Sometimes I just need to get out and run

davemcmahon · 15-02-2013 05:55PM

15/02/2013 Fri: 5.03 miles @ 9:53 min/mile AveHR 132

A nice easy 5 mile recovery run this afternoon to take the stiffness out of my legs.

Heading to Parkrun in the morning. The plan is to do a couple of miles warm up and warm down to bring the total up LSR distance. Will wait until morning to decide if I will run full tilt or if I will hold back or use it to gauge fitness. Will more than likely go full tilt.

WTD|29.55
MTD|86.02
YTD|220

RunningKing · 15-02-2013 09:50PM

Persistently consistent!

RedRunner · 16-02-2013 01:14AM

Give it Socks Dave! You are doing great training these days.

davemcmahon · 16-02-2013 10:09PM

16/02/2013 Sat: 10.07 miles @ Various min/mile AveHR Various

So today run had a little bit of everything...

I arrived early enough at Malahide Parkrun to get in a good 1.92 mile warmup @ 8.05 min/mile pace. Just fast enough to get the blood pumping and the legs ready to go.

As I lined up at the start of the race I decided I was going to go out hard enough but not full tilt. The legs were feeling tired and a little heavy so this felt like a good plan. This lasted about 20 meters as I was soon telling myself I can't come to race and not go full tilt. So quick change of plan. At that stage I'd gone off too slow so had to put a bit more effort to get to the desired pace. Again a very good course and well organised race. Some of the course was still quite muddy but I've gotten past that being an annoyance so I just plowed straight through any puddles/mud in my way. This has reinforced my desire to get into the Cross Country at the end of the year. AS with my last outing at Parkrun I lost GPS signal for a portion of the course so the pace on my Garmin was useless to me so I ran the second half of the course by feel and HR. SO to add to my warmup another 3.1 miles in 21:17 @ 6:51 min/mile. A PB by just under 30 second on the New Years Day race 7 weeks ago. Was chuffed with the time and got me wondering what I could have done on fresh legs.

SO to celebrate my new PB I finished my morning with another 5.05 miles @ 9:47 min/miles. Slightly slower than my normal LSR's but wanted to take it slower to help recover from the race.

Was good to get 10 miles in total. Tomorrow will be a well deserved rest day and an easy recovery run on Monday.

WTD|39.62
MTD|96.09
YTD|230.07

RedRunner · 16-02-2013 10:15PM

davemcmahon wrote: »

16/02/2013 Sat: 10.07 miles @ Various min/mile AveHR Various

So today run had a little bit of everything...

I arrived early enough at Malahide Parkrun to get in a good 1.92 mile warmup @ 8.05 min/mile pace. Just fast enough to get the blood pumping and the legs ready to go.

As I lined up at the start of the race I decided I was going to go out hard enough but not full tilt. The legs were feeling tired and a little heavy so this felt like a good plan. This lasted about 20 meters as I was soon telling myself I can't come to race and not go full tilt. So quick change of plan. At that stage I'd gone off too slow so had to put a bit more effort to get to the desired pace. Again a very good course and well organised race. Some of the course was still quite muddy but I've gotten past that being an annoyance so I just plowed straight through any puddles/mud in my way. This has reinforced my desire to get into the Cross Country at the end of the year. AS with my last outing at Parkrun I lost GPS signal for a portion of the course so the pace on my Garmin was useless to me so I ran the second half of the course by feel and HR. SO to add to my warmup another 3.1 miles in 21:17 @ 6:51 min/mile. A PB by just under 30 second on the New Years Day race 7 weeks ago. Was chuffed with the time and got me wondering what I could have done on fresh legs.

SO to celebrate my new PB I finished my morning with another 5.05 miles @ 9:47 min/miles. Slightly slower than my normal LSR's but wanted to take it slower to help recover from the race.

Was good to get 10 miles in total. Tomorrow will be a well deserved rest day and an easy recovery run on Monday.

