Confessions of a never has been.....

Duanington · 09-03-2014 11:11AM

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

You're flying D, another PB, well done

TbL

Thanks TbL

Duanington · 09-03-2014 11:12AM

outforarun wrote: »

You have me by 1 second over 5K. Great run. Next up 18:XX.

Ha - every seconds counts outforarun! Thanks a mill, yeah 18.xx would be nice alright...I'll keep the head down and see where it takes me

Duanington · 10-03-2014 12:19AM

09.03.2014

Skipping the session on Friday and racing yesterday messed up my plans a little for the next few days - I normally run tempo runs on Sunday nights and had planned to run 7 miles@ tempo ( slower pace than normal) tonight. Common sense prevailed and I decided to go for a more sensible option in a progression type run instead - with not a whole lot of firm ideas around pace.

The idea was to run easy, then steady..quicken up to tempo then run hard for a mile.

I was late out this evening but my legs felt very fresh, well recovered from yesterday's race ( another reason why I am liking this 5k lark more and more, the recovery is so much better), headed off towards East wall, starting off with a nice easy pace, gradually increasing all the way straight through to mile 6 where I ran hard.
I was mindful of any risk to injury so was "listening" closely to my legs, the first sign of anything out of the ordinary and I would pull the plug on this one, thankfully I felt strong for all but the last 2 minutes or so.

Splits looked like this:

1 - 8:10
2 - 7:51
3 - 7:25
4 - 7:06
5 - 6:07 ( I had to work hard towards the end of this one)

1.5 miles easy to finish

Enjoyed this session, it wasn't as long as the normal work I would do on Sundays but I'll definitely come back to this type of run.

Back to easy stuff tomorrow

Duanington · 10-03-2014 10:59PM

10.03.2014

Back to easy miles tonight and what a perfect night for running - the best of the year I would guess.

I was early home for once so got a little bit of core work in before getting started. I'll be upping the miles to mid\late 50s per week over the next few weeks so will probably have to introduce some doubles during the week because I wouldn't normally get to run so early on a Monday
Set off over towards the O2 at a nice easy pace...taking great delight in the clear, crisp evening - not too crisp mind....just crisp enough to make it feel crisp

. Plenty of pep in the step on the way over to the O2, noticed lots of people out and about, lots of "hellos" and greetings between fellow runners along the coast, lots of football teams out training on the grass too...spriits seemed high all round....got to the O2 in no time, Beyonce was nowhere to be seen...so promptly turned around and trudged my way home...

Total miles 8 @ 8:21 min miles

Tom Joad · 10-03-2014 11:04PM

Well done on the PB - you really are flying

Duanington · 10-03-2014 11:07PM

Tom Joad wrote: »

Well done on the PB - you really are flying

Thanks TJ - looks like you're recovering nicely which is great to see, steady as she goes

Tom Joad · 10-03-2014 11:09PM

Duanington wrote: »

Thanks TJ - looks like you're recovering nicely which is great to see, steady as she goes

Cheers - yeah Steady as she goes is my new mantra

Duanington · 11-03-2014 11:24PM

11.03.2014

LSR night tonight and back to the hilly hills of hilly Howth...lovely night for it again which always helps.

I got on the road at a reasonable hour and took a couple of miles in on the grass at the seafront before heading off towards Howth. Kept the pace nice and slow heading out the coast and once I hit the hills ( I ran around Howth counter clockwise this time) I upped the effort a little to maintain the pace as close as possible. I've noticed that I've started to switch into "hill mode" without noticing lately actually, I suppose I'm getting used to it at this stage - the legs, arms and lungs just switch gears and work that bit harder without too much effort.

Up to the summit in what seemed like no time then down the mile or so into Howth village, lots of fantastic smells from the various restaurants wafting around which can be a challenge in itself !

I felt quite strong coming out of the village much to my surprise so I upped the pace at mile 12 for the last few miles, running 8:00, 7:55, 7:55 and 7:45.

I felt great at the end of this one, possibly down to the conditions though, it is one of those nights out there peeps!
Walked .5 mile afterwards just to wind the legs down

Total miles: 15 @ 8:35 min miles

Duanington · 15-03-2014 11:50PM

15.03.2014

Wednesday\Thursday - rest days

Friday

4.5 miles easy...down the coast, on the grass..lovely jubbley run, legs felt great after the couple of rest days . I ran some strides ( 8x70 metres) over mile 3 - as usual, not flat out...maybe 60% or so. Spent a bit of time stretching afterwards.

Saturday

AM - session - 9x400 metre reps ( with 200 metre jogging recovery)

Decided to head down to the rose garden in St Anne's to run these - I was going to head to a track somewhere but it dawned on me that the rose garden is actually shaped just like a track and has a few inner rings that could provide a little shelter from the strong winds.

