Speedy Gonzales or Slowpoke Rodriguez?

Sun 18/4/2010

11 miles easy.

Along clontarf seafront and around Bull Island. The marum grass and grass in the interior of the island from the Causeway towards Sutton has been burned away. Looks strange.

995 miles for the year. Should complete tommorrow although Condo131 might pip me at post for 1st spot. Have a very sore shin and still tired from race so Ill do little running for a few days after tommorrow.

Ok back to the log

Tuesday 20/4/2010

6.5 easy hobble

Sunday 25/4/2010

7.35 miles briskish inc 8 by 80-90 metres. ave (6.53) pace

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Good to see the log back. Any idea of where you are right now (e.g. 5k/10k times?)

If i raced 5k/10k right now id be looking for 15:50/33:20 although thats easier said than done (have never done it). I may run Raheny to get a bench mark as i need one. Problem is Howth IMRA is week before Raheny 5 and national intermediates a week after. Nat Int is a target, Howth is a treat for the hard training. Maybe the Winter League 3 miler next week in raheny might do the trick. Ill know when i start doing the bigger sessions what ill be capable of. If i get to a few club marathon sessions i can benchmark off some of the other runners.

ecoli wrote: »

+1 Great to see this log revived will be great to see how the Canova approach works for you and your experiences along the way. You already been racking up some solid miles from what I can see in the 1000 mile challenge

Last week was 160k this week will be similar. Off work till tuesday so making some hay. My specific stage will be a toned down version of Canovas program for an elite female marathoner. The actual phase might be shorter depending on what lenght i can sustain. The fundamental, P and D style long run will be prevalent also as a banker. Hopefully will do 130-140 k typically for the special phase with 25-35% or so at or around M pace.

5/1/2012

AM recovery effort around DCU loop. 10.5k 49 mins

PM Hilly Progression run: WU then 3 road laps around the exterior or Killiney?Dalkey hill.

Lap lenght: 4.72k

Lap 1: 20:24 4:19 pace
Lap 2: 18:52 4:00 pace
Lap 3: 17:47 3:46 pace

Total distance 16k ish in 68 mins

Enjoyable run. Decided on clockwise loop to get better coastal view. In hindsight the other direction is better for training (steep ascent, gradual runnable descent rather than gradual ascent, steep descent wheer you have to hold back). Worked well tonight and happy to get it in. Hero of the night was my car which miraculously passed her NCT. Woohoo! My natural reaction was to ape Gene Wilders reaction when he and Richard Prior got sentenced to 150 years in Stir Crazy!!!!! I saved it for when i was alone with the car.


The 200 reps have worked well in that my form and speed have been given a nice kick. I was walking up very stiff (around ankles) and feeling slow starting each run until that one. Will do every 2 weeks in conjunction with strides. A little Yoga is in order too. Have to be diligent with this from now on as body maintenance is crucial with the high mileage im on. Easy to run comfortably through it with descent form: pointless to limp and stagger through it.

Both achilles are tender but any work done means excuciating pain.....
The windy weather has me thinking about route choices: picking routes that offer shelter against the wind etc. Driving home at 11pm i admired again the great stretch of new tarmac on the merrion road with little traffic around. It occured to me that this might be a perfect stretch for marathon specific work. Early Sunday mornings would see this stretch de facto deserted and it looks to be 4k at a guess. Should resemble Rotterdam, or close enough.

7/1/2012

Plan for the BHAA 4 mile in Tymon was scuppered by the hero come villain car who relinquished cooperation on route to race. Car put back in line, and plan changed to an alternations session in the Phoenix park several hours later. TBH, the thoughts of a 16k session on my own around a windy and deserted (so sick of wind! shaking my fist at it sick now) polo grounds appealed not. Mentally and physically an easy day was needed. I know from experience now that high mileage is a tight rope. When youve a little time on your side before the goal its ok to avoid a risky hazard. Today was one of those days. 18k easy instead and a relaxing evening in store.

Tommorrow will be a Canova fundamental (similar to P + D) long run of circa 2.15. Will start early, conservative but finish fast i hope. If it goes well ill be happy that im heading back on track from my meander long run wise. Slightly lower volume next week.
Hope to hit one solid LT session/race per week now for next 3-4 weeks.

Plan will roughly use the follows for next few weeks:

Long runs at 20-10 % of current race fitness: one every 7-10 days.

Progression: 2:15, 2:30
Long runs at easy pace: a couple up to 2:45 hrs.