WTD|39.62
MTD|96.09
YTD|230.07

Fantastic stuff Dave.Coming on leaps and bounds. As for the XC, I recommend it after my first BHAA XC race this morning. Energy sapping stuff but thoroughly enjoyable.

davemcmahon · 16-02-2013 10:24PM

RedRunner wrote: »

Fantastic stuff Dave.Coming on leaps and bounds. As for the XC, I recommend it after my first BHAA XC race this morning. Energy sapping stuff but thoroughly enjoyable.

Well done today on your run. Like yourself I haven't done XC since my teens so its one of the things I really want to give a go.

RunningKing · 17-02-2013 01:18AM

Good man Dave, it's not a great PB course, so well done getting one!!

davemcmahon · 18-02-2013 02:58PM

18/02/2013 Mon: 4.02 miles @ 8:39 min/mile AveHR 146

Legs are still a bit heavy from last weeks mileage. Luckily this week will be a step back week so mainly easy running. May take an extra rest day tomorrow as I'm fighting a head cold, will decide in the morning depending on how rested I feel in the morning. The plan for tonight will involve foam rolling as I can feel the ITB is a little tight.

I'll be without car on Wednesday and Thursday so will probably have to split those days into doubles as I'll be running to and from work.

Plan for this week:

|Mon|Tue|Wed|Thur|Fri|Sat|Sun|
|4 Easy|6 mile easy/Rest|6 miles easy |7 mile Medium LR|6 mile easy w strides|Rest|9 miles

WTD|4.02
MTD|100.11
YTD|234.09

davemcmahon · 22-02-2013 01:06PM

20/02/2013 Wed AM: 4.11 miles @ 8:24 min/mile AveHR 162

20/02/2013 Wed PM: 4.12 miles @ 8:46 min/mile AveHR 148

21/02/2013 Thurs AM: 4.17 miles @ 8:57 min/mile AveHR 153

21/02/2013 Thurs PM: 5.68 miles @ 8:43 min/mile AveHR 153

22/02/2013 Fri AM: 5.02 miles @ 8:45 min/mile AveHR 153

Most of my running this week has been to or from work as the car has been in for some work. I had forgotten how much I dislike running before breakfast and with a bag on my back. As a result the pace has been a little slower and felt a little harder then it probably should have. To add to this I'm still fighting a head cold which luckily has stayed above the neck so I'm not too worried about it.

I'm actually surprised how easy it is to keep up the mileage while running doubles even though I took Tuesday as an extra day off. I'l have my commute home today and a LSR on Sunday to bring me up to the 40 mile mark for the week. This will mean I'll have ran more this month, with 6 days left, then I did last month. Also I've cruised past the 250 mile for the year total before the end of week 8

WTD|27.12
MTD|123.21
YTD|257.19

Younganne · 22-02-2013 02:14PM

Great training Dave and well done on the PB last week. Alot more to come here i think!!:D

davemcmahon · 22-02-2013 05:57PM

22/02/2013 Fri PM: 5.31 miles @ 8:02 min/mile AveHR 159

Had to pick up the car after work so left my gear behind and ran to the garage and would spin back around to collect my stuff. Was the first run all week without a bag on my back and felt great. Was able to up the pace a good bit without it feeling like i was pushing too hard. Had felt sluggish running all week and couldn't figure out why. Turns out my body didn't like running with the extra weight. Fell grand now and much more refreshed then after any of my other runs.

WTD|32.43
MTD|128.52
YTD|262.5

davemcmahon · 22-02-2013 05:58PM

Younganne wrote: »

Great training Dave and well done on the PB last week. Alot more to come here i think!!:D

Thanks Anne, hopefully I won't be the only one hitting PB's over the next few months

davemcmahon · 24-02-2013 10:51PM

24/02/2013 Sun: 8.02 miles @ 9:05 min/mile AveHR 142

Yesterday was a rest day spent out in Balbriggan at a shooting range for the brother in laws 30th, so plenty of crap food eaten and not the most productive rest day. I knew I would probably feel it this morning during my run. The plan called for 9 miles but due to the baltic conditions at 9 am and yesterdays fry ups I cut the run a mile short. Even with that I managed to push the weekly total to 40 miles. And move past last months total with 3 days running still to go.

