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Berlin 2016: Back to Basics

TheRoadRunner

The last time I started a log it ended in disaster but I'll tempt fate and start one again. I kinda enjoy writing down what I've done/plan to do and the feed back I get so I'll give it another bash and we'll see how we go. Short term goals are Frank Duffy 10 mile, national half marathon. Ideally I'd love to run PBs for both but the Frank Duffy 10 miler is a tough cookie and I heard the route around where the half is to be run are undulating.

Once I get through them I'll decide whether or not to run the Dublin marathon. This will depend on how I'm running and also my work/home schedule.

My PBs to date are
5K 15:40 (2007)
4 miles 21.01 (2008)
5 mile 26.45 (2007)
8 mile 45.02 (2005/6 ?)
10 mile 56.10 (2007)
Half Marathon 75.20 (2008)
Marathon 2hrs 47 mins (2009)

This year has been a good one so far. I haven't ran any PBs but in the last 2-3 months I have been in touching distance of most of those listed above. Training this year hasn't been as intense as before. A lot of my running was easy. I ran 2.48 for a marathon in April and apart from a couple of races and tempos all my training running was very slow. What's more my 5k and 4 mile times were really good (21.15 and 16 minutes) which I was amazed at considering I hadn't done any real pace running to talk about. I have an excel sheet with all my running this year. I'll try and post a modified version in the next few days to show what I've done to date. Going forward mileage will vary from 50-65 miles per week. Anymore than this I generally pick up injuries.

I'm going to continue on as before but will try to get some more tempo stuff in the legs. If I feel it isn't agreeing with me I'll drop it and keep plodding instead. I'd rather be a little slower but injury free.

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TheRoadRunner

67 Days to Berlin

Thursday: 8ish miles @ 6.55 pace. Ran along canal bank and then did a lap of racepix 5km.

Legs feeling good. Heaviness that has been there from high mileage (for me anyway) is fading and I'm expecting them to be in good nic for Sundays 10k. Looking forward to race, should give me an idea where I'm at the moment. Stood on the dreaded scales this morning and weight and body fat composition are slowly falling. I'm now slightly lighter than when I last ran a marathon but another 5-7lbs loss would be nice. 5lbs is probably more realistic.

RayCun

How many water stations will there be?

TheRoadRunner

RayCun wrote: »

How many water stations will there be?

No water stations but I have a big water balloon with your name on it.

ecoli

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

67 Days to Berlin

Thursday: 8ish miles @ 6.55 pace. Ran along canal bank and then did a lap of racepix 5km.Legs feeling good. Heaviness that has been there from high mileage (for me anyway) is fading and I'm expecting them to be in good nic for Sundays 10k. Looking forward to race, should give me an idea where I'm at the moment. Stood on the dreaded scales this morning and weight and body fat composition are slowly falling. I'm now slightly lighter than when I last ran a marathon but another 5-7lbs loss would be nice. 5lbs is probably more realistic.

3.11 on the garmin. Hope this was the shortest race line if not another RD not able to get simple distance of a race right:p

TheRoadRunner

ecoli wrote: »

3.11 on the garmin. Hope this was the shortest race line if not another RD not able to get simple distance of a race right:p

In this case the Garmin seems to be underestimating the distance! The finish line actually clicked at 3.09 miles so I just kept going to bring it up to 3.11 to get around smarty pants like yourself

seems that was a massive FAIL

ecoli

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

In this case the Garmin seems to be underestimating the distance! The finish line actually clicked at 3.09 miles so I just kept going to bring it up to 3.11 to get around smarty pants like yourself seems that was a massive FAIL

SHORT COURSE!!!!! SHORT COURSE!!!!!!

Just think of the backlash once this gets out:p

TheRoadRunner

Friday: 6 miles @ 6.40 pace. Run on roads uninspiring.

Saturday: 5 very easy miles on grass beautiful morning, very enjoyable.

Sunday: 10 miles total with poxy 10km race in 34.30 (I think). Today wasn't my day and I can think of a number of reasons why I wasn't feeling good on the start line. I'll keep them to myself and sort them next time.

