From Marlboro Lights to Running Tights!

Steroo · 21-03-2013 12:42PM

tomred1N wrote: »

Found those 18 miles this evening Stephen!
I see you are moving closer to having a bash off 3.30. Thats fair clipping mate . You can send me a text when ur finished to see how u got on . I might push on for the last 6 then !!

How do you find the LT runs. I did 5 around avg 7.30 7.40 pace last week but I think I will struggle to do six on the bounce this week. U seem to plough through them even with niggles. I think you obviuosly had a bad day with the 4.16 DCM time

Hi Tom. You might be surprised doing them this week (LT), the more you do the easier I find them. My niggles are pretty minor, I'd stop if they were more concerning.
I'd a lot of injury issues before dcm and low mileage, and poor form, and poor endurance, so hopefully ill avoid the same issues this time. Might as well aim high but we will see! Still long way to go. Keep up the good work.

tomred1N · 22-03-2013 10:59PM

Friday 22nd March

10 miles ( with 6 at LT pace) in 1.22 avg pace 8:16

LT splits were 7:15, 7:40, 7:49, 7:17, 7:35, 7:35

This was the dreaded LT session again tonight. It was actually in my mind from the moment I woke this morning.
However now for the good side of the P&D program. Six weeks ago I struggled to do 3 sub 8 min miles. Even 10 days ago I did 5 7:xx miles and was out on my feet, thats why I was dreading the 6 this evening . However I managed it and could have done another 1 or 2 ...the thing I notice most is the way I can recover quite quickley when I hit a rough patch....i guess this is improving endurance. Actually did 10K in 47mins flat during this run tonight which would be a 5 min PB.
I did my best to try and do a sub 7 min mile on mile 4 but speed is not there.....still around 88kg ( I wonder what weight watchers would say to me if i told them I am running 50 miles a week and can't lose weight!!)
However without having run a 10 mile race yet I know now I can break 80mins. Will aim for a sub 75 min 10 mile now and try and race one as part of races later in plan.

Think the 20 miles on Sunday could be tough enough now as this evening will still be in the legs.

scriba · 22-03-2013 11:21PM

tomred1N wrote: »

However I managed it and could have done another 1 or 2 ...the thing I notice most is the way I can recover quite quickley when I hit a rough patch....i guess this is improving endurance.

Nice work. I had a very similar experience to you tonight running the same shift. I noticed the quick recovery myself tonight, plus the confidence that any particular difficulty won't last. I also tried not look at the clock too much, and I found that I could keep the pace fairly steady for minutes at a time.

tomred1N · 24-03-2013 10:14PM

Saturday 23 March

5 miles @9.50 recovery run

Sunday 24th March

20 Miles @9:08

This kind of LSR has probably taken my dread away from the LT runs to where I,m now looking forward to 2 weeks time when I have another one of these f**ckers. Was going to drive to a flat route somewhere but these long runs take up enough time without communting to them.

It wasn;t the run so much as the bloody wind chill and the route I took and well.....remember that body glide stuff..what was that for again!!

I got on the road at 1pm after only 2 slcies of toast 3 hours previously. Put on extra layer and even a pair of gloves. Was not too bad until mile 8 when I took a different route to add extra miles. This had two serious long drags and was fairly exposed and when I got through this it was into a frezzing headwind all the way home ( Total elevation gain was 1300 feet ).
Then around mile 15 I noticed that even though my breathing was fine , legs not bad ( pace definatley conversational as I must have said F**K this out loud 100 times) my Nike Dri Fit gear was no longer dry. No........... I didn't p*ss in my pants !! but I must have been working harder than I thought and extra layer meant I was sweating mad. This with the wind made me feel really cold at times and as I had the bloody running tights on they started a bit of chaffing on my thighs. Had a gel but didn't take it and even had some jellies but didn't even try to get them out of my pocket.
So all in all not a very enjoyable run but at the same time I have to be happy with overall time and level of effort required given the route and conditions.