My legs are really feeling the increased mileage the last week or so. Tight calves and ITB mean lots of icing and foam rolling. This week will be another easy week with a race in work on Thursday so no sessions. If time allows I may turn one of the recovery runs into a double to keep the mileage up a little higher.

Plan for the week:

|Mon|Tue|Wed|Thur|Fri|Sat|Sun|
|4 mile recovery|7 mile easy w strides|Rest (maybe 4 mile easy) |5k race + w/u,w/d|4 mile recovery|Rest|10 miles

WTD|40.45
MTD|136.54
YTD|270.52

davemcmahon · 25-02-2013 02:33PM

25/02/2013 Mon: 4.07 miles @ 9:56 min/mile AveHR 135

Lovely day outside for a slow plod of a recovery run. Calves are feeling much better today but will ice them again tonight but may give the foam roller a miss and just stretch them out.

I think some of the discomfort in my legs may be that my current runners (Brooks Ravenna 3) may be coming to their end of life. I got them before the Dublin Half in September and did the marathon in them. On top of that I've run 250 miles since Christmas in them. I'll probably look at changing them out in a few weeks at most. Thankfully I have a pair of Brooks Racers as well so may wear them a little more until I get a chance to change.

WTD|4.07
MTD|140.61
YTD|274.59

davemcmahon · 26-02-2013 03:47PM

26/02/2013 Tues: 7.09 miles @ 8:04 min/mile AveHR 154

Another nice day for a run. Decided to up the effort level a little for this run just to see how the legs are feeling. Turns out pretty good, most of the stiffness and sluggishness seems to be gone. The plan calls for a Rest day of short recovery run tomorrow, will decide which one in the morning and then a 5K race on Thursday afternoon in work.

WTD|11.16
MTD|147.7
YTD|281.68

davemcmahon · 28-02-2013 11:32PM

28/02/2013 Thurs: 4.75 miles @ various min/mile AveHR various

After a nice rest day yesterday it was race day today in work. This was my first ever 5k last year. I'd struggled home in 30:30 last year so was really interested to see just how much I could improve by. After my parkrun adventure a few weeks ago I also wanted to see just how much my rested legs have in them.

So after a short 1 mile warm up and a chat to a few people including RunningKing I lined up at the start. Due to the small field it was the furthest forward I've ever started. Off we went and as usual I went what I thought was too fast. After the first mile at this pace I decided I was just going to stick it out and see what happened. The course was 2 laps around the site and then a little bit extra to cover the full 5 k. I was very surprised to be able to hold the pace I went out at through the half way mark and into the second mile. At this stage I just pushed on a bit harder in hope of a strong finish. As I approached the finish line I was surprised to see the time on display, way quicker than I had thought. It was pointed out to me then that the clock was about 20 seconds slow.

Anyway on to the important stuff. My ultimate goal for this race was to try and get a 10 minute improvement on last year. The race itself wasn't chipped time so I have to rely on my Garmin which tells me I came home in a shocking 20.04. Nearly 10 minutes and 30 seconds on last year and over a minute on my parkrun time a few weeks ago. I think this answers the question about what I could do on fresh legs. Now I just have to repeat it in a proper timed race.

The main annoyance I took away from this was 5 F'in seconds from going sub 20.

I also took the opportunity before the race to get a quick weight in so I'm now down to 87.1kg (13st 10). Once the picture from todays race come out I'll post a comparison between this years and last.

WTD|15.91
MTD|152.45
YTD|286.43

RunningKing · 28-02-2013 11:57PM

Great running Dave, you looked strong on finishing too. Don't get hung up on the 4 secs, with a proper course ( no grass) - you'll get the sub 20. The park runs are great, but with the twists and turns its not a PB course. A few people who I talked to today ran 1 min faster today than in recent park runs.

