Getting Back To My Best

Sat 20th August, Frank Duffy 10 Mile

After making the flight over by 3 mins after an alcohol fueled land speed record attempt in a workmates car up the M1 to Luton Airport I decided on using this race as part of an LSR with 10 @ MP. 5 mls down, race, then 5 mls back. Tough, but doable and badly needed.

The 5 mls down were downhill and uneventful, 41 mins or so. I lined up beside Metamorphosis a nice bit up. I let him off as the gun went and eased into the 6'50 miles from the outset. It felt easy enough, not as easy as Southend in June but i didnt have 5 mls done already for that. Course seemed to be quite easy to my surprise and maybe if i hadnt done Newark last week i could have raced this, next year maybe.

All going fine until just after mile 6 when my right calf feels like someone is pushing a biro into it. This happened every 15 seconds or so for the rest of the race. At first i thought it was a loose shoe-lace but no it was you know what. Despite taking an electolyte tablet before i left, the cramp which has ruined 6 of my 8 marathons reared its ugly head. It got no worse and didnt stop me from continuing at MP thankfully, thought i was gonna have to stop at one stage.

The last 2 mls i just wanted to finish before the bomb went off in my calf and kept pace to the line, resisting the urge to sprint. Finished in 68'07 on the garmin, with a few more miles in me if i had to. My chip malfunctioned by the looks of it, i'm not in the results. No biggie as it was a training run but if it was pb attempt it could have been rather annoying. Stood around chatting for 20 mins or so then ran back to DCU (5 mls in 43) with RK for company the first mile. The last mile up the Ballymun road was tortuous. 20 mls in total in 2'32'27 (7'37). Good run and wiped after, not that i didn't head to Ryans though

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/108425785

Sun 21st Aug, 7 mls easy with the bro around College Park in DCU and the cross country course across the road in 57'36 (8'19). After a sluggish first 2 mls it picked up.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/108425754

Had my first ice bath in the DCU gym after (don't ask how i got in ) Its like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your legs (Titanic quote) and its even worse when you move around in it as your supposed to do. Spent 10 mins in there, with a random Dublin footballer (May have been Rory O' Caroll) in the adjacent ice bath, who seemed genuinely interested in my Berlin preperations. There were more of them in the pool, only recognised Bernard Brogan. They're built like rugby players. Despite the offer, i declined the round of soggy biscuit in the jacuzzi after

Weekly Review, 55.25 mls and 6 runs. Good week, another few like that and i'm at least giving myself a chance of sub 3. The impending cramp was disappointing on Saturday, but factors such as the heat and the drinking the day before may well have played a part.

Yearly Mileage, 1234 mls

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Good stuff with the 20 miler. That run definitely has you back on the right track. Was just thinking about your calf problems. I have suffered with them in the past and maybe you need to have a look at the shoes you are wearing. I have learned that I cannot wear light weight racers in a marathon. I've tried DS trainers as well (I think I recall you saying you use these) and still had the same problems. I wear my normal training shoes (Kaynanos), they may be heavier but I don't cramp (as much).

Might be an idea to replicate that 20 miler in 2 weeks time but wear different shoes and see if it helps. Just a thought.

Good point. It was the DS trainers on Saturday alright. I'm sure the racers would have been worse again. I can knock out MP miles easy enough with a fresh pair of 2160's so yeah that will have to be a consideration alright. After 100 miles they just don't feel as bouncy and runs become tougher in them. Calf guards are another thought, despite the image issue. But lets be honest i don't care how i look in the finish photo if the clock says 2:59:xx on it as i cross the line. I was planning on repeating that run this or next weekend alright yeah, but 10 easy then 10 MP all at once.

Tues 23rd Aug, 6 x 1 mile at 110% of marathon pace was the plan tonight, just like last week. I upped the workload a bit tonight though. Page one of how to be a distance runner says that to up the workload by doing speedwork you have to; a) increase the interval distance length, b) increase the speed or c) shorten the recovery. I went for option c and used a recovery of .22 mile instead of the .25 i used last week, which roughly equated to 15 secs difference.

Did 2.2 mls w/u down to the Regents Park outer circle and away i went, hitting the 6:12 targets. The last one is slow but the garmin has me cutting corners, but i would want to be edward scissorhands to take the route it shows me taking Just over 2 mls w/d back to my house at around 9:00 pace, through Camden town as its flatter and shorter than my usual route! 11.5 mls total in 1'28'06 (7'39) I might try 7 x 1 mile next week in Limerick with the shortened recovery.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/108907492

Quite happy with that one, the shortened recovery didnt seem to make much difference which is a good sign, not that it was easy or anything. On a good day i feel i could string 10 of these 6:12's together in a race (which would be 62 mins) Looking at the Cabbage Patch 10 mile 3 weeks after Berlin in Twickenham (SW London). Its the flattest and fastest 10 mile in the uk and perfect for a pb attempt.

Sat 27th Aug, 6 mls in 49'20 (8'15) easy back home in Limerick, 4 laps of shelbourne park and down by the riverside walkway. Tough long one tomorrow on the cards, i've the ice packs put into the freezer in preperation of the ice bath afterwards,

Vivian Cheryuiot pretty much paid for my week in Ireland (and then some)

Tues 30th Aug, 6.5 mls easy in 54'57 (8'08) around home. Felt great and fully recovered from the big MP run last Sunday. 8 x 100m strides after, great speed in the legs, felt like Usain Bolt Yohan Blake

Weds 31st Aug, Tempo run planned tonight. After a day in Lahinch (rest day from Daegu so had to do something) 1.5 mls w/u then hit the tempo miles feeling good, with 6'24/mile as a rough target. Never got tough really and couldnt believe it when the 6 mls had passed in 38'18 (6'23), where was that in Newark? Strange that this run felt easier than the 10k race last Thursday. 1.5 mls w/d after for 9 mls total. Not sure what happened the garmin but the run just vanished off it. The week off work is proving a huge help and flying at the moment. 22 miler planned for Saturday.

So thats the end of August and the 2/3 point of the year, 214 mls, happy with the 5k but the goal half in Newark was a disaster. The last 2 or 3 weeks have been great though and sub 3 is back on for the moment.

Fri 2nd Sept, after a rest day yesterday i headed out after Daegu for 7 mls easy in 57'50 (8'17). Felt ok after a mile or 2. LSR tomorrow.