Ran a 1.5 mile warm up then got started , I would normally run the reps around 1:26\1\:27 but wanted to run a little quicker today and work on quicker turnover and getting my stride right ( not over-reaching)
Reps went as follows:

1:20
1:18
1:18
1:19

Took a 2 minute standing break, then;

1:16
1:19
1:21
1:22
1:21

I was happy enough with this session ( and surprised with how well the rose garden "track" worked out!), worked hard throughout all the reps and tried to keep everything consistent.. I was definitely working harder towards the end of the last 2 than I wanted to but the pace was a bit quicker than I'm used to I suppose.
Ran alongside the parkrunners for a bit to start a cool down then on home

Total miles 6.5

PM - 40 minutes of core work then a nice easy recovery run, no idea of the pace but the legs had stiffened up a little throughout the day ( the tension during the last 10 minutes of the rugby match could not have helped that) and felt a lot better afterwards
3 miles recovery

Total miles today 9.5

Ososlo · 16-03-2014 12:03AM

Going to steal your Garden Track idea! I presume the surface is even? I can't really remember as it's been a while since I ran in there but super idea for a sheltered rep run!

Duanington · 16-03-2014 12:21AM

Ososlo wrote: »

Going to steal your Garden Track idea! I presume the surface is even? I can't really remember as it's been a while since I ran in there but super idea for a sheltered rep run!

Ha - it's there to be stolen, it was great actually...nice and smooth all the way around...its also just a lovely place to run.
I was there nice and early today and there were only a few people wandering around, if it was busy then it may have been tricky running around the rose sniffers but it would still be do-able

FBOT01 · 16-03-2014 12:22AM

Ososlo wrote: »

Going to steal your Garden Track idea! I presume the surface is even? I can't really remember as it's been a while since I ran in there but super idea for a sheltered rep run!

+1

ThebitterLemon · 16-03-2014 01:16AM

Not much chin ups or crappy music lately D, what's up

TbL

Duanington · 16-03-2014 11:15AM

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Not much chin ups or crappy music lately D, what's up

TbL

ha ha, they're both still very much in the plan TbL - just rushed for time updating the log at the moment. Guns n Roses, Stevie Wonder and Bombay Bicycle club all made appearances so far this week

.

Duanington · 17-03-2014 10:35PM

17.03.2014

Sunday

30 minutes of core\pressup work then off out for 6 easy miles. Nice trot around Clontarf\Raheny, the roads were very, very quiet and the temperature was just nice for running. Really enjoyed this run and possibly ran a little quicker than I would normally do on easy runs ( I had the GPS turned off so wasn't sure of the pace).

Off out for a few scoops afterwards for the first time in a long time

Total miles:6 @ easy pace

MOnday

Not much sleep last night and lots of boozing, walking, standing around, walking, boozing, walking from pub to pub left me shattered this morning. I had pencilled in a tempo session for today but had to change tact to get myself out the door.
Trudged up to St Anne's park, felt like I had just climbed out of a cement mixer the time I got there but started off on the tempo section anyway, running almost all of this on the grass.

First mile was fine, second mile was painful and the second mile was pure torture. Splits looked like

6:53
6:53
6:46

The shortest and slowest tempo I've done in ages and yet it was the session from hell, glad to have done it now - I would have skipped this a few months back, that's for sure.

Finished off with 3 "easy" miles ( there was nothing easy about them)

Total miles: 7

Duanington · 18-03-2014 10:46PM

18.03

Originally I had planned to head up to Howth again this evening for my regular LSR - a late evening in work this evening forced a change of heart so I took the opportunity to shorten my LSR and run most of it at a steady pace instead of the usual 8:40 ish pace.

The route was straightforward, in along the coast, over to the O2, down the quays and back out the coast to Clontarf.

I decided to run by feel and just keep the pace at what felt like a steady effort - not quite easy, not hard either though...somewhere in between - maybe 7:45ish I had guessed.

Very happy with this one, ran 10 miles at the steady pace ( averaging 7:42) then finished off with 1.5 miles nice and easy. I never felt under pressure on this one and really enjoyed cantering along at a decent pace. Tired a little over the last mile but I just eased up the pace accordingly

Total miles 11.5 @ 7:48 min miles

Home for some stretching and light core work

Duanington · 20-03-2014 11:44PM

20.03.2014

Wednesday - rest day, just 30 minutes light weights and a little stretching

Thursday

AM - 4 miles easy

First run before work in the new job. I work on the other side of the city to where I work so I set the alarm clock 30 minutes early, got to the office at about 07:40 and headed off in great form ...much to the amusement of the girls in the office.....came back just over 30 minutes later soaked to the skin and looking like I had just stepped out of a wind tunnel....much to the amusement of the girls in the office.

Despite the rain and wind, I really enjoyed getting this run in before work, I found a nice loop around Citywest and will have to do this more and more if I am to up the mileage over the coming weeks\months

PM - Session - 5x1k repeats w/75 second recovery ( targeting 3:45 per 1k rep)

Started off at home with some core work and press-ups - Phoenix's now classic album Wolfgang Amadeus providing the musical backdrop, then off down to the coast to start the reps

1.5 mile warmup then off I went - the 75 second recovery is down from 90 seconds recovery when I last ran these ( successfully!). pconn062 kindly suggested I do as much as opposed to adding more reps.

