If... the Unforgiving Minute

Good long run Sunday - #1 son was playing a football blitz so instead of standing around for an hour and a bit I headed out for my long run, guilt free since I did go to his other match on Saturday. I was still back in time to see his second match, which they lost, through no fault of his of course.

I headed out towards Knocknarae, averaging about 4.5 min/km for the first 5K, via Siberia (really) before joining up with the Warriors Run route near the old Ransboro Church. I took a detour then along a wooded trail up the side of the mountain for about a mile. Actually my main reason for turning off was a biological pit-stop requirement. My pace slowed as I also took the opportunity for photos - I had brought my phone in case #1 son needed to call me!

This one shows the cairn on top of Knocknarae in the distance (click to open):


This one shows the view across to Benbulben as I came back down:


This one shows a trail that I was very tempted to follow, but could not see where it finished, so I will have to come back to it another day:


I rejoined the warriors route and picked up the pace on the rolling hills to about 4:15 /km. The last photo was taken looking down over Strandhill, which must be a welcoming sight on warriors race day:



I turned back into town and slowed with the wind in my face, I even got passed by an old woman on a push bike - maybe she had one of those motorised thingys on it. I almost caught her later as she slowed on the uphills.

I tired again over the last 2K but I had averaged 4:34 for 17.something km over rolling hills and peak to trough 160m altitude difference - makes you grateful to be alive and healthy.

Decided to move my speed session up a notch in the run up to next week's 5K. Last time out I did 13x200m in average 35s. Today I started with a 32s into a slight headwind followed by a 2 min recovery and tried to keep at that pace. It's only 3s faster but the effort was significantly stronger.

Six was all I could manage at that pace, the approx times were 32, 32, 31, 33, 32, 32, by which time my recovery was at 2:30 and my calves were starting to tighten up with the lactic so I called it a day. My lower legs were still twitching as I did a long cool down jog.

Not sure if it was exactly the right work-out but it feels good to run fast now and again. This was probably my first real anaerobic workout in over a year and I had forgotten how I lose my appetite after that kind of workout whereas after an aerobic session I could eat the fridge. Hmm!

I have still been struggling with tight calves since last Thursday's session. Today was the first day I could walk up stairs without feeling them sore. My knee has also been stiff and clicky. I have been trying to figure out why. It was not just that I pushed it a bit harder on that session, that would not last for a week. Thinking about it I rationalised that it was the combination of a few other things as well: a 2 mile race on the Tuesday that I effectively ran a PB in and also an indifferent warm-up on the Thursday. However after my run today I am not so sure that's all there is to it.

After resting since Monday, I did 10K today again with 6x180m strides. I started out fine with plenty of zing in my step but after about 3K I could feel some tightness in the calves again and generally my legs felt heavy. The strides went ok but overall my breathing was laboured and several times I just felt like stopping and walking - not like me. In the end I felt like I had run 10 miles not 10K, so what's going on?

Could I be over-training? Not likely, anyway I don't have any other symptoms like irritability, insomnia, tiredness, etc - so that's out. I do have a minor head cold since the weather changed, slight stuffy nose, touch of a sore throat so maybe I have some kind of virus that is hindering my normal physical recovery - possible. For now I am going with that one.

I am down to run the Streets of Sligo 5K on Sunday and I probably will. If I am not feeling 100% then I will take it as a training run. I don't want to miss the chance of taking part in what should be a good run around the town.

My 5K PB (18:52) was set in February over a fairly level course and I had planned this as another attempt at it. If I am feeling ok, then I will set out at PB pace but with lots of twists and turns around the town and one decent hill, it's probably not a PB course anyway. The saving grace of the course is that the last 2K are downhill or flat and if I am feeling good and on PB track I will give it a go then. That last paragraph does not fit in well with my first two does it? Plan is to rest again tomorrow, maybe an easy jog Saturday to see how the legs feel, then see what Sunday brings.

Either way I will start a new phase of training next week - I always like to look ahead to the next stage before I finish the one I am on. When I started this log I had an unwritten goal of doing the warrior's run this summer and I finally wrote it down at the start of the year. For those who don't know, the warriors run is a 15K race starting in Strandhill that takes you around and up Knocknarae and back down again to the seaside town. It has become more popular every year and with numbers limited to 800, getting entry was the first challenge.

