If... the Unforgiving Minute

Seres · 30-09-2011 08:40AM

dna_leri wrote: »

Kept it easy since my session Tuesday, with a few good strides in my racing flats yesterday.

The planets are in alignment for the Grange 10K on Sunday. Good quality field expected + relatively flat course with downhill finish + weather forecast ideal (13 degs, dry, light breeze) + no real injury worries + touch wood = no excuses.

Target 1 - beat my April PB of 39:04 & go under 39 mins.
Target 2 - beat my 2011 stretch target of 38:00
Target 3 - blast a big hole in my PB - 36:xx

To get #3, I will need to go out hard, maintain and then finish hard.
I have never actually "blown up" in a race, probably because I have always ran within my abilities. I am not planning to blow up this time either but if I do not know where my limits are, I may not reach them...

ya gotta take a chance sometimes to see where your really at , blew up before in a 10k in carramore two yrs back trying to break 40min , lost a minute on the last 5km , crashed and burnt at 7km , it was torture but a
valuable experience . Think i might take an aggressive approach to this race too.

dna_leri · 30-09-2011 10:23AM

Seres wrote: »

Think i might take an aggressive approach to this race too.

So what's your agressive target - a set time or just to win the race?

Seres · 30-09-2011 11:09AM

dna_leri wrote: »

So what's your agressive target - a set time or just to win the race?

will try to go out at 3.50 pace and see if i can hang on to come in under 38.30 ! Where i come in the race is really secondary , you have inside scoop on the quality of the female contestants ?suppose lucy brennan will be there , she seems to be back on the scene . Think i will need to find out more bout the course profile , do you have any specifics ?

dna_leri · 30-09-2011 11:59AM

Seres wrote: »

will try to go out at 3.50 pace and see if i can hang on to come in under 38.30 ! Where i come in the race is really secondary , you have inside scoop on the quality of the female contestants ?suppose lucy brennan will be there , she seems to be back on the scene . Think i will need to find out more bout the course profile , do you have any specifics ?

I did a quick map of the route back on the last page:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/52112824/
Let me know if you have a problem to access this.

You never know who will turn up so all you can do is run your own race. I think Mary Cullen turned up one year and beat all the guys too. But I'll PM you with the intel on the competition anyway !

Seres · 30-09-2011 03:39PM

dna_leri wrote: »

I did a quick map of the route back on the last page:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/52112824/
Let me know if you have a problem to access this.

You never know who will turn up so all you can do is run your own race. I think Mary Cullen turned up one year and beat all the guys too. But I'll PM you with the intel on the competition anyway !

got that , thanks , grand , looks pretty flat , no excuses i suppose , so you just gonna go out hard for even splits @ 36.xx finishing time ?

dna_leri · 30-09-2011 04:54PM

Seres wrote: »

got that , thanks , grand , looks pretty flat , no excuses i suppose , so you just gonna go out hard for even splits @ 36.xx finishing time ?

I be honest I am not going to worry too much about the time - no garmin & no HRM. I will go out strong, keeping an eye on a few guys who usually run that pace and stay with them as long as I can. When I get to the 7K mark (cross over the main road) I will see how I feel and push on if possible.

I will try to say hello at the start, good luck.

dna_leri · 03-10-2011 12:48PM

First the "good" - I finished the Grange 10K in 36:31, as good a time as I could have expected.

Kilometer splits were 3:16, 3:36, 3:51, 3:47, 3:52, 3:49, 3:52, 3:33, 3:27, 3:22.

I started off hard, staying with a group that included a few who were a whole lot faster than me but also the three guys who finished just behind me in the last 8K race. I knew I had to stay with them as the next group was a long way back and I would have had to work on my own. In time this group fractured and only the leading woman came up to join us around the 3K mark.

I had the benefit of being paced along by one of the most experienced gentlemen in the race. Now in his 50’s, he is still turning in class times across the range of distances. Anytime I looked like faltering he cajoled me back on track and kept urging me to try to catch the next two ahead of us.

