Park there is a noticeable consistent difference in stride length and cadence. At the moment my stride is a fraction shorter and cadence a fraction up for the same pace which correlates to me feeling that tightness and just more stiff in general. I guess the positive sign is that the long runs have not made things any worse and I still have just under two weeks for my condition to maybe improve a bit more.

So back to the all important question, would I be able to get through the distance, yes I'm confident I can at a slower than planned pace. Can I go sub 3 hours? I'm not very confident, even if the leg was ok I'm no longer confident the fitness is there to be honest. But I will continue to hold out hope for as long as I can. The things I do have going for me is that there is still a very small bit of time for things to improve, although this may be wishful thinking. Also, the majority of any trouble I have had over the past two weeks has been with inclines/hills, thankfully Amsterdam won't have that so maybe that might help. Realistically I know how stubborn I am and if I'm on the start line I'll give it a go. If I fail, well I fail but it certainly won't be because of a lack of trying.

03/10/23 - 11.5K - 1:01:45 (5:22/km) - HR - 126

04/10/23 - 21.42K - 1:40:02 (4:40/km) - HR - 136

05/10/23 - 9.02K - 47:25 (5:16/km) - HR - 124

09/10/23 - 9.01K - 47:35 (5:17/km) - HR - 125

10/10/23 - 8.67K - 40:05 (4:38/km) - HR - 141

12/10/23 - 8.19K - 42:58 (5:15/km) - HR - 126

13/10/23 - 7.97K - 40:43 (5:06/km) - HR - 129

So to cut a long story short, the day after my last post the whole leg/sciatica/loss of power situation appeared to get worse which resulted in some last gasp treatments in an attempted to recover in time. Until probably the middle of this week I had almost given up but it does feel like the treatments along with the few days rest have made a significant enough difference. The past two days in particular things have felt much better and on this mornings run I threw in a few minutes at MP and it's the most comfortable from an effort point of view it has felt for quite a while. Hopefully my luck might just have turned.

The body is still far from 100% but I think it's good enough to at least attempt it. I know the risks but I'm pretty confident I can cover the distance at least. The pace is still completely up in the air but I'm going to try to see how close I can go to the sub 3. My plan will be to try get through the first 21 to 25K at sub 3 pace and I'll know then whether or not it's on. If it's not I'll dial it back, if I think it's a possibility I'll try keep it up.

Now that my mind is made up it's time to just relax, a final shake out run tomorrow, then just commit to it on the day and Que Sera Sera.