This race was to show me how training was going. I think I'm in sub 34 minute shape and after thinking about it for the afternoon I think that estimate is valid. The 2 positives that I can take from today are
1) I wouldn't have pushed this hard in training so was a good blow out
2) I wanted to drop out at 5km, 7km ,8km and wanted to jog at 9km. Managed to keep the legs turning so mental side of things is good.

Back into 3 hard weeks starting tomorrow (well 2 recovery days first). By the time Frank Duffy 10 rolls around I'm aiming to rock 10 miles out at todays pace. That's the aim. Got to set the bar high and all that $hite.

ecoli

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Got to set the bar high and all that $hite.

Have you ever considered motivational speaking? Your use of words is inspiring:p

TheRoadRunner

Garmin data for 10k run yesterday. Two things are telling, the elevation of the course was no where near as bad as it felt and secondly generally my last km is always my fastest but not so yesterday. Even when I'm fooked I can usually rally something for the final hurrah.

Was tempted to have a few sneaky pints last night as I was in the horrors. Tailored my training for the next 3 weeks instead and decided alcohol wouldn't help

Krusty_Clown

Your first k was very fast (despite being uphill). Was that the pace you planned to hold onto for the entire race? If I had a bad day like that, I'd take the next three weeks off to celebrate.

RacoonQueen

There's a few long drags as well. Race organiser was saying there was a breeze in your face along the canal.

See it was the correct distance, I heard someone say it was 300m short. Knew that couldn't be right...

TheRoadRunner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Your first k was very fast (despite being uphill). Was that the pace you planned to hold onto for the entire race?

Yes was too fast. Having said that I did hold back and didn't go with the rest of the field. I was 8th-9th after the first k. Was hard to judge pace with the two lads up the front. Would have preferred a 3.18-3.20 first km.

RacoonQueen wrote: »

There's a few long drags as well. Race organiser was saying there was a breeze in your face along the canal.

See it was the correct distance, I heard someone say it was 300m short. Knew that couldn't be right...

Yeah distance was bang on. Km markers were wrong though. I'd say they could have been 300 metres out. Definitely a head wind as well but wouldn't have noticed it on a good day.

TheRoadRunner

60 Days to Berlin

Monday: am 5 miles recovery @7.35 in nice sunshine on grass. PM 4 miles recovery @7.40 pace on roads. Lovely evening.

Tuesday: am 5 miles recovery @7.40 pace on grass and road, another nice day. PM 5 miles recovery @7.40 pace , all on grass really enjoyable run. Would have loved to have done more but sense prevailed.

Wednesday: 15 miles @ 7.20 pace. Mid week longish run all on road. Ran with two friends so pace was a little slower that I would have liked, but welcomed the company. Slower pace felt hard so upped it slightly over the last few miles. Very warm out there but had dropped off plenty of water and tried out a powerbar gel (raspberry cream, very nice). Will have to juggle rest of week carefully as had planned on doing long run on Sunday but will have to move this to Saturday instead.

tunguska

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Will have to juggle rest of week carefully as had planned on doing long run on Sunday but will have to move this to Saturday instead.

Myself, Phil and another guy will be doing 20miles saturday morning in the phoenix park. You're welcome to join us if it suits.

TheRoadRunner

tunguska wrote: »

Myself, Phil and another guy will be doing 20miles saturday morning in the phoenix park. You're welcome to join us if it suits.

Might be bale to make it. What time and what pace?

tunguska

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Might be bale to make it. What time and what pace?

Handy pace, could be anything between 6:50 and 7:30, we tend to just trot along at whatever is comfortable. Its meant to be an easy run so no pace is set in stone. I'll double check the time we're starting at, maybe 9:30.

TheRoadRunner

tunguska wrote: »

Handy pace, could be anything between 6:50 and 7:30, we tend to just trot along at whatever is comfortable. Its meant to be an easy run so no pace is set in stone. I'll double check the time we're starting at, maybe 9:30.