Week 52 miles
YTD 455 miles

tomred1N · 28-03-2013 10:38PM

Tuesday 26th March

6.5 miles @ 9.08
Did a 5 mile walk with the dogs on Monday so this did as a bit of a recovery. therefore given the cold did this a bit faster to keep warm

Thursday 28th March

13.5 miles MLR @ 8:48 AVG HR 157
Was meant to do this last night but didn't have time. went out this evening instead and was in a bit of a hurry to be back within 2 hours so hence the faster pace. First 7 miles were into a strong headwind mainly a gradual incline and there were 4 severe hills as well over next 3 miles one is a mile long and pace on that one was 10:04. Pushed on for last 3 miles as I feel I have had an easy week so far and wanted to see how I'd feel (and I was in a hurry!!)
Splits for last 3 miles were 8:26, 8:12 , 8:12 so I was happy enough with this run even if I didn't feel the love for it while I was doing it.
I think the HR monitor was off tonight , had crazy readings of MAX 200 to 240 over last 5 to six miles. It was stuck to my chest when I got home as I had outer layer on again and must have lost a kg in fluids!!

Reading other logs I really don't know what my PMP should be . My aim for Cork is sub four. That 9 min miles ( genius I am:)) . However I seem to be running a lot of LSR and MLR and general aerobic runs at this pace. Might try 8.30 pace for PMP miles on Sunday LSR but I am doing a 10k race Saturday so see how I feel Sunday.

RunningKing · 30-03-2013 12:35AM

Tom, finding your pace is difficult for your 1st marathon. A LSR is meant to be slow. Slower than your normal runs and about 1 min to 90 secs slower than your marathon pace.

If you want to run some PMP in your LSR, just do some mileage at PMP, but not all mileage. That is a pathway to injury.

If you are doing 13 miles, maybe do the middle 5-6 at PMP to see how you get on.

tomred1N · 30-03-2013 10:18PM

Friday March 29th

5 miles recovery @10:18

Tired from long run the previous evening and was wondering about this 10K race tomorrow on these tired legs.

Saturday March 30th

Sheeps Head 10K run Ahakista

First 10K race and second race ever after my debut in DCM 12.
Still all the signs of a novice too!!
Was at start line after a gentle mile jog and was talking hurling to the guy next to me, off went the hooter and I was gone a few hundred yards before I thought of the garmin, then it started searching for satellite and no info so I just forgot about it for a while and got stuck into the first hill which was long enough ....first 5 K was typical undulating west cork countryside and into a strong coastal wind, I found it tough enough to be honest and I was still messing with the garmin. It got reception somewhere on mile 2 and I now had some pace details. Plan had been to try for sub 45. I didn't know how long my first 2 miles had taken but once I had 7.20 split on mile 3 so I tried to gradually hold/increase this pace. Last 3 miles were flat and splits were 7.15, 7.12 and 6.48. ( first sub 7 mile since I was running for my life on a hurling field in boston 15 years ago !!...... Boston now there something to aim for !!)

So overall... 45.22 chip time AVG pace 7:17

Have to be happy with progress here. I really enjoyed the racing element too and it is so much easier than trying to run this pace on your own. Actually looking forward now to doing some more 10K runs over the summer on maybe some fresh legs!!

Now as I pour another glass here ..... something is looming in the back of my mind ....oh sh*t its that 16 mile LSR in the morning !!

tomred1N · 30-03-2013 10:53PM

RunningKing wrote: »

Tom, finding your pace is difficult for your 1st marathon. A LSR is meant to be slow. Slower than your normal runs and about 1 min to 90 secs slower than your marathon pace.

If you want to run some PMP in your LSR, just do some mileage at PMP, but not all mileage. That is a pathway to injury.

If you are doing 13 miles, maybe do the middle 5-6 at PMP to see how you get on.

Thanks RK (did run dcm last year in 4.15 after HH 1 novice plan)

On this P&D plan there is a lot of running and a lot of Long runs with a good few with PMP distance of 10 -14 miles. As i'm fairly new to running a lot of my improvement is coming during training runs so goal posts keep moving so to speak. I don't think I can plan to run a marathon at the moment unless I have run the pace in training over a 18 to 20 miler. Maybe after a few marathons I will have the confidence to know I can run slower shorter runs and then just run a faster pace in the marathon over 26 miles.

tomred1N · 01-04-2013 10:32PM

Monday April 1st

Plan : Long run 16 miles with 12 @PMP

Overall : 15.5 miles @8.25 avg pace

Didn't do this yesterday as weather was awful and didn't have time to drive somewhere with a bit of shelter and there was no way I was facing hills around here in that sh*t

So this evening I drove to Ballincollig parked up and ran into cork city down around the old colesium Park Ui Choaimh and back to Ballincollig again

Did warm up and planed to see what 8.30 pace miles would be like for the 12. First 7 were into a biting easterly headwind but given the route was flat as a pancake I didn't find it too bad. However I hated the up and down element of running on footpaths and crossing traffic lights etc. too much interruption to my rhythm ...couldn't handle that very often now.....only thing in my way out here might be the odd cow crossing the road!! However I am lucky I train on hills as if I was used to running on this everyday I could see how hills might be a major issue when you encounter them in races.

