A Slow Journey to Faster Times

Ferris B · 19-05-2014 09:39AM

Nice run there P. Well done and a well deserved Sub 30.

Your idea to take it easy for a while is probably a wise move as you have done quite a lot recently and need to stay injury free...speaking from experience...

outforarun · 19-05-2014 10:30AM

Great report. Well done, especially on mile 4 I think you won your race there. And as for mile 5 ....

yaboya1 wrote: »

Just go faster than you're currently going and you've done it

..... love that quote

yaboya1 · 19-05-2014 12:24PM

outforarun wrote: »

Great report. Well done, especially on mile 4 I think you won your race there. And as for mile 5 ....

..... love that quote

Calvin Johnson gave me that advice on Saturday:

Calvin Johnson wrote: »

Good luck tomorrow, just run really fast and if you can run even faster then do that...simple?

Duanington · 19-05-2014 05:34PM

congratulations yet again on another super achievement - well done!

yaboya1 · 19-05-2014 08:19PM

Monday 19th May - 4m Recovery
4m @ 8:52p/m average (124bpm avg)

Just a nice easy one to shake out any soreness from yesterday's race. Surprisingly there was none and I felt fantastic, despite the fact that I also had a few beers last night. Looking forward to going back out tomorrow. I'm going to stick to easy miles until Sunday and get back to the Steady sessions next week.

Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:35
Mile 2 - 8:54
Mile 3 - 8:53
Mile 4 - 9:08

yaboya1 · 20-05-2014 12:57PM

Tuesday 20th May - 120 minutes Easy
15m @ 8:37/m average (133bpm avg)

So, I didn't do exactly what I set out to do today :rolleyes:.
Let me explain.....

Since I've been slacking on the long runs lately due to all my racing, I decided to get a nice easy one in today. Plan was two hours at 125bpm or lower. Early miles were pretty slow as I was climbing for most of them and it was warm out despite the rain, so the base layer I had worn was causing me to sweat more, hence a rise in HR. Once I levelled out a bit, the miles started to quicken and I was really enjoying the workout. I'm feeling far fresher than I would have expected after the race on Sunday and thought to myself, Why don't I throw in a few MP miles at the end since I've decided not to do any steady sessions this week? So that's what I did. I'm going to train for a sub 2:55 marathon, even though I will be more than happy with sub 3, so that means my MP miles will be at 6:40 pace. I thought I would get around fourteen miles in at the easy pace, so as soon as I hit ten, I upped the pace to the required level. It was tough to hold it for the four miles, but I managed it and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't delighted with this session

. I added an extra mile at the end as a cooldown. No more fast miles this week - I promise

.

Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:48 (121bpm)
Mile 2 - 9:14 (124bpm)
Mile 3 - 9:36 (125bpm)
Mile 4 - 9:33 (125bpm)
Mile 5 - 9:49 (124bpm)
Mile 6 - 9:50 (122bpm)
Mile 7 - 9:15 (123bpm)
Mile 8 - 9:08 (122bpm)
Mile 9 - 9:07 (125bpm)
Mile 10 - 9:06 (125bpm)
Mile 11 - 6:38 (153bpm) MP
Mile 12 - 6:38 (165bpm) MP
Mile 13 - 6:39 (166bpm) MP
Mile 14 - 6:35 (169bpm) MP
Mile 15 - 9:15 (135bpm)

Summary

Easy Miles: 11m @ 9:20/m average (125bpm avg)
MP Miles: 4m @ 6:38/m average (163bpm avg)

yaboya1 · 20-05-2014 02:13PM

I just found my finishing straight photo from Terenure on Sunday.
It wasn't pretty :P

FBOT01 · 20-05-2014 02:54PM

yaboya1 wrote: »

Tuesday 20th May - 120 minutes Easy
15m @ 8:37/m average (133bpm avg)

So, I didn't do exactly what I set out to do today :rolleyes:.
Let me explain.....