You'll get great confidence from today's run and push the pace in future timed races.

RunningKing · 28-02-2013 11:58PM

Meant to say, a 10 minute improvement in a year is bloody fantastic!!

menoscemo · 28-02-2013 11:59PM

Great stuff Dave, great improvements and you'll go sub 20 in your next 5k.

What stands out in your log is that you really mix up the paces, sometimes 10 min/mile sometimes (like today) 6:30/mile. Mixing up the paces/intensities is what it's all about IMO (broken record I know :P), and it is paying dividends for you.

davemcmahon · 01-03-2013 12:16AM

RunningKing wrote: »

Great running Dave, you looked strong on finishing too. Don't get hung up on the 4 secs, with a proper course ( no grass) - you'll get the sub 20. The park runs are great, but with the twists and turns its not a PB course. A few people who I talked to today ran 1 min faster today than in recent park runs.

You'll get great confidence from today's run and push the pace in future timed races.

menoscemo wrote: »

Great stuff Dave, great improvements and you'll go sub 20 in your next 5k.

What stands out in your log is that you really mix up the paces, sometimes 10 min/mile sometimes (like today) 6:30/mile. Mixing up the paces/intensities is what it's all about IMO (broken record I know :P), and it is paying dividends for you.

Thanks guys. I've no doubt that I'll take those seconds off next time I go for it. I've signed up for the 5k in Dublin City Center on Paddys weekend so hopefully I'll break 20 mins there.

Thanks Meno. I've really found that the mixing up the paces has let me run more often and further. A lot of the faster runs I do during my training have been mixed pace which I'm finding great for building strength and just generally dealing with discomfort. Since DCM I've become a firm believer than the shorter distance races are all about dealing with and tolerating discomfort.

RedRunner · 01-03-2013 12:44AM

What a difference a year makes! Well done Dave, great running.

RunningKing · 01-03-2013 01:10AM

davemcmahon wrote: »

Thanks guys. I've no doubt that I'll take those seconds off next time I go for it. I've signed up for the 5k in Dublin City Center on Paddys weekend so hopefully I'll break 20 mins there.
.

See you there Dave! I'm also doing it.

davemcmahon · 01-03-2013 04:09PM

1/03/2013 Fri: 4.33 miles @ 10:17 min/mile AveHR N/A

Nice recovery run this morning. The pace was kept nice and slow. The legs feel good so am going to go out again this afternoon will either be another 4 mile recovery or maybe an easy run at the low end of the pace scale.

WTD|20.24
MTD|4.33
YTD|290.76

Month|miles
Jan|133.98
Feb|152.45
Total|286.43

career_move · 01-03-2013 05:18PM

Just catching up on your log now. Absolutely brilliant stuff yesterday and the fact that you were semi comfortable for most of the race and able to finish strongly means there's plenty of improvement to come

davemcmahon · 01-03-2013 10:51PM

1/03/2013 Fri PM: 6.03 miles @ 8:53 min/mile AveHR 145

Decided to do this evenings runs at an easy enough effort. While I had the garmin on I had it covered for most of the run and just went out trying to keep it at an easy pace by feel. This was one of those runs that wasn't entirely necessary but I went out purely because I enjoy running and wanted to get out for an easy enough run without the shackles of watching my pace. while this may be seen as junk mileage by some it served a purpose for me and that was that I ran for pure enjoyment, something I sometimes think I forget to do.

The plan for the weekend calls for a day of rest tomorrow and then a 10-12 mile LSR around Tallaght/Firhouse/Greenhills on Sunday.

WTD|26.27
MTD|10.36
YTD|296.79

RedRunner · 01-03-2013 10:59PM

davemcmahon wrote: »

1/03/2013 Fri PM: 6.03 miles @ 8:53 min/mile AveHR 145

Decided to do this evenings runs at an easy enough effort. While I had the garmin on I had it covered for most of the run and just went out trying to keep it at an easy pace by feel. This was one of those runs that wasn't entirely necessary but I went out purely because I enjoy running and wanted to get out for an easy enough run without the shackles of watching my pace. while this may be seen as junk mileage by some it served a purpose for me and that was that I ran for pure enjoyment, something I sometimes think I forget to do.