Splits were 8.18, 8.13, 8.20, 8.21,8.06, 8.09, 8.11, 7.59, 8.04, 8.15, 8.04, 7.55 .....avg about 8.12.

So just checked garmin there and I see including one of the warm up miles I did 13.1 miles in 1:47:30.

I did this tonight to see what I might consider as planned marathon pace.

Results:
At best my PMP would be 8.30 min/miles
For a half I would have a go at 8 min pace
For 10 miles I would try 7.30 min pace
For 10K I did 7.17 on Saturday

Checked my phone there...on April 1st 2012 I ran 5 miles for the first time in 55 minutes avg pace 10:55. If anyone is interested it only took about 1300 miles to knock about 20 mins off that:rolleyes:

This week coming is recovery so will be taking it easy . This VO2 max stuff now I think maybe a step too far !! Could you just call it doing a few longer strides maybe !!

Week 48 miles
YTD 503 miles

Steroo · 02-04-2013 06:17AM

tomred1N wrote: »

Monday April 1st

Plan : Long run 16 miles with 12 @PMP

Overall : 15.5 miles @8.25 avg pace

Didn't do this yesterday as weather was awful and didn't have time to drive somewhere with a bit of shelter and there was no way I was facing hills around here in that sh*t

So this evening I drove to Ballincollig parked up and ran into cork city down around the old colesium Park Ui Choaimh and back to Ballincollig again

Did warm up and planed to see what 8.30 pace miles would be like for the 12. First 7 were into a biting easterly headwind but given the route was flat as a pancake I didn't find it too bad. However I hated the up and down element of running on footpaths and crossing traffic lights etc. too much interruption to my rhythm ...couldn't handle that very often now.....only thing in my way out here might be the odd cow crossing the road!! However I am lucky I train on hills as if I was used to running on this everyday I could see how hills might be a major issue when you encounter them in races.

Splits were 8.18, 8.13, 8.20, 8.21,8.06, 8.09, 8.11, 7.59, 8.04, 8.15, 8.04, 7.55 .....avg about 8.12.

So just checked garmin there and I see including one of the warm up miles I did 13.1 miles in 1:47:30.

I did this tonight to see what I might consider as planned marathon pace.

Results:
At best my PMP would be 8.30 min/miles
For a half I would have a go at 8 min pace
For 10 miles I would try 7.30 min pace
For 10K I did 7.17 on Saturday

Checked my phone there...on April 1st 2012 I ran 5 miles for the first time in 55 minutes avg pace 10:55. If anyone is interested it only took about 1300 miles to knock about 20 mins off that:rolleyes:

This week coming is recovery so will be taking it easy . This VO2 max stuff now I think maybe a step too far !! Could you just call it doing a few longer strides maybe !!

Week 48 miles
YTD 503 miles

Great run. Looks to me like your pmp and HMP could easily be revised down at least 15 seconds per mile.

I know what you mean about the interruptions, I try keep my lsr routes nice and smooth.
Great progress! The vo2 will be fine just go for it

tomred1N · 03-04-2013 08:48PM

Tuesday April 2nd
5 miles recovery @11 min pace.

Walked/ ran this as I was feeling the effects of runs over past 5 days. Legs haven't felt like this since post DCM. I guess I'm not used to racing and then to put in a MP run which resulted in a half marathon PB of nearly 7 mins maybe too fast after a race on Saturday. Funny how I felt on the PMP miles... the limiting factor towards end was left hip\ quad stiffening up , HR was steady around 150 and lungs were fine. I think the lack of stretching might be coming back to bite me.

Wednesday April 3rd.
8.5 miles @9.28 min miles

Legs still stiff and had a burning headache for first 4 miles. Run got rid of it after thank god and legs were starting to come back to life at end of this. Will see how I feel tomorrow to see if I will do VO2 session or rest and recover for attempt at 5 x 50 mile weeks to come!!

tomred1N · 03-04-2013 09:24PM

StephenRooney wrote: »

Great run. Looks to me like your pmp and HMP could easily be revised down at least 15 seconds per mile.