Reps went as follows:
3:44
3:45
3:38
3:50
3:40

I had to dig very, very deep on the last 2 to keep the pace, more so on the 2nd last actually as it was into a decent breeze. Very happy with this, even though the paces were a little uneven - I ran every second one into the breeze which probably explains that. I could really feel the lungs working to fuel my legs which is good I suppose.

2.5 miles easy to finish off

11.1 miles for the day

ThebitterLemon · 20-03-2014 11:49PM

First run before work in the new job. I work on the other side of the city to where I work so I set the alarm clock 30 minutes early, got to the office at about 07:40 and headed off in great form ...much to the amusement of the girls in the office.....came back just over 30 minutes later soaked to the skin and looking like I had just stepped out of a wind tunnel....much to the amusement of the girls in the office.

Stepped out of the shower,the towel slipped down....much to the amusement of the girls in the office

TbL

Duanington · 20-03-2014 11:51PM

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

First run before work in the new job. I work on the other side of the city to where I work so I set the alarm clock 30 minutes early, got to the office at about 07:40 and headed off in great form ...much to the amusement of the girls in the office.....came back just over 30 minutes later soaked to the skin and looking like I had just stepped out of a wind tunnel....much to the amusement of the girls in the office.

Stepped out of the shower,the towel slipped down....much to the amusement of the girls in the office

TbL

ha ha - welcome back TbL !

Cleanman · 21-03-2014 10:33AM

Nice session man - 75 secs ain't much recovery. It makes your 5k pb look a little soft:D

Duanington · 21-03-2014 11:07AM

Cheers Cleanman - yeah, I'm not too sure how the paces\recovery times should relate to a PB to be honest but I actually suspect you are right ( a little)

Either that or I am running these a tad too quick

Duanington · 21-03-2014 11:49PM

21.03.2014

Back to the easy shtuff tonight.

Home from work at a reasonable hour so I got stuck into a few sets of chin ups then headed off along the coast ( on the grass) towards the O2. I was struck by a) how cold it had turned again and b) how few people were out running tonight, people have more sense I suppose ?

Legs felt a little stiff and tired during the first mile or two but loosened up nicely towards the middle few miles.

Really enjoyed this one, kept the pace down well for the first few miles and picked it up just a little on the way home.

Total miles 7 @ 8:37 min\mile

AuldManKing · 22-03-2014 12:30AM

Just out of interest, how do you do the chin ups at home?

Duanington · 22-03-2014 12:33AM

AuldManKing wrote: »

Just out of interest, how do you do the chin ups at home?

I picked up a chin up bar in Aldi last year (something like this (http://www.amazon.co.uk/EXERCISE-BAR-DOOR-PULL-CHIN/dp/B003TTUGRQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1395445452&sr=1-1)
- it hangs over the door frame but also serves as a base for press-ups if you fancy them.

Dead handy to use because it uses the frame to support itself and there's no drilling or anything required.

Cleanman · 22-03-2014 12:33AM

AuldManKing wrote: »

Just out of interest, how do you do the chin ups at home?

I think he uses his hands....could be wrong though

Ososlo · 22-03-2014 12:35AM

AuldManKing wrote: »

Just out of interest, how do you do the chin ups at home?

Being one to jump on bandwagons I looked into getting one (chin up bar) and found one in Elvery's sports a few days ago that you put over the top of the door. Wondering what you use too Duanington?

Duanington · 22-03-2014 12:36AM

Ososlo wrote: »

Being one to jump on bandwagons I looked into getting one (chin up bar) and found one in Elvery's sports a few days ago that you put over the top of the door. Wondering what you use too Duanington?

Sounds like the same one I have - it hangs off the door frame?

Ososlo · 22-03-2014 12:38AM

Duanington wrote: »

Sounds like the same one I have - it hangs off the door frame?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Powerbar-assembly-Folds-Design-protectors/dp/B00376I6G4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1395444760&sr=8-6&keywords=door+pull+up+bar
?

Duanington · 22-03-2014 12:44AM

Ososlo wrote: »

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Powerbar-assembly-Folds-Design-protectors/dp/B00376I6G4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1395444760&sr=8-6&keywords=door+pull+up+bar
?

Quite similar to that one alright - looks like it would do just fine. Yer man is mean looking dude so it must be good

This one is closer to the one I have though
http://www.amazon.co.uk/EXERCISE-BAR-DOOR-PULL-CHIN/dp/B003TTUGRQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1395445452&sr=1-1

Ososlo · 22-03-2014 12:48AM

Duanington wrote: »

Quite similar to that one alright - looks like it would do just fine. Yer man is mean looking dude so it must be good

This one is closer to the one I have though
http://www.amazon.co.uk/EXERCISE-BAR-DOOR-PULL-CHIN/dp/B003TTUGRQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1395445452&sr=1-1

I'll have arms like his by next xmas Boards' beers:D

thanks for the linky:)

Confessions of a never has been.....

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