The hills on the first 7K were more rolling than I expected but I knew the last 3K would be better. My "pacemaker" helped push it out at this stage and we reeled in one guy. He then kicked with about a mile to go. I stayed close and let go downhill just before the 1K mark. I kept it going to the finish, just behind the first female and the guy I had caught on the line in the 8K race.

It was a very good time - a PB by over 2.5 mins, great conditions and a well-run race.

The "bad" was my preparation. Normally I am meticulously prepared for a race, registering in advance, leaving out my gear, arriving early, warming up well etc. This time I got a bit caught up in stuff at home in the morning and knew I was leaving it a bit tight to get ready and have a snack before-hand. But just as I was doing that, I had a flash of inspiration and checked the start time again. Sh1t it was at 1pm not 2pm, so instead of being a bit tight for the start, I was a whole hour behind plan - what an amateur mistake. I rushed around and actually still made it to the start line in enough time to warm-up but the mind was not right.

After the race, I really felt "bleugh" - can't describe it any better than that. My legs were gone from a hard race, that's normal but I felt weak and light-headed and my brain seemed disconnected. I went for a good cool-down jog and that helped the legs but not the brain. I think the problem was insufficient fueling, followed by the rush to get there and then I emptied the tank on the 10K. I refueled with cake, tea and sandwiches after but it was not until 6pm that I started to come around.

I met Seres after the race, she had a great run to finish second woman in a very competitive field. We had a bit of a chat but I'm not sure how much sense I was making. I finished 4th in my age category but was 4th scorer on the overall winning team so got a brown envelope for my troubles which covered my entry fee and expenses for the day.

I need to refill the tank before I go for it one more time in a 5K race on Oct 15. Then I will get back to some steady weeks running before I go again.

Seres · 03-10-2011 04:03PM

Nice to meet you , you put in a great performance , thats funny that you know my mate Johnny , have ye had some battles in the past ? That was a tough course from bout 1.5/2km-6.5/7km , what you think ? Did you totally empty the tank yesterday ?
That was a fine spread they put out yesterday , well put together , great community spirit and lots of support around the course eh ?!

dna_leri · 03-10-2011 04:43PM

Seres wrote: »

Nice to meet you , you put in a great performance , thats funny that you know my mate Johnny , have ye had some battles in the past ? That was a tough course from bout 1.5/2km-6.5/7km , what you think ? Did you totally empty the tank yesterday ?
That was a fine spread they put out yesterday , well put together , great community spirit and lots of support around the course eh ?!

Ya, I was wrecked yesterday, mentally especially. My lack of big mileage is probably starting to show also.

Johnny finished just behind me yesterday, two back at the 8K and two ahead at the 5K in May, probably a few more as well, so we've had a few battles alright.

Well done you, and a nice envelope to help you get home, can't be bad.

Seres · 07-10-2011 01:34PM

hey Kevin , did you see this : Grange finishing footage
: Can see you clearly coming in. I looked totally walloped !

http://www.youtube.com/user/krasnatko#p/a/u/1/UgL9sSg04dI

dna_leri · 10-10-2011 12:26PM

It was a bad week for diet and sleep - worst I have had in a while. I am afraid to check my weight 'cos I won't like the result. Got out for runs but no real quality. I included a couple of 1.9K tempo intervals on a hilly course Thursday to keep the legs turning at about 3:40 km pace. My 17.7K (11 mile) long run Sunday felt tougher than it should at 4:40 km (7:30 mile) pace but hopefully that puts the week behind me.

Plan is for the week is a track session on Tuesday, otherwise easy runs with strides.

I will do a local 5K race on Saturday and as usual I have several levels of target:
1. Beat May PB of 18:02 and go under 18 mins - my 2011 stretch goal.
2. Stay ahead of the guys I beat in the recent 8K.
3. Go under 17:30, maybe even 17:15 on a good day.