After a few false starts, online entries finally opened Tuesday. It was a bit like trying to get tickets for Bruce Springsteen on ticketmaster. Once I got onto the site (from work) they said I had a 34 minute wait to complete my entry. I had a 30 minute meeting scheduled so just enough time but it was one of those meetings that dragged on. Eventually after 32 mins I had to excuse myself and I managed to get my entry completed. I know there were lots of people who did not get in. This year they have a transfer system which may have increased the demand as people know they will not be losing their entry fee (a pricey €40) if they pull out. I have not told my family yet of my plans as my 12 year old son had warned me not to do it as he was afraid I would injure myself.

Anyway that's on the end of August but training starts next week. First a few easy/steady weeks to build up my aerobic fitness then plenty of hills - short ones, long ones, fast ones and slow ones. I had planned a 10 mile race as part of the build up but I have not found a suitable one yet, end of July would be perfect. I had considered Lonford but that comes up too soon. If the 10 miler does not work out I will plan around a few 10Ks, especially some of the hillier ones.

Anyway first up shrug off this virus and run a fast 5K - I really hope I get the chance because after my last 10K I was really looking forward to this race. I weighed myself too this morning and I am lighter than I have been for 15 years (smaller waistline also). Sorry if I rabbitted on a bit today, just trying to get a few things straight in my head. "Keep on running" as Steve Winwood might say, happy 63rd birthday Steve.

I don't usually do steady runs. I run at easy/long pace or faster intervals/tempos. For this phase I have decided to include some mid-pace continuous running. I hope this will help build my endurance. According to my revised McMillan pace chart, my steady-state runs should be around 4min pace which is the pace I was doing my long intervals at a few weeks ago. :eek:

I almost always wear a HRM when running but I don't really use it as a immediate feedback, except occasionally during long runs. Normally I just review after the run and compare to previous runs. I don't use it during intervals and tempos because I do not really have a good idea of the correct ranges. My max HR is somewhere around 200 and resting around 40 and there are different opinions out there about what % of working heart rate should be used for which type of run. When I then try and mix this with recommended paces and throw in a few hills which slows the pace and ups the heart rate, it gets too confusing.

However I decided to try again for my steady run yesterday. As the route was hilly, I tried to focus on HR instead of pace. Looking back on my recent history, I can see I was doing my easy and long runs at less than 155 bpm and my tempo runs at greater than 165, so I decided that steady pace was in this range 155-165. I must admit it seemed to work and I got the right balance of pushing myself past easy without over-doing it, ending up with a medium effort.

After a warm-up, I headed along a new hilly route at my new-found pace.
First lap was 16:55, distance unknown, AHR 164.
Second lap 16:56, AHR 163.
I impressed myself with the consistency.
I finished with 5 x 100m hill sprints before cool-down.
I will go back and measure the route at some time in the future again

This was a useful workout that I will use again, especially when I have another tough session in the week but I still want to get some benefit more than just recovery.

Will try and fit in my long run on Saturday morning before heading to the Theatre of Dreams to celebrate with the 19 times english champions. N-n-n-nineteen.

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

wow your resting rate at 40. you're either very fit or nearly dead:pac:

the 19th is the one we've been waiting for for a long time. i rem lpool miles ahead when i was a young lad. seemed impossible to reach their target in my lifetime. fair play to ferguson . they're coming off that perch. if they could just get 2 more european cups then that would be icing on cake.
are you really going to oldtrafford? sat. whats the plan is it open top bus? or what. would you believe im bringing the kids over to the stadium tour in a few weeks. did you ever do if so whats it like.

Yep, got tickets for me and my 12 yo son for the match sunday, lower east stand by the corner flag, a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The open-top bus parade is in a few weeks time - maybe the same time you are there, check it out. Just make sure you don't get the wrong one, I hear another local team are celebrating winning some other trophy on a different weekend.

I did the stadium tour a few years ago myself, well worth doing, though I read there are restrictions on what's covered in the tour at the moment, I think due to some construction. Was going to try to get it done Monday too, but looks like it's all booked out. I'd recommend book in advance as much as possible via the website. I'll do a report when I get back!

6 x 1 mile at 10 K pace with 3 min recovery was the plan for Thursday session.