I know what you mean about the interruptions, I try keep my lsr routes nice and smooth.
Great progress! The vo2 will be fine just go for it

Thanks for the optimism Stephen but whatever about the HMP pace I don't think I could try any faster for the marathon at present unless I risk all and end up crawling the last few miles ....would then end up with probably a similar or worse time but not a very enjoyable spin! in all honesty if I take 30 mins off my time I'll be more than happy and would love to still be able to run it like I ran DCM .....If I can keep running over summer I'll see whats possible for DCM. Best of luck with the 3.30 and from reading your log you definitely seem to be progressing well enough to attempt this.

rasher_m · 03-04-2013 09:59PM

Great running. thats some progress.

tomred1N · 05-04-2013 09:37PM

Friday 5th April

8 miles with 5 x 800m @5K pace Overall 8 miles @8.25 min miles

First one of these sessions for me. As I have never ran a 5k race I took the second half of a recent 10K which was 21:50. That I was thinking should have me trying to do these intervals around 7min pace. Changed the interval distance on the garmin to .5 miles and did around 2.5 miles to find some relatively level road.

time splits were 3:28 , 3:28, 3:20, 3:18. 3:20 ( avg mile pace 6:56, 6:56, 6:40, 6:37, 6:40)

Took breaks ( 2.30, 2:30, 2:00, 1:30) but kept running around 8.45 pace

First 2 intervals were up slight hill and into wind and during the first of these I thought I would hardly finish another.Was surprised that a 2.5 min break was enough and these decreased as I went on. second 2 intervals were reverse of first 2 so had downhill and wind behind me therefore shorter recoveries. Not sure if I should be more wrecked but this should be around my 5k pace so no benefit in trying to go faster..... Feel the hamstrings enough on these runs already :eek:

2 miles cool down for legs and pint of Heiniken for engine coolant !

tomred1N · 07-04-2013 09:06PM

Saturday 6th April
Medium Long Run 14 miles @9.19

Must say this was one of the more enjoyable long runs recently as I kept pace easy and was surprised to see at the end that pace was still 9.19 per min. Started to feel it in the legs a bit towards the end but expected given that I had done a session previous night.

This weather is still a pain in the butt...roasting when in the sun and freezing when into the wind. Like winter again today pissing rain , howling wind and freezing so I couldn't face a slow recovery run in it.

Need to move things around next week and week after as I just found out I have to go to Germany with work next sun to Thurs. Will hopefully squeeze in a medium long run over there but its going to upset my schedule a bit especially with travel days. Might have to do a bit of treadmill running in airport hotels :rolleyes:

Have been reading some logs recently of people who have crossed same path as me now but I really find it hard to quantify where I'm at. I am getting quicker as evidenced by my 10K time and LT runs. However I really don't know if I am making the progress I'd expect on longer runs 12-20 mile range . Times are improving but not to the level where I feel comfortable towards end of
these runs where I could say another 6 to 12 miles would be fine. Maybe it tired legs and higher milage and this is the way its meant to be ..........

RunningKing · 07-04-2013 10:52PM

Don't put too much emphasis on measuring your progress on the strength of LSR's.
Last year I done all my pre DCM runs at 8:00 min/miles and my ran my DCM at 7:40, but others who done LSR at 8:30 & 9:00 done better or equivalent marathons.

Even judging it on the races is difficult, as people have different emphasis. Some people focus on shorter stuff, others on longer stuff, some are just quicker!

Training runs are just that. Races are where you can make comparisons, but even then there are caveats.

tomred1N · 09-04-2013 08:57PM

Tuesday April 9th

10.5 miles @ 7:55

This was the longest LT run of the plan so far and probably the first one I was looking forward to. It those VO2 max things I dread now!!

Having a read of the chapter in the book again recently it says slower runners should run these @10 mile pace and I have settled on 7:30 min pace for this for the moment.

anyway 1.5 mile warm up and splits for the 7 miles were 7:06, 7.37, 7:48, 7:17, 7:26, 7:28, 7:23.