Medium long runs: 90 mins plus 20-10 % of current race fitness. 1 per week at least.

short LT sessions: race, club pace run, Fast prgression runs, 10 by 1k at 10k pace. once per week

Longer LT sessions: Long progression/tempo run (up to 1 hr). Club marathon session: 6-10 by 2k at LT-HM pace off 2 mins.

Moderate runs at 110% of current race fitness. 50 mins - 70 mins. For developing further lipid consumption of fuel (glycogen+Fat).

At the end of this LT should be very well developed and the week will be more modularised having a more hard/easy day look to it. Individual runs should be longer. Kilometerage wont go down yet. Next 3 weeks may be 145k, 160k, 170k. 170k will be the max for this marathon.

I have been building since september to be able to handle the workload necessary for some of the tough specific sessions before the race. Its a slow buildup with still 14 weeks to race day.

How i fare in the upcoming step down week will determine how i can proceed from here. If i can handle a recovery week of highish volume, i will be able for relatively tough specific sessions i feel. If i dont recover sufficianly, then by necessity the special/specific phase must be shortened and a schedule based on fast Long and ML runs must more slowly lead me to the specific phase.

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Sounds like you've a great plan and have done the background training to see it through. Have any of your training partners followed similar schedules recently or is it something you are experimenting with yourself? If all goes to plan training wise and race wise what time would you be happy with? I know there are a lot of variables to consider but assuming everything goes to plan.

Actually just read above and seen you don't want to give a prediction. What marathon are you running, is is Rotterdam?

Hi roadrunner

I'm experimenting. I will adjust if things aren't working though. No training partners at present due to doing a lot of training via commute with young baby in the house. Bur as I read you pointing out on anothr thread this can help with the time management. The range would be between 2.30 and 2.40. Nothing in my history suggests I will get close to 2.30 but I'm hoping for a breakthrough. I'm realising that to stay improving until the race I'll have to keep things very aerobic. I won't be able to bang out 10 weeks of bi-weekly huge sessions but maybe 5-6. If I matched you're time tbh I'd be more than delighted. I will have to cover all the bases. Core, stretching, nutrition ( sore throat as I type).
The way I see it I need to get my LT right in the next 4 weeks. Need to get more resistance through long fast runs. When I'm happy strong running long and moderately I can start doing the big sessions.

I also talk a good game to compensate for when I'm worried. I'm worried about having to nail long p and d runs and LT runs in the next few weeks. Out for long run now. I'll run by feel today but 2.15 hopefully.

I'll check your log later but are you going for a similar build up to Berlin, it will be shorter though I know?

9/1/2002

19.5 k total

Two easy runs just under 10k. On grass mostly which countered any extra shock from strking the ground a little longer because of the slow pace.

Need to get my core routine up and running again. 3/4 into my long run yesterday i felt it hard to hold my hips forward. Something deep in my core was objecting when i tried so my gait was a little forward. When i was doing the consistant core work i felt solid, running upright my body strong directly above legs. To accelerate all i ahd to do was lenghten my stride slighly. Different ball game yesterday. If half an hour of core per week can make a significant difference to the important specific sessions (getting closer) then it would be very stupid not to do them.

eh starting tommorrow!

11/1/2012

Lunch 6.5k

Regeneration run. Felt too slow and form was poor, so did some easy strides getting faster. Did about 10 mins core work.

PM 13k

Easy Fartlek: about 8-10 by 1 min with 1 min fast recovery.

13k in 53m pace 4.05 roughly

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Feck. I'm tired just looking at those sessions (and converting pace in kms to miles. ). That 35k with speed variations looks particularly nauseating.

It does. The worry is the nauseating might happen long before 35k!

I think the 3k is to use all your muscle power in very marathon specific circumstances. The twice weekly 10 by 100m max uphill leg numbers (as in cant feel them) have presumably been preparation for this horrible session end. This is a gasket blower if ever i saw one. Incidently, have you ever bonked very badly in training and does it take extra to recover physically than a similar non bonked session apart from restoring depleted energy?

thirstywork2 wrote: »

some savage sessions there but i can't get my head around km times

Ill convert some of the ones i might be doing and put times in both from now on.

Special:

6-10 by 2k @ 5.33 pace 2-3 mins jog

3 by 5k @ 5.45 pace

alternations: 1k @ 5.27 1k @ 6:35 continous for 20k

Special: 5 by 4k in 5.45 rec 1k in 6:40


34k continous:

10k @ 6.13 + 10k @ 6.04 + 10k @ 5:54 + 4k @ 5:47

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Feck. I'm tired just looking at those sessions (and converting pace in kms to miles. ). That 35k with speed variations looks particularly nauseating.

thirstywork2 wrote: »

some savage sessions there but i can't get my head around km times

Sorry guys, just realised the spreadsheet i pulled some of teh sessions from has both Km and miles. Apologies!!!! (hides under desk.)