That sounds perfect. Let me know definite plans and I'll try and make it. Was a little worried pace would be fast.

tunguska

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

That sounds perfect. Let me know definite plans and I'll try and make it. Was a little worried pace would be fast.

Cool I'll let you know.

TheRoadRunner

58 Days to Berlin

Thursday : 6 miles recovery. Nice and easy run to get over Wednesdays midweek long run and get ready for session Friday.

Friday: 12 miles with 8 at PMP (5.55). Original plan was for 6 mile tempo run today but have had to move LSR to Saturday. I'm trying to minimise risk of injury so a tempo followed by 20 miles the next day was not on. Have done this in the past and have found out the hard way. Had company for the first 3 miles and last 3 miles of PMP miles which was great. Meant I kept an eye on pace and didn't get carried away.

PMP miles felt easy. I was a little concerned after last Sundays race. I wasn't too upset with the time, it was the effort it took to run the time that was disappointing. I thought I was stronger than how I felt last week. Today has helped restore a little faith. My lactic threshold needs to be improved slightly over the next 3 weeks and that is where today's tempo run would have fitted in. Not to worry though will work in a couple over the next 2 weeks as well as increase PMP distance. I'm happy how things are going at the moment and feel I could run 20 miles at PMP pace next week if I had to. That's only 50% of the job though, need to build up endurance for another 6 in the next 8 weeks (well 6 really as will be tapering for 2).

Krusty_Clown

Feck. I hate reading about others finding PMP miles easy. Nice to see the target written down. You seem well on target. You have to expect your 10k and shorter distance times to suffer over the next two months, but it's all about the long game for the next while. I mean if marathon training were ideal preparation for 10k, then there would be no need for 10k training plans, right?!

TheRoadRunner

56 Days to Berlin

Saturday: 20 miles @ 7.10 pace. Did 2 loops of a ten mile run. First loop in 74ish minutes, 2nd loop pace increased and finished under 69 minutes. Was a very warm day and we only had one water stop (at 10 miles) could definitely have done with another. Ran in the phoenix park on grass with tunguska and 2 other lads. Was great to have company we also bumped into aero2k and he ran with us for 6-7 miles. Legs felt surprisingly good after this one but may be in part to the rub down I got Friday night. Lower leg has been a little tight of late, nothing serious or cause for concern and my own stretching can loosen it out but it's good to get the knots kneaded out.

Sunday: 6ish miles @ 7.05 pace. Was quicker than planned but did this in the evening drizzle. Had the park to myself and had some great tunes on the ipod so I just ran how I felt and didn't bother looking at the watch. I'm in the process of putting my Berlin play list together. I do it for every marathon, usually consists of 20 songs that I use to inspire me on solo sessions or during prerace build up. I only have 6 songs chosen at the moment. I'll post all 20 when I have it completed.

So not a bad week at all just under 80 miles and the body is still in one piece. If I can keep this intensity up for another few weeks I'll be delighted.

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Feck. I hate reading about others finding PMP miles easy. Nice to see the target written down. You seem well on target. You have to expect your 10k and shorter distance times to suffer over the next two months, but it's all about the long game for the next while. I mean if marathon training were ideal preparation for 10k, then there would be no need for 10k training plans, right?!

Hmm I think the endorphines were talking on Friday. PMP miles were easier that I thought they would be with all the miles in the legs but I was stretching it a bit to say they were easy. Yep that's the target, may not be attainable but I'll know 2 weeks before hand and make an assessment then.

And yes you're dead right about the shorter stuff suffering.

TheRoadRunner

54 Days to Berlin

Monday: 10 miles @ 6.45 pace. A sleepless night courtesy of TRR jnr and an action filled morning in playground etc had me absolutely hanging by 3pm but I knew if I didn't get my run in then I'd be lucky to get it in later as would be after 9pm before I could get out and the way I was feeling I knew I could have been sleeping. Threw gear on and hauled my tired ass out the door. Was grand after a mile or two but was a bit of a slog in places. Delighted to have got this in as it would have been easy to come up with excuses.