Was not sure what pace to do these in - my 10K a few weeks ago was at 6:17 pace, but based on my last 5K McMillan has my 10K pace at 6:01.
I did this session 7 weeks ago - here in average 6:20 = 39:18 10K pace and went on to do the 10K in 39:04 a couple of weeks later.

In the end I decided not to worry too much about target pace as the wind was gusting strongly and anyway I was glad to have company for the first 4 reps. We went through them in 6:27, 6:13, 6:15, 6:01 and I did the last 2 solo in 5:58 & 6:00 for an average of 6:09, giving a 10K equivalent of 38:08 which feels about right. Kept the recoveries reasonable in the range 2:45-3:00. Although I try not to race each training run, this is a good marker session that I will come back to again.

2K Fit4Life Race in 6:29

I had a reasonable handicap for this race with three guys starting behind me but only by 5 secs so I went out hard. There was a slight head-wind in the first stretch so I tried to tuck in behind people as I caught up with them. With such a short race, everyone was moving fast and I had to push to over-take anyone. I did not feel I was gliding past anyone - it was an effort.

The return route was along a gravel path next to the river. I was happy with the grip afforded by my new racing flats and they certainly felt light enough. After half-way I started to catch up with some of the bigger groups and had to dodge in and out. At one point I had a vision of skittles in 10-pin bowling and thought about just rolling on through - no, bad thought.

In the final straight, I dug in again and passed a few more in a sprint finish. In total I had passed about 55 people with no one catching me to finish third, but more important I was happy with my time. My last 5K gave me a McMillan time of 5:12 for the mile. This new time gives an equivalent of 5:07. I would like to try a fast mile later in the year where I could push for 5 mins but I am not sure if I will get a suitable race.

In my recent 5K & 10K races, I have felt reasonably comfortable. I need to be able to get to the stage where I am at the same level of discomfort as I was in this race. Getting faster is a lot about tolerance to pain.

Long run today was one of the wettest runs I ever had. The rain just kept coming straight down. When I started there were small puddles to dodge. By the time I finished, they had turned into small floods that I could not jump across. Although I stayed on the forest paths I had muck from head to toe.

I did a new hilly loop x3, so I am not sure of the distance, I'd guess about 6K. With a short jog to get to the start of the loop, about 18.8 km total.
Lap 1: 30min AHR 143
Lap 2: 29:53 AHR 144
Lap 3: 29:38 AHR 145

Nicely consistent and controlled.

I had originally planned this as session #2 of McMillan's 10K Workout but because I was doing it over a different course, I decided to step back to session #1: 6x 1 Mile. The 1 mile route I picked out was net uphill by about 50m so selecting the right pace would be difficult. My last 10K was 6:17 pace but if I was running a flat 10K soon I would be aiming for just over 6 min mile pace. My target race is the Warriors Run in about 11 weeks so hills are the order of the day.

I ran the first one in 6:06 which was a bit fast so I eased back slightly for the next few in 6:22, 6:24 & 6:20. As I started the 5th one, the rain really started bucketing down so I dug in harder. I told myself this was character building. When it turned to hailstones I had run out of platitudes - "character building my ar5e". Still that one was 6:14 ! Each recovery was a 4 min 500m jog back down to the start.

I had done the first 5 miles in long sleeve top over my t-shirt but I was being weighed down with all the rainwater I was carrying so I stripped down to t-shirt for the last one - I could wring water out of my top and leave it to drip dry in the rain. By the time I finished the sixth one, the sun was back out and I was starting to dry out.

Final mile was another 6:14 - to give an average 6:17, good enough.
Average HR during the mile reps was 159 - thought it would be higher.
I jogged back to my car with water still sloshing around in my runners.
The hot shower once I got home never felt so good.

Been keeping it easy this week. Overdid it a bit on Sunday and had aches in my quads, calves and hips through Tuesday. After Tuesday's 12.5K my left knee (the bad one) was also complaining. Bit better today, so after easy run did some hill sprints and downhill running based on this Running Times article "Counter-intuitive training strategies for when you need to get your running back on track".

No negative reaction so far so looks like I can't cry off this hilly 10K on Sunday. Anyway my two boys asked me what I want for Father's Day and I told them I just want to run a race. So now they are going to come and cheer me on because I have been supporting them the last few weekends in Connaught team event, Connaught Juveniles and then community games county finals.

Anyway lesson learnt from last weekend - you can't do a hard session the week before a race unless you are prepared to run easy for the rest of the week.