Since I've been slacking on the long runs lately due to all my racing, I decided to get a nice easy one in today. Plan was two hours at 125bpm or lower. Early miles were pretty slow as I was climbing for most of them and it was warm out despite the rain, so the base layer I had worn was causing me to sweat more, hence a rise in HR. Once I levelled out a bit, the miles started to quicken and I was really enjoying the workout. I'm feeling far fresher than I would have expected after the race on Sunday and thought to myself, Why don't I throw in a few MP miles at the end since I've decided not to do any steady sessions this week? So that's what I did. I'm going to train for a sub 2:55 marathon, even though I will be more than happy with sub 3, so that means my MP miles will be at 6:40 pace. I thought I would get around fourteen miles in at the easy pace, so as soon as I hit ten, I upped the pace to the required level. It was tough to hold it for the four miles, but I managed it and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't delighted with this session . I added an extra mile at the end as a cooldown. No more fast miles this week - I promise .

Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:48 (121bpm)
Mile 2 - 9:14 (124bpm)
Mile 3 - 9:36 (125bpm)
Mile 4 - 9:33 (125bpm)
Mile 5 - 9:49 (124bpm)
Mile 6 - 9:50 (122bpm)
Mile 7 - 9:15 (123bpm)
Mile 8 - 9:08 (122bpm)
Mile 9 - 9:07 (125bpm)
Mile 10 - 9:06 (125bpm)
Mile 11 - 6:38 (153bpm) MP
Mile 12 - 6:38 (165bpm) MP
Mile 13 - 6:39 (166bpm) MP
Mile 14 - 6:35 (169bpm) MP
Mile 15 - 9:15 (135bpm)

Summary

Easy Miles: 11m @ 9:20/m average (125bpm avg)
MP Miles: 4m @ 6:38/m average (163bpm avg)

Nobody likes a show off

....btw nice work out.

ThebitterLemon · 20-05-2014 07:25PM

Nice picture, you even manage to make # 769 look attractive

At least you lost the gardening gloves!

Excellent session today

TbL

Gavlor · 20-05-2014 07:34PM

Take. It. Easy.

Your marathon is 5 months away, not 5 weeks.

menoscemo · 20-05-2014 08:18PM

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Nice picture, you even manage to make # 769 look attractive

#769 is another boardsie so be careful what you say

ThebitterLemon · 20-05-2014 08:29PM

menoscemo wrote: »

#769 is another boardsie so be careful what you say

Sure Meno, that's why I don't post my own photo

TbL

Itziger · 20-05-2014 08:34PM

yaboya1 wrote: »

I just found my finishing straight photo from Terenure on Sunday.
It wasn't pretty :P

Ah, Jaysus, given that you have a 30 year advantage on the other lad, you'd want to be beating him

Very interested to see the longer session where you really did keep the easy miles easy before hitting a few PMP ones. I know I need to make the easy easier and I'd say a lot of others could learn from that.

So 6.38 is the new MP then??

yaboya1 · 20-05-2014 08:47PM

Gavlor wrote: »

Take. It. Easy.

Your marathon is 5 months away, not 5 weeks.

I know, I know

yaboya1 · 20-05-2014 08:49PM

Itziger wrote: »

Ah, Jaysus, given that you have a 30 year advantage on the other lad, you'd want to be beating him

Very interested to see the longer session where you really did keep the easy miles easy before hitting a few PMP ones. I know I need to make the easy easier and I'd say a lot of others could learn from that.

So 6.38 is the new MP then??

I'm going to train towards a sub 2:55 marathon, meaning any MP miles will be done at 6:40, but I'll be delighted with sub 3. Just trying to give myself a cushion.

Gavlor · 20-05-2014 09:15PM

yaboya1 wrote: »

I'm going to train towards a sub 2:55 marathon, meaning any MP miles will be done at 6:40, but I'll be delighted with sub 3. Just trying to give myself a cushion.

Great call.

menoscemo · 20-05-2014 09:20PM

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Sure Meno, that's why I don't post my own photo

TbL

Well, it's not me anyway. I can assure you I am at least twice his weight

blockic · 21-05-2014 12:23AM

Gavlor wrote: »

Great call.

+1 the only call!

You're in savage form yaboya! All this started in Kitty O'Sheas!

yaboya1 · 22-05-2014 01:46PM

Thursday 22nd May - 105 minutes Easy
12m @ 8:57/m average (122bpm avg)

Had quite a long day yesterday, so never managed to get out for a run. Decided to get another medium/long one in this morning, this time making sure to stay below the intended heart rate (125bpm).