Tuesday: 9 miles, 5 @ 5.36 pace. Plan was for 6 miles at threshold pace but I couldn't hold it. Legs felt good before hand but mileage has them heavy, was really working at 3 miles and by 3.5 I knew 6 wasn't going to be possible without slight risk of injury (shin was sore and quads were screaming). Just happy to get this one out of the way even if I didn't hit exactly what I had hoped.

2 decent days running. I think I'll get more out of them mentally than physically as they were hard slogs and did take a bit of HTFU.

BobMac104

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

54 Days to Berlin

Monday: 10 miles @ 6.45 pace. A sleepless night courtesy of TRR jnr and an action filled morning in playground etc had me absolutely hanging by 3pm but I knew if I didn't get my run in then I'd be lucky to get it in later as would be after 9pm before I could get out and the way I was feeling I knew I could have been sleeping. Threw gear on and hauled my tired ass out the door. Was grand after a mile or two but was a bit of a slog in places. Delighted to have got this in as it would have been easy to come up with excuses.

Tuesday: 9 miles, 5 @ 5.36 pace. Plan was for 6 miles at threshold pace but I couldn't hold it. Legs felt good before hand but mileage has them heavy, was really working at 3 miles and by 3.5 I knew 6 wasn't going to be possible without slight risk of injury (shin was sore and quads were screaming). Just happy to get this one out of the way even if I didn't hit exactly what I had hoped.

2 decent days running. I think I'll get more out of them mentally than physically as they were hard slogs and did take a bit of HTFU.

Some serious running in this Log , very inspirational.

TheRoadRunner

52 Days to Berlin

Wednesday: am 7 miles recovery @ 7.50 pace along canal and road. pm 5 recovery miles @ unknown pace, all on grass. Legs very heavy but really enjoyed evening run.

Thursday: 10 miles all over the shop. Some rejigging to my week meant I had to move PMP mile to today (from tomorrow). Bad move as I would have been pushed to do them tomorrow but with a days less rest I simply capitulated. Stopped at 3. I'm not going to dwell on it, I simply am not able to hit high miles and get all the sessions in I would like. I'm not too stressed, will hit 70+ miles this week and will hit something similar next week. After a down week mileage will decrease and I'll sharpen up with marathon specific sessions then.

ecoli

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

52 Days to Berlin

Wednesday: am 7 miles recovery @ 7.50 pace along canal and road. pm 5 recovery miles @ unknown pace, all on grass. Legs very heavy but really enjoyed evening run.

Thursday: 10 miles all over the shop. Some rejigging to my week meant I had to move PMP mile to today (from tomorrow). Bad move as I would have been pushed to do them tomorrow but with a days less rest I simply capitulated. Stopped at 3. I'm not going to dwell on it, I simply am not able to hit high miles and get all the sessions in I would like. I'm not too stressed, will hit 70+ miles this week and will hit something similar next week. After a down week mileage will decrease and I'll sharpen up with marathon specific sessions then.

I wouldnt worry about this morning too much. You have been flying as of late and your body is holding up better than ever with the extra mileage.Need the odd bad session to keep us humble and pushing forward

TheRoadRunner

49 Days To Berlin

Friday: 5 miles @ 7.19 pace on grass. Nice run on a nice evening. Wanted to get legs loose for Sarurdays long run.

Saturday: 22 miles @ 7.10 pace. Was dreading this as I felt so bad on Thursday. Ran with Tunguska and Ecoli and their company really helped was at 14 miles before I knew it. Legs wobbled a bit around 16-17 miles but got a second wind and finshed run out very strongly. Was delighted with this run as was nearly 2hr 40 minutes of running which is the time I expect to be running in Berlin (well a little quicker hopefully)

Sunday: 5 miles recovery. No watch. RR jnr has a nasty virus so sleep has been at a minimum the last week so just glad to get a run of any sort in today.