Ran the first one too fast and next two were on incline. However I settled in a rythem for the next 4 and was prob the best I have felt running in a long time. Even on hills I could see I was holding pace where previously I was working hard to keep pace. I actually wanted to keep going to see if I could keep it going for 10 miles but thought better of it and slowed down as enough to do this week. I actually found the slower running harder at that point and got a bloody stitch. 2 miles cool down
NB no wind for first time in weeks .....the joys of it

tomred1N · 10-04-2013 08:53PM

Wednesday 10th April
10 Miles MLR @9:12

This was meant to be the 12 mile MLR for this week but my legs were fecked from yesterday and on seven miles I decided to head home on shorter route. My legs actually loosened out a bit on last 3 but I was passing the house then so just couldn't be bothered running a mile past again as it would be all uphill on way back !! Cant run tomorrow with work and abroad from sunday with work as well. Need to do the 20 miler now on Friday evening or sat morning and squeeze in a recovery run one of the days as well. I found tonights run one of the hardest I have done so far. I was like Paula Radcliffe at one point my head was bobbling everywhere and I felt drained. should have been easy recovery tonight but thought it would be better to try and fit in the longer run......maybe I should be doing it other way round

tomred1N · 21-04-2013 10:18PM

Friday April 12th

5 miles recovery run @ 10.00 min pace

Saturday April 13th

20 miles Long run @9.09 min pace.
Didn't want to do this as was pissing rain but had no choice as couldn't reschedule. Was not too bad once I got moving and decided to run whole thing on feel without looking at watch. Was pleasantly surprised to see 9.09 pace at end as this felt ok and it was the hilliest route I do.

Monday April 15th

12 miles@ 8.53 min pace. Ran this around the black forest area of southern Germany in 24 degree evening sunshine. My god if we had this at home. ran between two towns on pathways beside main roads. pathways are better quality than our roads, fully tarred, no cars and not a dropped chewing gum not to mind litter. only thing was I had no water and passed no shop so the heat for the first six miles made this tougher and less enjoyable than should have been. When got back to car I stopped at a petrol station and drank a 2 litre bottle of water without putting it down. Diluted that with several beers later.

Wednesday April 17th
6 miles @9.30
Did this around the suburbs of Zurich Airport as had flight on Thursday morning. Was staying in Airport Holiday inn. Good god never again will I book one of these. took an hour to check in and then after run in the dark I tried to order food. waiting 20 mins eventually walked out and went to McDonalds. devoured about 3000 calories in 10 minutes:rolleyes:

Friday April 19th
8 miles @ 8.30 pace with 5 x 600m @5k pace.
Did 3 miles warm up and then did these around avg 6.40 pace. with 90 sec to 2 mn recoveries...bit faster than 5k pace and felt like it too. was pretty wrecked on last one.

Saturday April 20th

5 miles @10 min pace recovery run

Sunday April 21st

18 miles @8.58 pace

Was going to do the Great Island 10 in Cobh this morning. However when I got up it was raining and I was not too bothered about driving all the way down there and having to do 7 more miles on top of racing 10. Decided to just do my Long run and again ran easy on feel without loking at watch and was happy to see times improving without extra effort.

YTD 633 miles

tomred1N · 24-04-2013 10:14PM

Tuesday April 23

8 miles GA @8.48.....warm not used to this

Wednesday April 24th
9 miles @ 8.30 with 5 x 1k @5k pace

This is tough but enjoyable at the same time....run seems to pass a lot quicker than 8 miles previous night. I found this tougher than the 7 miles @LT pace few weeks ago which is funny given that no breaks during the LT run.

1km splits tonight were 4:08, 4:20, 4:11, 4:12, 4:15 with average 2:30 breaks around 9 min pace in between. Just tried to keep pace under 7 min/mile for each km but I was suffering after the first 3 and last 2 were tough going.

Anyway just noticed that that Mesocycle 2 of P&D 18/55 finished week before last. Think I only missed 3 recovery runs in that cycle so again would have taken that at the start.

Had to buy new suits for work last week...had grown out of the old ones. This is costing me a fortune as well !!

tomred1N · 30-04-2013 10:59PM

Friday April 26th

10 miles @ 8:50

This was meant to be 12. felt like 18 as I was running uphill and into a gale for last six miles. My left hand was frozen solid and right had was warm when I finished such was the bitterness of the wind coming from the northern direction. I did not enjoy this and really was wondering why I was doing it at all as its meant to be enjoyable ...kind off anyway