I might also do the Racepix 5K the following week, depending how this weekend goes as well as family priorities.

dna_leri · 12-10-2011 12:25PM

I had planned a time trial as part of my track session yesterday but it did not quite work to plan. The intention was 1 min maximal effort followed by 3 min recovery and another 1 min max effort. I warmed up well, conditions were wet and mild but not windy. I had my crappy HRM watch setup for the interval timers.

I expected to cover just short of 400m for the first minute then hang on for the second one, and measure the total distance covered as a benchmark for future training. As I hit the 400m mark the first time, I glanced at my watch expecting it to beep any second but I had not started the intervals correctly, sh1t. I decided to keep going with the session anyway and after the 3 min rest, hit out on the second 1 min effort. This felt a bit tougher but manageable and again I checked my watch as I crossed the line fearing I had made another timing mistake but I still had 2 secs to go !

As a time trial, it was a write-off but I know my first lap was at least as fast as my second so I am going to take the 800m (in 2x 1min) as my benchmark which is a lot better than I expected. I finished with a fast 200m and a long cool down. I could have done more but held back thinking of Saturday's 5K race.

dna_leri · 15-10-2011 03:07PM

5K Race – 16:54 (chip time), 6th place overall, 2nd M40

This is the 3rd 5K I raced this year, previous times were 18:52 & 18:02, so a PB by over a minute was satisfying. I don’t think I have got that much fitter, I have just pushed myself more. This was definitely the toughest 5K I have ran, although the course was fair enough with only a few small hills and a few sharp corners on a wet but mild day.

Splits were 3:19, 3:29, 3:29, 3:19, 3:18.

I started out hard, following the main group. There were a couple of guys there that I have beaten or just lost out to in the last few races. I let them open a gap as I knew the pace was too fast for me early on. Around the end of the 2nd km, I caught up with JK who I have raced a few times recently. I stayed with him through kms 3&4 as he tried to push on.

With about 500m to go, I made my move. The last 400m was a lap of the track and MC the first in my age category was two places ahead. I had taken him by surprise in the recent 8K and he was not going to let that happen again. He passed one young guy and I dug in, passing the same 15 year old but I was not going to catch MC, losing out by 2 secs this time.

Great tea and sandwiches after. I was surprised to get a cash prize as I did not know there were any age category prizes. Also got a prize for placing in the Road Race League, even though I only did four of them. Delighted to have broken 17mins, I did not really expect that today. Still thinking about doing one more 5K next week before calling it a season.

dna_leri · 16-10-2011 02:39PM

Not usually a believer in recovery runs, preferring a rest day after a hard session or race but gave it a try today. The problem with racing frequently is you can end up going easy in the lead-in and then maybe resting after and end up losing fitness as a result.
Ran 9.6 K in 49:37 so nice and slow. Feel pretty good after, maybe even better than if I did nothing. Probably needed if I am to attempt another 5K at the weekend.

ManFromAtlantis · 17-10-2011 11:50AM

that time for the 5km awesome. you'e absolutely flying it.

ecoli · 17-10-2011 01:12PM

Super run. Good to see you running Race Pix to should be a good one hopefully can push each other on in that one as I am doing it myself

dna_leri · 17-10-2011 07:55PM

ecoli wrote: »

Super run. Good to see you running Race Pix to should be a good one hopefully can push each other on in that one as I am doing it myself

Thanks ecoli. Unfortunately I am not going to make the RacePix 5K for family reasons. It might be the right call for running reasons too as I am feeling a few niggles and twinges today and it could just be one race too many at the end of the season. I have had 4 good races in the last 7 weeks so it's probably a good time to quit and start the rebuilding process.

dna_leri · 19-10-2011 12:42PM

As my racing season is now over, I have decided to do a review of the year, basically pat myself on the back and award a fluffy bunny.

