Getting Back To My Best

Brianderunner · 26-07-2011 10:07PM

Tues 26th July, Ran over to Finsbury Park for the club session, 2.5 mls approx to w/u

Plan was a pyramid of 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 800, 600, 400, 200. Starting at 0:00, 1:10, 3:30, 7:00, 11:30, 17:00, 21:30, 25:00, 27:20 if that makes sense. Times were 35, 74, 1'56, 2'44, 3'24, 2'46, 2'03, 75, 30. Showing off on the last one a bit, nice to show the coach that i still have the old speed. He all but questioned my track times a few weeks ago after my crappy 2'22 800m at the club track night. I sent him this and he believes me since, it doesnt show all my track pb's but you get the idea.

Ran back with a clubmate along an abandoned railway line i didnt know existed, perfect for running and i'll be using it in the future. 9.25 mls total.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/101969358

theboyblunder · 26-07-2011 10:27PM

Just had a look at those PBs. Impressive. Makes me wonder why are you running marathons though. Maybe get your fast times for the mile and 3-5K now and then move up when the speed goes?

PS thought you were great in 'cocoon' and 'gorky park'

Brianderunner · 26-07-2011 10:50PM

theboyblunder wrote: »

Just had a look at those PBs. Impressive. Makes me wonder why are you running marathons though. Maybe get your fast times for the mile and 3-5K now and then move up when the speed goes?

My marathon obsession started when my older bro ran 2:51 in the 2006 DCM off 25mpw, there wasnt much between us over the shorter stuff and i thought, surely i can break 3 hrs. 2 failed attempts in 2007 only drove me on more. Never been within an asses roar of sub 3 attempt till this year since and it will continue to be a life consuming obsession till it happens. Once 3 is conquered i may look at shorter stuff alright. My mile pb (5'00) is there too, wont get near that any time soon.

theboyblunder wrote: »

PS thought you were great in 'cocoon' and 'gorky park'

Well now you know the origin of my username, clever eh :rolleyes:

We had that discussion in Barca on the Friday night, the late Sarsfieldrock was listing his films and we were saying how crap it was to share our names with film stars. Tbh its usually those 40 or over that mention it to me!

TheRoadRunner · 26-07-2011 11:02PM

Brianderunner wrote: »

In philosophical form maybe but not in sub 55:50 form for Frank Duffy

Jesus talk about kicking a man when he's down. Believe me you will be buying me two frothy pints in Berlin ya bollix! Now that's fightin' talk

Brianderunner · 27-07-2011 11:11PM

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Jesus talk about kicking a man when he's down. Believe me you will be buying me two frothy pints in Berlin ya bollix! Now that's fightin' talk

I like to twist the knife, anyone that knows me will tell you that, all in good fun though

After my 2 free pints i'll be on the floor if my recent drinking is anything to go by.

Weds 27th July, 5 mls recovery run with the club in 44'35 (8'55). Legs were fairly dead after last nights session but got into it after a while. Didnt get assualted by any large sticks this week

Brianderunner · 30-07-2011 10:10AM

Thurs 29th, cousin was in town for one night only on his way back to Oz so my planned easy run was cancelled. No regrets. Drank too much though for a worknight

Fri 30th July, headed out after Stockholm ended for a 5 ml tempo. It was dark after I had done my 2 ml w/u to get to Regents Park outer circle and i had the usual London Zoo late series crowds to contend with (last night of it for the year thankfully

) Headed out conservatively enough but the garmin was showing 11 min mile pace (yeah right :rolleyes:). This resulted in me being at 7 min pace after mile one and it was at least 6'40 i know that. The next 2/3 miles i upped the pace to get back on track (6'24 being the target tempo pace), got it back to 6'25 overall average when the watch died. Ah well i kept going anyway, kept more or less the same pace to the 5 mile point feeling pretty good, well as good as you can feel after 5 miles in 32'00. I feel i ran a bit more than 5 miles in the 32 mins cause of the wonky garmin which is only a good thing. 2.25 mls warm down then back to my house, got in the door at 10.25pm on a Friday night. I always end up doing my tempo's on Fridays for some reason but it builds mental strength when you see everyone else in the pub

