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The Running Master

Stazza

I’ve decided to have another crack at keeping a log. As I’ve publicly announced that I’m going after the Irish M45 5k record of 15:22, I thought it only fair that I document my training and hold myself to account – publicly; at my age I should know better, especially given the current state of my fitness. Oh well.

So, I was out for about 4 weeks during December – small problem with my achilles, peroneals, soleus, and a bit of P.F. to boot. Although it’s all pretty much sorted, there is some residual discomfort. So I need to be careful.

Rather than just log the boring running stuff, I’m hoping to drop in a few accounts of some of my interesting life experiences. I’ve worked in the UK and Kenya as a physical therapist/business owner looking after many household names. I’ve also worked as a journalist, sub editor and editor on a national tabloid in Southern Africa – some great stuff from those days; I spent a day with Nelson Mandela. I went on to own a rather unsuccessful national tabloid in Cyprus – some great stories from my time there, especially concerning The Cypriot Mafia.

To keep things from getting stale, I’ll drop in some anecdotes. Starting next week with, Linford Christie, Doping, The Banana, and Me - Nuff Respect!

The running this week:
Sunday – 8 miles; last 3 miles picked up the pace.
Monday – 6 miles easy with 8x100m pick-ups
Tuesday – 6 miles easy
Wednesday - a.m. 6 miles easy p.m. 6 miles, incl 4 @ LT
Thursday – 6 miles easy with Paddy the Kenyan – PtK’s training for the Tralee Marathon;)
Friday – a.m. 6 miles easy + p.m. 6 miles moderate progression – picked it up from 2.5 miles to 5 miles. Felt laboured.

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Stazza

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

You're alive, I thought after last weekends exertions that you might have transited from the nursing home to the cemetery

TbL

I wish I could say, there's a good few years left in me yet, but I'm not so sure that there are; if we have a good summer, I might just make it to Chrimbo.

Stazza

Sunday 18th May
11 with 4 at LT effort but pace was slow +5

Monday 19th May
7.5 with PtK (felt much better) +6

Tuesday 20th May
11 easy

Wednesday 21st May
4 (bombed workout – hammy tightened up in first rep) +5.5

Thursday 22nd May
9.5 with PtK+ 5.5

Friday 23rd May
11 incl 8 @AT + 5 steady

Saturday 24th May
8 relaxed

89 miles for the week in 12 sessions – no ‘real’ workout. The leg is fully recovered and I should be good to go again from tomorrow. Because I didn't manage to get in a workout this week, I decided to nudge up the mileage. Had planned on getting out for a second run today but opted to play it safe and keep the mileage at 89.

jakek

That's a pretty solid week.

Did you have a sense the hammy was going to act up on Wednesday, or did that come as a surprise? Either way, seems like you got through it alright and didn't do any damage.

Stazza

jakek wrote: »

That's a pretty solid week.

Did you have a sense the hammy was going to act up on Wednesday, or did that come as a surprise? Either way, seems like you got through it alright and didn't do any damage.

Yeah, all week after the race the left leg was out of sorts. But by Wednesday it felt ok... Then doing my strides I felt some restriction and should really have binned the session there and then. But I thought maybe as I was doing mile reps I might get away with it. After 600m, I could feel The hammy/glute nagging away like my wife when she wants a job done - incessant and getting worse every second. At 1k, decided enough was enough and played it safe. But all ok now...

Now that you're a younger old man, you'll soon start to notice things like your weight not staying constant, niggles taking a bit longer to clear up, and some things that if I were to mention them on here I'd probably get banned

- best you find out about those things for yourself...

dna_leri

You still gunning for the 5K record?
I see Pauric McKinney (M45) ran 15:17.57 in the Buncrana 5K.
Hope training is going well.

Stazza

dna_leri wrote: »

You still gunning for the 5K record?
I see Pauric McKinney (M45) ran 15:17.57 in the Buncrana 5K.
Hope training is going well.

Thanks for letting me know - I wasn't aware that he'd broken the record. I was still planning on having a crack at it - even though I have to be honest and say I think it might be well out of my reach. I will, however, be focusing on the 5k in the autumn. If I can get in and around 15:30 I'll take it. In fact, if I can break 17 I'll take it.