Saturday April 27th

5 miles @ 9.45 recovery run. Nice run in mild sunshine

Sunday April 28th

18 miles @ 8.50

Was in no mood for this. got up early Sunday morning to do it and found excuses all day to put it off including Mass, sunday carvery, watch a match and then at 6.15 pm Sunday evening found the will power to do it as was going for a few pints that night. Was meant to be 14 pmp miles but having been too lazy to drive to a flat route I decided to just run usual hilly route. Wanted to try 8.30 min miles but quickly knew I was after fooking this up having eaten a big dinner just 3 hours earlier. Made agreement with the inner demons after first mile that I would do the 18 miles anyway and might do the Bantry Bay half marathon next weekend at PMP instead. Anyway ploughed on and eventually digested the dinner by mile 9 and actually finished the run strong enough with several sub 8.30 min miles from half way on where hills allowed. Enjoyed 4 pints of heinekin sunday night....will have a few next sunday night again and better call a halt then b4 Cork......well I'll try anyway but at least I'm not having any sneaky smokes......been 3 months since one actually !!

Tuesday April 30th

8 miles @8.30 with 5 x 600 m @5k pace

did the 5 x 600 m in 2:36, 2.36, 2.39. 2.33. 2.37 with 90 second breaks in between. first 3 uphill , last two downhill but I was fooked and just kept pace even with aid of slope. These are tough little buggers. I found the longer ones easier last week and I was running at slightly faster pace then. Think legs are tired. Just seen bantry half marathon is 50 euro......bit steep must be a gathering event down west with plenty tourists !!

Month of April 200 miles

YTD 692 miles

tomred1N · 06-05-2013 10:33PM

Wednesday May 1st

5 miles @ 9:15
this was meant to be 10 miles but legs were really tired from previous night and I just thought better of it than to push on for another 5. Would usually finish it out anyway but was thinking about the half marathon at the weekend and would like to be able to run it fresh enough.

Saturday May 4th
3 miles @9.45

Didn't get out Thursday or Friday with work. Had to do a conference on Saturday as well so did a lot of driving on Friday and Saturday. Did 3 miles Saturday evening to loosen the legs from a lot of driving over past few days.

Sunday May 5th

Glengarriff to Bantry Half Marathon

Got up round 7.30 am and had 2 slices of toast and tea. Had been thinking about how I should go about this run as the reason I entered was to run some PMP miles and to break up the usual routine of running these things on my own.
Driving down I decided to try 8 min miles as I felt this would give me a good opportunity to run a good PB and also to see how I would cope. I had read it was a tough route and not considered a PB course but as this was my first half I wanted to try to improve on the 1.47 I had done on a training run a few weeks ago.

Got down around 9.15 , good atmosphere , easy registration , ran a mile warm up and lined up towards the rear of the field.

Miles 1-3 splits 7:57, 7:53, 7:25
Started out and ran first two miles as planned. Passed lot of people thru first 3 miles and noticed that my breathing was fine compared to a lot of those who I was passing. Started to increase pace a bit as I felt I might have been holding back a bit much on a nice easy part of course.

Miles 4-6 splits 8:32, 7:48, 7:31
Tough section of the course with 2 miles climb out of Glengarriff. Found this ok and slowed down for first mile of climb to conserve energy. was still passing a good few runners. When I got to top of climb I still felt good and fell in with another runner who was running around same pace.

Miles 7-9 splits 7:13, 7:08, 7:14
Downhill section now and was having a good conversation with guy I was running alongside. Noticed pace was increasing and we were passing loads of runners. Popped a gel at mile 8 and Felt grand but I knew that miles there was more hills to come

Miles 10 -13.1 splits 7:20, 7:39, 7:39, 7:36, (5:36)
Mile 10 to 12 were on gradual incline and into a strong enough coastal wind which I found tough enough going to hold pace. I was still passing runners but lost the fellow I was running with after a bit of swopping places around mile 11. He powered on but I could not respond and got a bit of a stitch trying to follow him so just settled in with a bunch of around 5.
It was only then that I noticed the avg pace so far was around 7.35 so I tried to calculate in my head if I could hold this where would I end up. Knew I had a chance of getting near 1.40 so I pushed as much as I could to the top of the hill where I knew the last 3/4 mile was down hill. Try as I might I could not push any faster on the downhill with the force of the wind against me but came from behind to pass the other 4 runners on the flat run in in the square in Bantry.