9.25 mls total, happy with that.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/102631125

Also got a great review in work and a pay rise, happy days

ecoli · 30-07-2011 10:34AM

Brianderunner wrote: »

My marathon obsession started when my older bro ran 2:51 in the 2006 DCM off 25mpw, there wasnt much between us over the shorter stuff and i thought, surely i can break 3 hrs. 2 failed attempts in 2007 only drove me on more. Never been within an asses roar of sub 3 attempt till this year since and it will continue to be a life consuming obsession till it happens. Once 3 is conquered i may look at shorter stuff alright. My mile pb (5'00) is there too, wont get near that any time soon.

I dont think you give yourself credit here looking at your 800 time i think you have the scope to do very well over the shorter distances and even go sub 5 for that mile. Sure my PB over the 800 is the same as yours and have managed 4.41 so no reason why you cant go good bit under 5. Training for the shorter distances can also have a major knock on effect come the longer distances so it may be something to look into in the future (after you get the monkey off your back)

metamorphosis · 31-07-2011 05:22PM

Mail

Brianderunner · 31-07-2011 10:37PM

ecoli wrote: »

I dont think you give yourself credit here looking at your 800 time i think you have the scope to do very well over the shorter distances and even go sub 5 for that mile. Sure my PB over the 800 is the same as yours and have managed 4.41 so no reason why you cant go good bit under 5. Training for the shorter distances can also have a major knock on effect come the longer distances so it may be something to look into in the future (after you get the monkey off your back)

Yeah i agree and its on the to do list once 3 is broken. I'll do a spring marathon alright but i won't do one next Autumn with the olympics on here and i can focus on the short stuff then.

Sat 30th July, 4.5 ml recovery run at 8'57 pace in the heath. Nothing to report.

Sun 31st July, 20 ml LSR in 2'46'51 (8'21) Down to Hyde Park through Regents and 3 big laps of the outside. Quite hot here today (26 degrees) and waited till after the gaa and for it to cool down a bit before i headed out but it was still fairly warm and uncomfortable. I was gulping down water from the fountains and necking gels and the first 14/15 mls were uneventful. I started to struggle at 15 mls and i took a Nuun tablet which helped a little but the last 3 mls were torture. Legs were done in and i struggled back and fell in a heap at the end, physically spent. I have a bit of work to do over the next 6 weeks. I could use the heat as an excuse i suppose and it was my first 20 miler since the one i did in February with Meno, JB and Oisin. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/103185407

Weekly Total, 55 mls and 6 runs. Happy with the week. Good to bounce back from the foot injury. More of the same this week hopefully. As long as the diamond league athletics in crystal palace doesnt get in the way Friday and Sat which it no doubt will.

July Review, 197.75 miles. No races (not counting the race series 5 miler) but some good training nonetheless. Injury scare only cost me 3 days thankfully, it could have been so much worse.

Yearly Mileage, 1101.75 mls.

Brianderunner · 01-08-2011 08:50PM

Mon 1st August, 5.75 mls recovery in 52'58 (9'13) usual Monday run down to and around Regents. No core and strides tonight though. Feeling the effects of running in the high temperatures (high 20's today) and yesterdays LSR knocked the stuffing out of me. The last mile or 2 today was bad and had to stop early.

This is a funny game alright, 3 nights ago i was cruising along at 6'20 pace and tonight i'm struggling at a pace almost 3 mins per mile slower.