Training's going well - I've had to adjust things because of my glute/hammy but that just makes it all the more fun. Age is something that's difficult to account for when planning.

How's things with you? Hope you're coping after your little scrap with age (injury).

dna_leri

Stazza wrote: »

How's things with you? Hope you're coping after your little scrap with age (injury).

I'm 100% over my calf injury, in fact that one is better than the non-injured one! Still have got got the hard sessions done that I need before stepping out on the track. I hope it comes together over the next few weeks.

Stazza

Sunday 25th May

a.m. 13 miles incl 5x30 sec strides @ 5k effort, 20 min @ Lactate Threshold followed by 5 mins easy, and then 8x 30sec hill reps @ about 5k effort with a jog down recovery. Good little session. Probably went a tad too fast on the LT but managed to recover within the 5 mins and was able to knock out the 8x30 sec hill reps without any problems. All the hill reps were controlled and I kept the emphasis on form rather than eyeballs out. I enjoyed this session, a lot.

p.m. 5 miles relaxed. Sprightly enough.

(18)

Monday 26th May

a.m. 9.5 miles easy with Paddy the Kenyan. Did 8 with PtK and then added on some secret training…1.5 miles.

p.m. 5.5 miles with a bit too much zip. Should have taken it a bit easier. Started to shift a bit of lard and now noticing a difference in the speed and fluency of my runs. Just got to hold back a bit and save it for the sessions.

(15)

Tuesday 27th May

a.m. 14 miles incl Lactate Shuffle Session. Did a progressive 2 miles w/u, threw in 5x30 sec strides, and then banged out 8x (3 min hard, 1 min easy, 1 min very hard) with 3 min easy between sets. Worked hard – good session.

My eldest daughter, G, won some award for Irish (Scriobh Leabhar) and we had to go to a presentation, which meant I couldn’t get out for a second run – kids! Just as well. Completely shot away from the morning workout. Plus, this week’s mileage would end up getting silly at this rate.

(14)

Wednesday 28th May

a.m. 11.5 miles recovery run. Took the Garmin to measure the run and found myself clipping along at 7:10 pace – too fast but felt right. Must be all the weight I’m shedding.

Had some bad news: Paddy the Kenyan sent through his splits for his 4*1 mile off 90 seconds - in a few weeks/months nobody in Kerry will get near him. Looks like Krusty called it right. I do, however, have a plan. I’m just wondering if he can swim…Might just give him a cheeky little nudge into the canal.

p.m. 5.5 tired miles.

(17)

Thursday 29th May

a.m. 7.5 miles with Paddy the Kenyan. Couldn’t believe it – PtK read my mind and turned up in his pink armbands and snorkel.

p.m. 5.5 miles wearing my new Garmin Forerunner 10. Prefer this to the 110. Great watch. Although I’ll only use it for measuring runs and sessions on the road, I think it might prove a good investment.

(13)

Friday 30th May

a.m. 12 miles. 4 w/u – 4x30 sec strides – 20x 1 min hard/1 min easy. Good session. Ran it over an undulating course. Hammy started nagging from the 10th rep but I managed to keep it under control. Although there was some restriction with the hammy, the session still went well enough – the last 5 reps were pure hanging on for dear life stuff. Lungs bursting and all that.

p.m. 4 miles shakeout. Slow and tired.

(16)

Saturday 31st May

a.m. 6 miles ez. Still very tired from yesterday. A.P 8:26.

p.m. 6 miles ez. Started out at 8:00 pace and eased down to 6:13 pace. Recovered and ready for a new week.

(12)

105 miles for the week. Pleased with the mileage and how the body coped. Also pleased with the LT+ hill session and the Lactate Shuffle session. But the big let down was the 20x1min on/off – felt sluggish and then to compound things, the hammy played up, which resulted in me having to hold back a smidgeon. But another week beckons…

Stazza

Sunday 1st June

a.m. 16 miles ez. First long run of the year. Ran the first 8 miles around 7:20 pace and then picked up the pace and progressed down to 6:30.