I set my goals back in January in post #38, as follows.

1. An injury free year.
Done, I don't think I missed one day due to injury, where last year I missed 5 months so that's no small achievement.

2. PBs at all distances from 1 mile to 10 miles.
Not really done, I did not race at 1 mile or 10 miles but I got all the ones I tried as follows:

Distance| Old PB | Target | 2011 PB | %Improve | Comment
1 mile| 5:28| 5:15 | 5:15 | 4% | Training time only
5 K| 19:36| 19:00 | 16:54 | 14% |
8 K| 34:12| 31:00 | 28:25 | 17% |
10 K| 40:32| 40:00 | 36:31 | 10% |
10 miles| --:--| 70:00 | | | Did not race

3. Do the Warrior's Run
Done, and in a decent time of 1:04 with a top 20 place.
This was "A" target for the year and the training for it brought me on big-time for other races.

In total I ran 9 competitive races with 6 PBs. All the races were local and only one small commercial one (the warriors). Excluding the warriors I broke even between entry fees and winnings so I don't need to declare it to the taxman.

Cloonacool 5K - PB by 44s, 3rd overall
Carney 10K - PB by 1:28
Sligo 5K - PB by 50s, 2nd M40
Curlews 10K - 2nd overall, 1st team, hilly course
Horseshoe 10K - 2nd M40, 10th overall, hilly course
Warriors Run 15K - 20th overall, 1 hill!
Rosses Point 8K - PB by 5:47, 3rd M40, 9th overall
Grange 10K - PB by 2:34, 4th M40, 12th overall, 1st team
Sligo IT 5K - PB by 1:08, 2nd M40, 6th overall

Overall a very good year, particularly given where I came from this time last year, so I will award two fluffy bunnies.

So what next, first recover from the recent races with some easy aerobic running. I will only do cross-country if my arm gets twisted, which is possible. After base building I might try a bit of speed work to see what the legs can take and try out in a race (maybe indoors). If that goes well then I will start a progam for next year aimed at improving my times at the shorter distances from 800m to 5K, hopefully building on what I have done this year.

I may post even less often now but will try to update when something important happens or I may start again for the new season. Keeping this log has been useful to me as a way of recording more than just the numbers. Thanks to those who contributed and encouraged me and it's been great to meet a few boardsies along the road too. I hope this log has also been of some use or interest to others out there. And I especially want to thank... [Cue music to drown out the acceptance speech that went on too long.]

ecoli · 19-10-2011 01:58PM

Must admit I am only catching up on this log now. Simply incredible improvements this year. Definitely a great example of bridging the gap from sub 20 5k runner to sub 17 and 4 min off your 10k time to. Great to see and I think alot of people can look to this log as a template of how to approach training and making this kind of improvements which are possible if you are willing to put the work in.

Enjoy the down time and will be looking forward to seeiong how you get on next season

Woddle · 19-10-2011 02:01PM

Some of those targets look extremely soft now in hindsight

Nicely done though.

Seres · 03-11-2011 04:59PM

Hey Kevin , you doin the xc for the club Saturday ? Cant wait , havent run since Grange 10k , the course i hear is a real howler ,was talking to Terry Hayes the other day bout it .

dna_leri · 04-11-2011 10:02AM

Seres wrote: »

Hey Kevin , you doin the xc for the club Saturday ? Cant wait , havent run since Grange 10k , the course i hear is a real howler ,was talking to Terry Hayes the other day bout it .

Hi Seres,

No not running XC this year, keeping it easy for a few weeks now.
I will be down there helping out Terry and the guys with marshalling or whatever needs to be done. Hopefully I still get to see the races and give you a shout out, good luck.

Seres · 04-11-2011 02:16PM

see ya there then

dna_leri · 17-11-2011 11:31AM

For the past 4 weeks, I have been mostly running slower, which I don't really enjoy. I have tried to bring in some variety with easy/steady paces and strides so I don't have to start too far back when I pick up the speedwork, but based on Tuesday's session it looks like I failed.