Brianderunner · 02-08-2011 10:08PM

Tues 2nd August, Ran over to Finsbury park for the club session which was 6 x 1200m at 5k pace, starting every 6:00. After the 2.5 ml run over i was sweating profusely and not feeling it (bloody 28 degrees again today). I managed 2 reps, 5'27 and 5'25 and then gave up. I was on my limit after a lap of the first one and behind people i'm always ahead of. I reckon the 20 miler on Sunday took a lot more than i thought out of me. Would have been nuts to continue i think. Gonna have to have an easy ish week until the MP run Sunday. Ran back along the old train line with a clubmate again which added an extra mile or 2 for 9.25 mls total.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/103682020

Conclusion; I'm not able for heavy training in this heat. Same happened in Barca last summer and LA in 2007 and it took me a week to get used to it. Looking forward to the freezing cold icy conditions in january

Woddle · 02-08-2011 10:13PM

Brianderunner wrote: »

6 x 1200m at 5k pace,

I was reading Pfitzinger & Douglas last night and the above sounds like their VO2 max session but the 30/35 second recovery is far too short, they reckon 50-90% of the time taken for the rep.
They go on to list reasons why short recoverys or faster reps are pointless.
The recovery aswell as the heat would have made this impossible for many I'd say.

Brianderunner · 02-08-2011 10:21PM

Woddle wrote: »

I was reading Pfitzinger & Douglas last night and the above sounds like their VO2 max session but the 30/35 second recovery is far too short, they reckon 50-90% of the time taken for the rep.
They go on to list reasons why short recoverys or faster reps are pointless.
The recovery aswell as the heat would have made this impossible for many I'd say.

My bad, meant to say 4'25 and 4'27. Things would be bad if my Vo2 max sessions were slower than 7:00 pace

Problem with P&D for me is that they just say 50-90% recovery time but there is a world of difference between the upper and lower scale.

I see your mile time was 5:54, unlucky

Are we going double or nothing for you to go sub 20 in Rathfarnam?

Woddle · 02-08-2011 10:26PM

Brianderunner wrote: »

My bad, meant to say 4'25 and 4'27. Things would be bad if my Vo2 max sessions were slower than 7:00 pace Problem with P&D for me is that they just say 50-90% recovery time but there is a world of difference between the upper and lower scale.

Makes sense now.

Brianderunner wrote: »

I see your mile time was 5:54, unlucky Are we going double or nothing for you to go sub 20 in Rathfarnam?

Absolutely, I'd be more confident of this one and if I lose I can wire you your drinking money to Berlin

The only thing that may ruin my chancees are upcoming holidays.

Brianderunner · 02-08-2011 10:35PM

Woddle wrote: »

Absolutely, I'd be more confident of this one and if I lose I can wire you your drinking money to Berlin

The only thing that may ruin my chances are upcoming holidays.

Yep you're on so.

Don't worry i'll get the money off Meno or one of the other lads over in Berlin. Either that or i'll get it off you out in Milltown during the DCM!

RacoonQueen · 02-08-2011 10:36PM

You're betting against him going sub 20 in Rathfarnham? Are you fu*king insane? The sub 20 is nailed on...

Woddle · 02-08-2011 10:45PM

RacoonQueen wrote: »

You're betting against him going sub 20 in Rathfarnham? Are you fu*king insane? The sub 20 is nailed on...

Loving the faith

Brianderunner · 02-08-2011 10:51PM

RacoonQueen wrote: »

You're betting against him going sub 20 in Rathfarnham? Are you fu*king insane? The sub 20 is nailed on...

You want a slice of the action too?

Nah i said i'd give him a very doable one to get his money back, only fair.

Brianderunner · 03-08-2011 09:21PM

Weds 3rd Aug, headed over to the club for the easy/steady group run with an idea to maybe do the session if i felt good on the warm up. Same old crap, 29 degrees today and hoped i would have been used to it by now. Far from it. Half a mile into the w/u i flatlined (at 9 min pace) and called it a day after a mile (9'10).