73ish miles for the week. I honesty thought this week was a waste until I seen the mileage written down. 73 miles, a 5mile tempo under 28 minutes and a 22 mile long run. If that's a bad week I can't wait for a good one

As I said above sleep has been at a premium this week. I think that accounted (partly) for my poor performance during Thursday's session. However knowing how I react to different training regimes I think it is fair to say I find it difficult to bang out 2 good quality sessions a week. This is not a new thing, was the same when I was a kid/junior. I use to do about 60% of what the rest of the group did as doing 100% would effect my race performances. Unfortunately you can get away with a bit of natural (speed) ability on the track, not so much in marathon training though IMO. Regardless I'll try do to 2 sessions next week again. My weeks keep getting rejigged so this doesn't help as I cutting short rest periods by a day or 2 here and there. Hopefully next week will go to plan although it means I will be doing my long run of the week on Thursday.

Viva LaRoadRunner

TheRoadRunner

47 Days to Berlin

Monday: AM 7 miles @ 7.30. Handy recovery run along canal. PM 5 miles @ 7.20 pace legs felt great so just ran at what felt like an easy pace.

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Friday: Original plan was for 2-1-2-1-2 mile intervals with 2.30 recovery. Didn't get much sleep last night so loaded the 2 miles to the front in case I ran out of juice. Wanted the longer intervals done first so instead did 2-2-2-1-1. Had hoped to have done this session twice before Frank Duffy next week but won't happen now.

Times were
1)11.15
2)10.50
3)10.50
4)5.12
5)5.09

I did the session above around this time last year and wanted to replicate it this week to see where I am at compared to last year. This is probably not entirely possible as my training was more geared towards 10k and 10 miles last year where as this year it is more marathon orientated. Anyway I hoped to get close enough to these times so I can estimate what pace I should target for DUFFY 10. I didn't actually look up these times before the session but had a rough idea of what I ran.

Tuesday: 12 miles total with 2-2-2-1-1 mile intervals. 3 minutes recovery between each (again didn't realise I took 2.30 last year). Times were
1) 11.05
2) 10.56
3) 10.52
4) 5.20
5) 5.14

Delighted with this as I was wrecked before hand. Started out conservatively and slowly increased effort on each rep. Didn't get a lot of sleep last night and in relative terms my legs are no where near as fresh as they would have been last year. This lets me know 56ish minutes is a reasonable target. However as I am training for a marathon I wouldn't be surprised if I'm slightly slower than last year. I'll try not to be slower but if I am, it won't faze me as I have bigger fish to fry on the 25th of September

menoscemo

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

I'll try not to be slower but if I am, it won't faze me as I have bigger fish to fry on the 25th of September

What, like buying brian those pints? :pac:

Pronator

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

47 Days to Berlin

Monday: AM 7 miles @ 7.30. Handy recovery run along canal. PM 5 miles @ 7.20 pace legs felt great so just ran at what felt like an easy pace.

I did the session above around this time last year and wanted to replicate it this week to see where I am at compared to last year. This is probably not entirely possible as my training was more geared towards 10k and 10 miles last year where as this year it is more marathon orientated. Anyway I hoped to get close enough to these times so I can estimate what pace I should target for DUFFY 10. I didn't actually look up these times before the session but had a rough idea of what I ran.

Tuesday: 12 miles total with 2-2-2-1-1 mile intervals. 3 minutes recovery between each (again didn't realise I took 2.30 last year). Times were
1) 11.05
2) 10.56
3) 10.52
4) 5.20
5) 5.14

Delighted with this as I was wrecked before hand. Started out conservatively and slowly increased effort on each rep. Didn't get a lot of sleep last night and in relative terms my legs are no where near as fresh as they would have been last year. This lets me know 56ish minutes is a reasonable target. However as I am training for a marathon I wouldn't be surprised if I'm slightly slower than last year. I'll try not to be slower but if I am, it won't faze me as I have bigger fish to fry on the 25th of September

On this form I'll be lucky to get near you in the Frank Duffy 10 miler:eek:

TheRoadRunner

menoscemo wrote: »

What, like buying brian those pints? :pac:

How about you put your money where your mouth is!