Took in the Phoenix Park again today. What a fantastic facility it really is for us runners. I think you could run a marathon in there without covering the same patch of ground more than once. Anyway, I really enjoyed this workout in what were absolutely perfect running conditions. I kept the HR below the required rate almost all the way around and felt incredibly strong throughout. The HR/pace fluctuates a little bit in some of the miles, but that's due to the ups and downs in the PP. I was always extremely comfortable and was itching to pick up the pace from start to finish, but kept the effort constant today

. Added a couple of minutes at the end to get the twelfth mile in.

Splits:

Mile 1 - 9:00 (119bpm)
Mile 2 - 9:20 (121bpm)
Mile 3 - 9:37 (120bpm)
Mile 4 - 9:37 (124bpm)
Mile 5 - 8:56 (123bpm)
Mile 6 - 8:50 (123bpm)
Mile 7 - 8:28 (123bpm)
Mile 8 - 8:42 (124bpm)
Mile 9 - 9:13 (126bpm)
Mile 10 - 8:42 (120bpm)
Mile 11 - 8:30 (124bpm)
Mile 12 - 8:26 (121bpm)

I'm heading to Cork for a stag weekend tomorrow morning, so there won't be any running done Friday or Saturday but I do hope to get a run of reasonable length in at some stage on Sunday. That would put me close to 50 miles for the week, which wouldn't be bad at all considering I'd a race last Sunday and three days off

.

yaboya1 · 25-05-2014 09:39PM

Sunday 25th May - 150 minutes Easy
17m @ 8:53/m average (123bpm avg)

I'm very, very happy with this run. After a rough weekend, I was anxious just to get these miles under the belt regardless of pace. Considering I've been living on junk food, drank far too much alcohol (next to no water) and had little or no sleep for the past few days, I expected to struggle from the very beginning. However, this wasn't the case at all and I was moving quicker than anticipated until the final five miles, where I had to slow down a touch to maintain the HR. I'm pretty sure that was due to dehydration, but I was delighted to get so far before needing to do this as I thought it would happen much sooner in my dehydrated and fatigued state. I had far from the perfect preparation for this workout (including three pints before I left Cork this morning :eek:), so the fact that it went so well leaves me with a lot of confidence about what I can do when I'm fresh. The experience of running on such tired legs can also only stand to me. After falling behind in my endurance work lately, I believe I've made up any lost ground and my recent PB's at 5k & 5m have me where I want to be in the speed department too. I'm going to get back to the HADD schedule this week with a few easy miles to recover tomorrow, before I get stuck into another Steady (145bpm) session on Tuesday. Hopefully I can make up for the lack of shuteye at the weekend with a couple of decent nights sleep before then.

Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:38 (120bpm)
Mile 2 - 8:48 (123bpm)
Mile 3 - 8:54 (123bpm)
Mile 4 - 8:51 (122bpm)
Mile 5 - 8:46 (123bpm)
Mile 6 - 8:40 (124bpm)
Mile 7 - 8:34 (122bpm)
Mile 8 - 8:31 (122bpm)
Mile 9 - 8:43 (123bpm)
Mile 10 - 8:50 (124bpm)
Mile 11 - 8:44 (123bpm)
Mile 12 - 8:52 (123bpm)
Mile 13 - 9:05 (125bpm)
Mile 14 - 9:04 (125bpm)
Mile 15 - 9:14 (125bpm)
Mile 16 - 9:16 (126bpm)
Mile 17 - 9:29 (126bpm)

yaboya1 · 26-05-2014 01:35PM

Monday 26th May - 60 minutes Easy
7m @ 8:43/m average (121bpm avg)

Just a few nice, very easy miles in the rain to shake out any stiffness/soreness from yesterday. Also got some much needed stretching, foam-rolling and core work in afterwards. Kind of looking forward to tomorrow's Steady session to see what sort of splits I knock out.

Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:54 (117bpm)
Mile 2 - 8:24 (123bpm)
Mile 3 - 8:39 (123bpm)
Mile 4 - 8:49 (123bpm)
Mile 5 - 8:53 (122bpm)
Mile 6 - 8:41 (121bpm)
Mile 7 - 8:40 (123bpm)

yaboya1 · 27-05-2014 04:57PM

Tuesday 27th May - 75 minutes Steady (preceded by 10 x 100m Strides)
10m @ 7:41p/m average (145bpm avg)
Strides: (19:59, 20:63, 20:69, 19:17, 19:31, 18:32, 19:17, 18:61, 17:50, 17:52)

I was looking forward to this session, but the results have left me frustrated and annoyed. I'm convinced they are badly skewed by the conditions outside. After the strides I deliberately waited until my HR had settled back below 100bpm before beginning, as I didn't want it to shoot straight back up dramatically once I started running again. I was expecting the pace to be around 7:0x per mile and gradually increased the pace after I begun. After about half a mile I was on 7min/mile pace and the heart rate was bang on target. However when I came out of the shelter/shade I immediately hit a headwind which caused my HR to increase to 150bpm at this pace, meaning I had to slow to get it back down again. The wind in this city really p*sses me off sometimes! The same breeze was in my face for the next 2.5 miles as you can see from the splits. I knew that just like golf, the tailwind that would be behind me on the way back wasn't going to help me as much as the current headwind was hurting. I plugged on and the wind seemed to die down from the fourth mile on, giving me some respite. The problem now was that it was replaced with a warmer sun that normally has an even worse effect on the HR. By the time I got back to the last 2.5 miles, the tailwind that should have been helping me had disappeared and the sun seemed to have gotten even stronger. Typical! According to the Garmin, it was 61F (16C) outside which probably does explain the slower pace. I never felt tired or dehydrated, but when I finished I was really gasping for a drink and downed two pints of water and a litre of Lucozade within two minutes. Although I hate to make excuses, I guess that indicates that I was a bit low on fluids and maybe the splits would have been faster on a cooler day. I really should have left it until later this evening to go out, so only have myself to blame. I still refuse to believe that these results give an accurate representation of how quickly I can run at the current Steady HR (145bpm), especially considering the last workout I did of this nature was actually quicker! I'm going to do the same session again on Friday, so I'm hoping to encounter more favourable conditions then and everything should go to plan :rolleyes:.

Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:25 (144bpm)
Mile 2 - 7:55 (146bpm)
Mile 3 - 7:51 (145bpm)
Mile 4 - 7:37 (146bpm)
Mile 5 - 7:34 (146bpm)
Mile 6 - 7:38 (146bpm)
Mile 7 - 7:36 (146bpm)
Mile 8 - 7:39 (146bpm)
Mile 9 - 7:46 (147bpm)
Mile 10 - 7:53 (146bpm)

Ferris B · 27-05-2014 10:32PM

yaboya1 wrote: »

I still refuse to believe that these results give an accurate representation of how quickly I can run at the current Steady HR (145bpm), especially considering the last workout I did of this nature was actually quicker! I'm going to do the same session again on Friday, so I'm hoping to encounter more favourable conditions then and everything should go to plan :rolleyes:.

In addition to the weather you also need to factor in the 3 days on the beer. Maybe check back what you got up to in the days preceding the previous similar session when you got better results. Just sayin...

yaboya1 · 27-05-2014 10:43PM

Ferris B wrote: »

In addition to the weather you also need to factor in the 3 days on the beer. Maybe check back what you got up to in the days preceding the previous similar session when you got better results. Just sayin...

You probably have a point. Plenty of water and no junk between now and Friday.

yaboya1 · 29-05-2014 10:08PM

Thursday 29th May - 75 minutes Easy
9m @ 8:53/m average (123bpm avg)

Barely broke sweat tonight. Added the usual few minutes at the end to fit the ninth mile in. Take three @ 145bpm tomorrow. Hoping for similar conditions to this evening.

Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:39 (120bpm)
Mile 2 - 8:35 (122bpm)
Mile 3 - 8:59 (123bpm)
Mile 4 - 9:18 (124bpm)
Mile 5 - 9:18 (123bpm)
Mile 6 - 8:37 (123bpm)
Mile 7 - 8:49 (123bpm)
Mile 8 - 8:47 (125bpm)
Mile 9 - 8:53 (124bpm)

yaboya1 · 30-05-2014 08:37PM

Friday 30th May - 75 minutes Steady (preceded by 10 x 100m Strides), 45 minutes Recovery
10.27m @ 7:19p/m average (145bpm avg)
5.08m @ 8:52p/m average (119bpm avg)

Strides: (19:86, 21:14, 17:41, 17:14, 18:59, 18:28, 18:20, 19:56, 16:87, 17:85)