So chip time of 1:40:34 avg pace 7.36 min mile. avg HR 165 similar from mile 1 to 13

Didn't break the 1.40 but can hardly complain when I went out to do 1:45! To be honest I didn't even realise what I was doing for most of the race and can thank the guy I met on mile 5 for dragging that time out of me. Thanked him at finish he was a minute ahead of me.

Did 1 mile warm down and 3 more later in the evening to loosen the legs before heading out for dinner and the final pints before cork.

Yesterday and reading logs today has given me a better indication what to try in CCM. Even with a cool wind yesterday I was throwing water all over myself to cool down and even stooped to walk at every station to take on water properly ( I cant drink from plastic cups when running ). Needless to say I wont be attempting anything as aggressive and unplanned over 26 miles in June!!

tomred1N · 08-05-2013 09:30PM

Monday May 6th

3 miles recovery slow no watch

Wednesday May 8th

10 miles @9:10

Started this run still feeling a bit stiff but by the end I was comfortably running around 8.45 pace without noticing any effort at all. I have different legs to what I had last year!!
Only thing of concern was on a downhill section I got a dart of pain up my left shin bone. Not sure what it was but was thinking of getting leg massage from physio over next week or so to freshen up legs anyway. There were a few downhills I ran fast on Sunday so might be strain from that. I find running downhill hard on legs so much so that I always run routes where I am running up the steeper hills.

tomred1N · 12-05-2013 11:00PM

Thursday 9th May

5 miles @9.45 recovery run

Friday 10th May

10 miles @ 8:55
this was another one of these runs where you want to be doing something else. Headed out in sunshine but was looking at oncoming clouds wondering what to wear. Couldn't figure it out so just struck off into a geal force wind , what I encountered over the next hour you would hardly expect on Everest. Sunshine, wind, torrentail rain , hailstone, warm sunshine , freezing wind . I had two labs with me for this one and even they wanted to go home when we passed one cross on the way home which would shorten the route. Even I wanted to do this but kept going, had to take cover in a farm yard from some of the rain eventually though as I was frozen with the biting wind as well. I was thinking then while standing in a neighbours farm shed that given the sh!t I have been running in since March that I would find it hard to do this again next spring. Anyway finished run but legs were starting to feel it as well toward end. Started to think the 20 on Sunday could be tough going.

Saturday 11th May

3 miles @ 10:00
Tried a few easy to loosen legs

Sunday 12th May

Did 3 mile walk of dogs first as legs felt really sluggish this morning. Have been doing this a few mornings a week lately to stretch legs.

20 miles @9.20

God this was another beauty. First 12 miles into a gale force south westerly wind. Had dropped water and sports drink at mile 5 (where I usually pass again at mile 11) and mile 18. However forgot I had changed 20 mile route which meant I didn't get back to water till mile 15. On top of this I had not had my usual fill of water on Saturday as was out working all day. Anyway after working hard for 12 miles I turned to where wind was behind me......then the wind stopped and the sun came out....now I was roasting and quite quickly began to feel thirsty. I started to feel funny and then my vision started to get fuzzy. F*ck I said to myself as I was in middle of nowhere, luckily remembered I had bought a gel so stopped for a minute and took it slowly. Started to feel a bit better and got back on track to water at 15 miles. finished out last 5 miles ,had planned to do 21-22 but called a halt given that this one was so hard into the wind. When I got home and took off my black cap the top if it was white with salt :eek: .

Anyway that the mesocycle 3 of P&D out of the way .....only missed a few recovery runs again and one tune up race. Was thinking the half marathon I did last sunday has taken a bit of me as I have felt it in the legs all week. Prob should be not be ruuning one of these as close to a marathon but it was better than trying a PMP run on my own.

Thanks God for taper .... no more 20 milers for a while. 3 hours running on my own is beginning to take its toll on the mind.

Walked 4 miles to a match and home again this evening to loosen legs.

tomred1N · 16-05-2013 09:44PM

Wednesday May 15th

8 miles @8:32

did 6 x 600 @5k pace. didn't hear the beep on 5th one and actually did the last one as a 1200. Christ this was tough but as I had found them all tough I was thinking it was just lasting longer cause I was slowing down. actually did the 1200 in just under @6.55 avg pace so not too bad. I think I might give next weeks one a skip as these are hard on the legs but good for the lungs too so undecided really......bit like hard work for an engine .....clears the sh!te out of the system!

Tuesday May 16th

5 miles easy @9.45. Nice run in a small bit of sunshine at last and no wind ....no wind imagine !!. Looking forward to Cork now and just happy at this stage to be nearly through the training.