Typical session has been 15 mins easy with HR around 140 followed by 15 mins steady (HR 155-165), then another 15 easy (HR 145-150), finishing off with 6x 100m+ strides getting close to max speed for a very short time. Long Run is up to 2 hours - 25K on a hilly circuit.

I am transitioning to speed development phase next week. But first I did a repeat of the time trial that I attempted 5 weeks ago (post #193). This time I recorded 770m in the 2x 1 min with a 3 min interval, the previous time I estimated 800m. Where 5 weeks ago I felt superhuman and flew around the track, this time I felt tired and old and really struggled. I think it's a combination of not having not done speed work for the last four weeks and the long run on Sunday still in my legs - I even struggled with drills in the warm-up. For my upcoming speed development, I will do one pure speed session each week (100's to 200's) and one vVO2 workout, while keeping my long run up at 20K. I will also go back to doing more regular drills, starting today - I had a good set that I used to do a few years ago, which I can't even remember now so I must dig them out.

This coming weekend there is a very local 5K Fun Run, which I was debating whether to do but based on this week's performance, I'll pass at the risk of embarassing myself.

dna_leri · 25-11-2011 01:25PM

Speed development phase started this week - sounds like an appropriate fancy name for it anyway!
Based on how these four weeks go, I will plan my next race targets.
In any case I will try to do a 5K around Christmas as a marker.

Session 1 on Tuesdays is pure speed.
Plan was 6x 100m in under 15s with full recovery.
Wind was gusting a bit so I did half with it at my back and half into the wind.
THe first one into the wind drifted over 15s with the second last under 14s, so I still averaged 14.5.
First time running this fast in nearly two years so could feel lower leg muscle soreness up to Thursday.
All going well I will increase the distance on these over the coming weeks.

Session 2 on Thursdays is a bit slower with a shorter recovery, based on a vVO2 workout.
Plan was 12x 300m (58") [58"] but as Seres pointed out I could have been targetting a bit faster - probably she was right.
First one was 53.6s with the wind at my back - a bit too fast but felt good - speed is coming back already.
I averaged 55.5s with the wind and 57.4 into the wind, so overall 56.4s with 1 min recovery is not bad.
I will add a couple of reps each week to this set and if I keep them all under 58s I will be happy with the recovery about the same.

My other key session is a long run.
Last Sunday I did another 25K in 2:03 - my longest ever time on my feet!
This weekend I will do a long tempo instead and alternate these with a 20K run every second week for the next while.
I'm helping out at the National XC on Sunday so my runs will have to be squeezed around this.

dna_leri · 02-12-2011 09:19AM

Longish tempo run at the weekend. Was not looking forward to this. I find any tempo run tough going to get the pace right. Had to squeeze this one into a busy weekend schedule but got out Saturday lunchtime. Took 2K to warm-up, was a bit windy and wet underfoot on my usual trail. Did not have my contacts in due to a minor eye complaint so head was down picking out my foot plant position.

Plan was 2x 3.74km at 3:50 pace =14:20.
First tempo lap was 13:40, average 3:40 /km, bit fast.
No rest between laps so could not help but slow for second one.
Came in at 14:08, good.
Total just under 7.5 km in average 3:43 /km or 5:59 /mile - which sounds better.
Cool down and home in an hour.

Tuesday speed session changed from 6x 100's to 6x 150's at the same pace with full recovery.
Kept them all under the 22.3s target with an average 21.8s, the same pace as last week's 100's. Ended up finishing these in the dark when they turned off the lights on the track around 7pm. Next week distance goes up to 200m - will have to dig deeper.