I drove to the PP for this, as I thought it would be a good spot to run around on such a nice day. Place was absolutely packed, mainly due that Bloom Festival that's on there at the moment. I'm much happier with this outcome than I was on Tuesday. Although it's more than twenty seconds per mile faster, it's still not as quick as I was expecting (hoping for) but it's a lot closer and it was pretty warm again today. I struggled to hold the HR at exactly the correct bpm in each mile, but overall it worked out right. The little rises and falls in the Park are probably responsible for some of the splits being a bit inconsistent but in saying that, I won't be moving off this HR until I get 10+ steady miles in with no wavering in pace or heart rate.
I also got a recovery run in later this evening as I may not be able to get out at all tomorrow. I hope to fit another two hour LSR in on Sunday, before following a similar plan next week. Just over 17 weeks to Berlin! :eek:

Splits:

75 Minutes Steady

Mile 1 - 7:05 (143bpm)
Mile 2 - 7:22 (146bpm)
Mile 3 - 7:17 (146bpm)
Mile 4 - 7:20 (146bpm)
Mile 5 - 7:07 (146bpm)
Mile 6 - 7:24 (146bpm)
Mile 7 - 7:22 (146bpm)
Mile 8 - 7:26 (146bpm)
Mile 9 - 7:25 (146bpm)
Mile 10 - 7:23 (146bpm)
0.27 - 2:01 (146bpm)

45 minutes Recovery

Mile 1 - 8:47 (116bpm)
Mile 2 - 8:35 (122bpm)
Mile 3 - 8:54 (120bpm)
Mile 4 - 9:09 (118bpm)
Mile 5 - 8:56 (121bpm)
0.08 - 0:41 (123bpm)

overpronator · 30-05-2014 11:21PM

Nice session man

overpronator · 30-05-2014 11:24PM

Nice session man

yaboya1 · 01-06-2014 12:45PM

I intended to get out for a two hour run before work this morning, but I had a horrible night's sleep and had to give it a miss in favour of a couple of hour's rest instead. I'm going to head out later this evening to get it done. While I was trying to overcome my insomnia, I got reading some of the HADD literature I've been following.

I may make some slight changes to the way I've been training. The text recommends that someone with a HR Max of 173 should be running their 'easy' runs at 125bpm or lower. Someone with a HR Max of 183 should be doing the same runs at 135bpm or lower. For the last eight weeks I've stuck to the former after I hit 175bpm in the HR Max test. However, I hit 177bpm in the first 2400m test which was probably an accurate reading when you consider that I couldn't even stand afterwards. Taking that into account, I think 177 is prob my HR Max putting me almost in between the two (173-183). Although training at 125bpm won't have done me any harm, this suggests that doing these type of runs closer to 130bpm would probably be more beneficial. So I think I'll try to stick closer to that HR in the future. As the mileage steps up and the easy runs get longer, there are some days where it seems acceptable to go as far as 135bpm. I'll bear this in mind for upcoming runs, rather than slowing the pace dramatically trying to stringently stick to the lower HR.

My plans for Berlin are still undecided. Once I get my session in tonight I'll have hit around 55 miles for the week. I'm going to continue to eke them up gradually week by week until I'm hitting 70-75, meaning I can jump into almost any plan at that point if I want to. However since I have the Portumna HM coming up on the 14th June, I'm going to substitute next Sunday's long run for a 2400m test to gauge my current progress. I've been using races to do this recently which has given me positive results, and if the test provides similar I may stick with the HADD stuff right up to the marathon. We'll see. Either way, I won't be shirking on the miles and expect to arrive in Berlin with the requisite training under my belt. If the test results are favourable, I'll stick with this style of preparation until at least 12 weeks out when I can make a final decision.

ger664 · 01-06-2014 01:41PM

yaboya1

I would do the Hadd stuff until 7-8 weeks out from Berlin. Take a recovery week and jump in at week 6 (race prep) of P&D whatever mileage plan you get to in Hadd, most likely be 55-70 for you. That is pretty much what I did last year for Seville. Loads of slow easy running form June to Christmas and the race prep. The race prep plan is where I really got the gains from all the slow miles done during the year.

A couple of points I find with the HR stuff. Heat will have a bearing on it so you need to adjust if training during the day as apposed to early morning late summer. I find once I hit the two hour mark at the slow run my HR will start to rise but the effort still seems the same.

Ger

A Slow Journey to Faster Times

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