The plan for the weekend calls for a day of rest tomorrow and then a 10-12 mile LSR around Tallaght/Firhouse/Greenhills on Sunday.

WTD|26.27
MTD|10.36
YTD|296.79

Personally, I don't think there is such a thing!

davemcmahon · 01-03-2013 11:00PM

davemcmahon wrote: »

Thanks guys. I've no doubt that I'll take those seconds off next time I go for it. I've signed up for the 5k in Dublin City Center on Paddys weekend so hopefully I'll break 20 mins there.

Thanks Meno. I've really found that the mixing up the paces has let me run more often and further. A lot of the faster runs I do during my training have been mixed pace which I'm finding great for building strength and just generally dealing with discomfort. Since DCM I've become a firm believer than the shorter distance races are all about dealing with and tolerating discomfort.

One thing I forgot to mention here is that since DCM I've read both Advanced Marathoning and Road Racing for Serious Runners by P&D. This has really helped in my understanding of why I need to run at difference paces and what the purpose of each run should be. I've found this to be a great help and makes the adjustment to the different paces all the easier.

davemcmahon · 01-03-2013 11:01PM

RedRunner wrote: »

Personally, I don't think there is such a thing!

neither do I really especially as I said the purpose was purely my own enjoyment.

davemcmahon · 04-03-2013 12:22AM

3/03/2013 Sun: 12.33 miles @ 8:35 min/mile AveHR 151

My plan originally called for a 10 mile LSR this weekend, but finding myslef wishing I was competing in one of the Half marathons on at the weekend I decided I'd go for 12-13 miles. I decided on a quick change of route and basically went from my parents house in Tallaght out to Marlay park via Old Bawn, Knocklyon and Grange Road and back again via Tymon Park. This was a fairly tough course with plenty of hilly sections. 7 of these miles were in and around PMP which made it tougher.

It was good to see that if I'd kept going for the full 13.1 I would have beaten my current PB from last year so hopefully thats another PB to go later in the year.

Plan for the Week:

Plan for this week:

|Mon|Tue|Wed|Thur|Fri|Sat|Sun
|8 miles recovery |Session LT|4 mile recovery |Session VO2|4 mile recovery/Rest|Marlay ParkRun|Rest

Session LT: 1 mile w/u 4 mile @ LT 1 mile w/d

Session VO2: Having decided I should add these in, I'm not entirely sure what the best way forward for them is, so: 1 mile w/u 6 X 800m 3 - 4 min recovery 1 mile w/d

Hopefully I'll be out for the inaugural Marlay Parkrun on Saturday and will throw in a few extra miles too.

WTD|38.6
MTD|22.69
YTD|309.12

davemcmahon · 05-03-2013 02:30PM

4/03/2013 Mon : 4.03 miles @ 9:56 min/mile AveHR 131

Was a nice cold morning for this run before work. My only regret was forgetting to bring gloves with me.

I had planned to make Monday a double but other factors worked against me so just settled for the one run.

5/03/2013 Tues : 6.66 miles @ 7:31 min/mile AveHR 167

The weather was lovely today once you stayed out of the wind. Today called for the first of the weeks session (LT) 1 mile warm up 4 mile @ LT 1 mile warm down. Based on current race times my LT should be somewhere in the 7.10 - 7.20 range. The 4 miles came in at 7:08, 7:23, 7:27, 7:12. Basically only managed the last mile within the target but I'll take the positive that I was still able to hit the last mile after going out to fast. Also my time @ 10k was a good 5 minutes faster then the last 10k race I did in December. Admittedly I was coming down with a cold, wearing a Santa costume and running the most boring 10k I'd ever done but it bodes well for the 10k race in April.

WTD|10.69
MTD|33.38
YTD|319.81

Sometimes I just need to get out and run

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