Thursday plan was for 14x 300m at 58s with similar recovery - up from the 12 reps last week.
Averaged just under 58s for the first 7 but included one 65s where the wind picked up and I lost concentration.
For the second half, I averaged just over 55s and recovery ok at 60s.
Just noticed that gives me the same times as last week but 2 extra reps so happy overall.

Knee had been a bit sore since the tempo run and then spending 7 hours on my feet at the National XC on Sunday. Still not 100% by Tuesday but ok now, will still keep it easy for the next few days. I had planned for the tempo run to be every second week anyway as I think it is the most stressful.

dna_leri · 09-12-2011 10:04AM

Kept my long run at an easy pace on a hilly route this week, just under 20K at about 4:46 km pace in the worst weather conditions in which I have run in a while. Just before I started there was a heavy sleet and hail shower so I ran with 3 layers on top, plus hat and gloves, for the first time this winter. After my first 10K lap, I was debating leaving the last layer back in the car as it had cleared up nicely and I was warming up in a weak winter sun. I was glad I didn't as another sleet shower was followed by hail bouncing off my legs - enough to make me think about wearing tights in public again.

Tuesday, I finished early from work and went straight to the track to do my speed session in the daylight, the weather even stayed dry until I started my cool-down - a welcome change. Plan was 6x 200m in under 30s with full recovery. First one was 30.4s into the wind, I then averaged 29.6s for the next 4. Decided to push a little for the last one and clocked 24.1s with the wind. WTF - I can't have been going that fast, in fact even with block starts I could not go that fast. First I thought I had started from the wrong mark and not done the full 200, but that does not even explain it, so it must have been a watch malfunction. Anyway it was a fair enough session, though I never really got into it properly - a bit like grinding out a 1-0 win without playing well.

Thursday session was my third week of 300s in 58s off 1 min, with another 2 reps added to make 16 this week. I knew this would be tough with strong winds blowing all day but I decided that effort was going to be more important than times. This was possibly the windiest day I have ever run in. For the first 150m, I had the wind on my back and flew along, I then turned to run across the wind and finally the last 50m straight into the wind. Running into this 100 km/h breeze was like being tied to a bungee cord that kept trying to pull me back. I still averaged 58s for the 16 reps with a few going over the minute as the wind gusted around. Normally I would turn around and run back in the opposite direction but this week I chose to complete the 500m lap jogging into the wind - at times that was tougher than the fast sections. As a result my recovery times averaged 1:25. I did not see too many other idiots out running in that wind so maybe these are the days when you get that 0.5s advantage - at least that is how I justified it to myself.

This weekend is busy with Christmas prep, travel and family stuff so my long tempo will have to be squeezed in again. Plan is 10K in under 40 mins. I will do a 5K race the following weekend - my first one in a couple of months so it will be interesting to see where I am at. However as it will probably involve dressing up in a red suit and I will train through it, the time will not be that important.

Seres · 09-12-2011 11:26AM

dna_leri wrote: »

I will do a 5K race the following weekend - my first one in a couple of months so it will be interesting to see where I am at. However as it will probably involve dressing up in a red suit and I will train through it, the time will not be that important.

Is that the santa 5km dash on the 18th ?
Good session on the 300s .

dna_leri · 09-12-2011 12:51PM

Seres wrote: »

Is that the santa 5km dash on the 18th ?
.

Yep, that's the one, starting at Sligo Southern Hotel.
You thinking about it?

Looks like you will have your hands full this weekend, high standard according to preview on AAI:
http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=22268

Seres · 09-12-2011 01:43PM

dna_leri wrote: »

Yep, that's the one, starting at Sligo Southern Hotel.
You thinking about it?

Looks like you will have your hands full this weekend, high standard according to preview on AAI:
http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=22268

Ive checked some of them out , couple of hot ones alright , dont want that stuff to intimidate me too much , will just try and put in a good race , looking forward to the challenge

Ya will try and do that race alright , many from sligo AC planning on doin it ? what time you goin for or have you decided yet ?

If... the Unforgiving Minute

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