Not sure whats up. Easiest explanation is i'm still exhausted from the 20 miler last Sunday. I won't be doing an LSR in 26 degrees again thats for sure. This week has been one to forget. Its due to cool down tomorrow thankfully so hopefully i can get things back on track cause i'm on a rocky road at the mo. How many other 37'30 10k runners would struggle at 9 min pace i wonder or how many sub 3 candidates would for that matter.

shels4ever · 04-08-2011 12:27PM

Brianderunner wrote: »

Weds 3rd Aug[/B How many other 37'30 10k runners would struggle at 9 min pace i wonder or how many sub 3 candidates would for that matter.

I'd say most people at some point, one bad\tired run doesnt mean anything

everyone has bad days.

Brianderunner · 04-08-2011 12:48PM

shels4ever wrote: »

I'd say most people at some point, one bad\tired run doesnt mean anything everyone has bad days.

Of course yeah, 3 bad ones in a row is not encouraging though. Now that the rain has arrived and its cooled down i've no excuse

In other news. The company in charge of water mains replacement in Ireland were into us this morning enquiring about recruiting some of us in the office to go to Ireland permanently to oversee the works, assuming our company wins the contract that is. I may have a big decision to make in the new year.

tHE vAGGABOND · 04-08-2011 01:08PM

As Shels said, everyone has bad runs, and in that heat, and a couple of days after your first 20 miler of this training block you are bound to be tired. Maybe take a night off, put the legs up and relax and allow body to recover a bit?

I may have a big decision to make in the new year.

Assume it would be for a few weeks/months? I would say go for it, as long as it does not mess up your olympic plans

Brianderunner · 04-08-2011 02:41PM

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

As Shels said, everyone has bad runs, and in that heat, and a couple of days after your first 20 miler of this training block you are bound to be tired. Maybe take a night off, put the legs up and relax and allow body to recover a bit?

Yep i'll be taking tomorrow night off (in crystal palace) after an easy one tomorrow.

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

Assume it would be for a few weeks/months? I would say go for it, as long as it does not mess up your olympic plans

Nah it would be the new year, if at all. Would be some pain to find accomodation for the olympics. Now that I have athletics (and womens boxing) tickets, i'll be there either way.

The other point is that i'm not so sure i want to return to the cynicism back in Ireland, for now at least.

rainbow kirby · 04-08-2011 02:43PM

Brianderunner wrote: »

The other point is that i'm not so sure i want to return to the cynicism back in Ireland, for now at least.

Don't blame ya, tbh!

jcsmum · 04-08-2011 02:45PM

Brianderunner wrote: »

Nah it would be the new year, if at all. Would be some pain to find accomodation for the olympics. Now that I have athletics (and womens boxing) tickets, i'll be there either way.

I thought you were participating

Mr Slow · 04-08-2011 03:32PM

Brianderunner wrote: »

womens boxing

Is that the one with babyoil or am I confusing it with something else?

RayCun · 04-08-2011 03:38PM

Brianderunner wrote: »

The other point is that i'm not so sure i want to return to the cynicism back in Ireland, for now at least.

come back - we need your taxes!

Brianderunner · 04-08-2011 04:17PM

Mr Slow wrote: »

Is that the one with babyoil or am I confusing it with something else?

Lol, its the one with Ireland's only gold medal chance. Only reason i'm going of course

Brianderunner · 04-08-2011 06:19PM

Thurs 4th Aug, 5 mls moderate/easy in the heath straight after work in 41'06 (8'13). First 2 mls werent great but felt better then. Temp down to a comfortable 20 degrees and it showed. Good to return to normality.

No more heatwaves please!

shels4ever · 04-08-2011 07:44PM

Brianderunner wrote: »

Thurs 4th Aug, 5 mls moderate/easy in the heath straight after work in 41'06 (8'13). First 2 mls werent great but felt better then. Temp down to a comfortable 20 degrees and it showed. Good to return to normality.

No more heatwaves please!

Your screwed if its warm in berlin

Think i'd even beat you on a warm day now

Getting Back To My Best

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