Just type in marathon time at top and it gives suggested speeds.

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

You might as well do it in a small field Irish marathon, run the last 2k as a warm-down, and try and pick up some prize money in the process!

I didnt think of that, that environment would be a good one for completing a tough long session. TBH if i can slowly progress the long fast runs i think that the 40k wouldnt be as challenging as the 34 or 35 k faster ones so would save a small marathon entry for one of those. Maybe jog very easy the first 7k (fat burn only), and start teh session after; Turning off the course with 3k to go and running up the nearest hill!

Larry Brent wrote: »

T, you're in great shape. 15m at 2:40 pace. Faster than your current marathon pace and close enough to your goal pace. 3 months out from your marathon and in the middle of high mileage week.

The hardest part now will be to not over cook it. Some of those proposed sessions will have a right go at taking it all away. IMHO unless you can get 8-10 hours sleep at night and a couple of hours I the day some of these might be over ambitious.

When you are in as good shape as you are so early in the programme I think you can well afford to err on the side of caution in relation to the sessions. Less might be more.

Another way to look at it, if running aerobically since September has got you running 'literally at a level like never before' there's no need to change things too much. Another few months of the same with small amounts of MP work alone should have you in better shape again.

Some humble advice from an experienced over-cooker:)

Thanks a million Larry, was thinking along the same lines. As long as im improving there doesnt seem to be much point in changing anything yet. Might be worth carrying as now (with the odd single session) until 6-7 weeks before the race at least. I can handle the mileage (touch wood) and can slowly increment the speed and session durations to be more specific.

I do think spraying my buildup with a good variety of paces and types of continous runs. (moderate pace, fast pace, progressions, hilly runs etc) has accounted for some of the improvement and may have made the sum of the parts count for more. High mileage has brought weight right down and as im off the sugar i can literally eat healthy food like a horse and maintain my weight; which reduces the danger of weakening. The continous pressure of many months of realtively high mileage 100-160k consitantly and at moderate paces has made a big impression on my aerobic system.
Any way still a long way out so caution it is and im risking jinxing myself by spouting too much happy horse****!

16/1/2012

Saturday: 8k easy then 30 min LT wd 10 mins about LT pace 3:38 (5:51)

LT was from top roundabout (OS road and Chesterfield) in PP down main road to Wellington roundabout, all the way around (avoiding furry glen) to Furze road. This was tough. Got direction wrong running into a stiff enough breeze down main road and facing the uphills in a sheltered area. Meant to be a shade slower than LT, but i was looking at my watch hanging on a bit at the end. A bit of tiredness from the long tempo on thursday. Should have held the effort back more.

Sunday: PM easy 13.5 PM easy 9.5

Off on monday so decided to wait till then for the long run. Legs feeling a little better.

Monday long 27.4k (17) Pace: 4:09 (6.40)

Wind! Its very rare that the wind is not a factoe running out the coast to Howth and back. Walking the baba this AM it was a beautiful morning with only a hint of an easterly breeze. Wind slighly against going out, and on the back coming home. Perfect. It was against for the first 6-7k and seemed to ne against for the last 6-7k. Its a pity because its lovely and flat but its just not a great place to run for much of the year.

Anyway took it easy enough, still a little tired so didnt push at the end. About 4:13 pace out and 4:03 pace back.

Going to get back into a few higher mileage weeks. National intermediate coming up on feb 5th. If i can manage another couple of big weeks things will be progressing nicely. Do need to keep at the core work as form was a little over the shop tonight.

Next easy week after national inters might be around Bohermeen half. Then its big weeks till taper time.

A few standard aerobic double days to get back in the groove now, just need to keep things controlled.

Am getting quite light so nutrition is now especially important. I reckon i need more protein in the diet. Not taking enough carbs is a short term error. Getting weak would be detrimental.

Tuesday 17/1/2012

23.5k

Lunch 9.5k recovery effort

PM 14k recovery

a little core work after each run.

Happy with the recovery, started very very easy and went with the flow.
Good stretching after second run.

YTD 388.9 km

Plan now is to get the volume back up.

Ive had 2 high weeks and a highish stepback only so far. 9-10 weeks of high volume before i taper. Wont be doing any higher than 160k weeks which ive reached. Runs will get a little harder and more specific as time goes by to keep more or less the same stimulus for adaption on me as to date.

Two more easy runs for today, and medium long tommorrow.

20/1/2012

Lunch 5k recovery

PM 12.5k run home recovery

Tired today so may postpopne session/race till Sunday. Will judge in morning.