Wife bought a booklet home from physio last week on ruuning injury etc. had a diagram in it showing where your runners sole should wear if you are hitting the ground properly. checked my last two pairs and seems like the runners are hitting the ground where they should. I wear Asiscs 2160 etc ranges but a gait analysis I did last year said I should have a neutral shoe. I tried a pair on at the time but immediately felt the lack of support on the neutral asiscs runner. Just a bit of useless information but just shows whats feels right can often be better than what the analysis shows

YTD miles 782

tomred1N · 20-05-2013 10:07PM

Saturday May 18th

6 miles @8:10
Schedule called for a tune up race but did not have a suitable one nearby.
Instead ran 5 miles around 8 min pace to loosen the legs a little after a mile warm up.

Sunday May 19th

15 miles @8:50

Ran this a bit too fast but as it was last LSR I didn't mind and was in a bit of a rush to get it done Sunday evening so I was trying to make up for shortage in distance with a little extra effort. Started to feel it n the legs towards the end and left hamstring a giving little reminders. Put it down to few faster runs this week so easy goes this week.

Think I will book a physio for a leg rub down Wednesday evening, feel like they could do with a good loosening up .....I wonder is this a good idea 10 days before a marathon ???

tomred1N · 24-05-2013 10:57PM

Wednesday May 22

7 miles @8:50 with few 100m strides
Found this tough enough going for first 4 miles as legs were surprisingly stiff even after two days off since long run on sunday. I did walk 3 miles Monday and Tuesday evenings so did not expect to still have stiffness in legs. Anyway strides helped loosen out and actually was looking forward to few pmp miles tomorrow night.

Thursday May 23

8 miles @8:15

did mile warm up @ 9 min and then ran 6 miles without looking at watch to see if I could visualise what running around 8:30 min miles would feel like. Went a bit too quick but happy enough to know that I wasn't feeling it and my breathing was fine. Small tightness in left hamstring but going to get a massage on Tuesday evening to loosen up legs.

Friday May 24th

3 miles very slow tonight ...no watch. might do same tomorrow and will do 10-12 early sunday morning on flat route somewhere with gels and all other necessary survival accessories attached to me

tomred1N · 26-05-2013 08:26PM

Saturday May 25th

4 miles easy/slow with few strides thrown in.

Communion party later in the evening so chips, steaks and cheese cake had me walking the dogs at 10pm to digest. Made me think I should try and weigh myself as I have not checked in months but surely the mileage has had an effect. I know from my clothes I have changed shape at least but all the same I won't be doing the mileage over next few weeks so would like to know where I am so I can set the alarm bells ringing in July!!

Sunday May 26th

10 miles @9.00

Plan called for 12 but decided that 10 would be enough and did an out and back route that didn't have any big hills. Got up early for a change 8.45:pac: and headed off. didn't eat anything and as short run I took no water. After 2 miles I was parched and it was surprisingly warm. As I'm not a morning person things improved as I moved on but few things I need to be aware of for next week. ie. get up at 6am and WTFU. (Wake The f**k Up).
Anyway run was grand ...ended up as a kind of progression run where I started at 10 min miles and gradually sped up to 8 min miles around mile 8/9 with a mile cool down.

Also have been wearing base layer with nearly 8 months. Have got so used to it cant run without it as it keeps/ moves perspiration off my back. didn't wear it on recent half marathon and the adidas top I had on was clung to me at the end. Just pray it aint 24 degrees :rolleyes:.

Finally reading logs I' still not sure about this massage I have booked for Tuesday evening, I would love to loosen the legs a bit but don't want them tired either. going to do a bit of googleing later to see

YTD Miles 835

tomred1N · 31-05-2013 04:04PM

Wednesday May 29th

5 miles @9.30

Nice easy run but too warm with base layer. has to go me thinks.

Thursday May30th

6 miles @ 8.45

Did 2 miles warm up and then 2 miles @PMP. 2 miles cooldown but was all a bit too fast. However thinking about it thats nearly quarter of the distance on Monday and once I get my breathing and settle in a rhytem like I did last night I feel happy unusually confident about Monday. However just got a text a while ago saying it could be 23 degrees. Ah sure whatever I started by crawling may as well finish doing it:)

Steroo · 01-06-2013 04:10PM

Beat of luck Tom!

From Marlboro Lights to Running Tights!

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