(16)

Monday 2nd June

a.m. 10 miles ez. First 4 miles were slow enough but then the old juices started to lubricate the joints and things improved.

p.m. 6 miles relaxed. Probably a touch too quick.

(16)

Tuesday 3rd June

a.m. 11 miles. Planned on doing a 4 mile LT run followed by some cheeky little hill reps. But, 1 mile into the LT segment and I knew it wasn’t happening – 6:15ish for the first mile and I was hurting. Jacked it. Initially thought I hadn’t recovered from Sunday’s 16 miler but then as the day went I on I began to get the old brillo-pad mouth and a few little shakes and flushes. Clearly, last week’s 3 sessions and 105 miles, plus the increase in the morning runs was too much for this old body. So, I decided to take the evening off and Wednesday. The idea was to give my body a chance to fend off whatever was attacking me.

(11)

Wednesday 4th June.

Didn’t feel too bad but defo the right move to take the day off.

Thursday 5th June

a.m. 7.5 with Paddy the Kenyan. Felt much better. Although I felt fine, decided not run this evening and give my body a chance to get ready for the start of my new training block…

(7.5)

career_move

Hi Stazza

I'm always skeptical of anything that claims to 'change your life' but I started doing 'your' stretching routines that Ososlo has linked to on the novices thread and I have to say I'm very impressed with them. I hate watching long youtube videos because my internet connection is crap but I made it through the phil wharton vidoes and once you get to know the routine it's so quick and easy to do. I find it very relaxing too. I've only been doing them twice a day for the last week but my legs have gone from being very contracted and tight to normal. So thanks for the recommendation

Stazza

career_move wrote: »

Hi Stazza

I'm always skeptical of anything that claims to 'change your life' but I started doing 'your' stretching routines that Ososlo has linked to on the novices thread and I have to say I'm very impressed with them. I hate watching long youtube videos because my internet connection is crap but I made it through the phil wharton vidoes and once you get to know the routine it's so quick and easy to do. I find it very relaxing too. I've only been doing them twice a day for the last week but my legs have gone from being very contracted and tight to normal. So thanks for the recommendation

That's great news. Just be careful not to overdo it. Maybe once a day before runs and then some static stretching after your run. Also, it's important to concentrate on doing each and every stretch/movement properly (using the abs and the opposite muscle etc). You'll notice as you carry on that you'll be able to tweak the stretches to make them more effective. But again, don't take the stretches too far - you just want normal range of movement. Thanks for the update. Her ladyship's doing a first class job with the novices thread - I was thinking about asking her to coach me

Stazza

Friday 6th June

a.m. 16 miles ez in the wind and rain. A little tired during the final two miles.

(16)
Saturday 7th June

a.m. 8 miles ez. No residual fatigue from yesterday’s 16 miler, which was great. Started out at 8:30 pace and progressed to 7:00 pace by the final mile. Idea was to feel better at the end of the run than at the start – job done. Did some Boy Scout, functional fitness stuff – I’m getting old.

p.m. 6 miles.

(14)
Sunday 8th June

a.m. 8 miles ez. Legs a bit heavy, nothing serious. Kept the run nice and ez.

p.m. 6 miles ez. Tired enough.

(14)
Monday 9th June

(a.m.) 11.5 miles with some ‘stuff’. Planned on doing 4x10 mins hard off 3 mins rec. But when I did my strides I felt a bit off and I could tell that the left hammy might play up. So I decided to run the first 10 min effort purely off feel and try and keep it on the right side of LT. Did that. Uphill for a good bit and into the wind. AP 5:50. I knew that if I were to pick up the pace the hammy would complain, so I decided to keep the reps between 5:50-6 min pace. I just wanted to get some work done.

On the second effort I seemed to be working hard to keep 5:50-6:00 pace, so I decided to change the session as I didn’t want to go over the threshold. I cut the 10 min effort down to 7:30 mins - AP for the rep was 5:55.

On the recovery I decided that the next rep would be 5 mins and then a final rep of 2:30. The idea being to keep the pace between 5:50 and 6:00. And that’s exactly what happened.

So, the session morphed into 10-7:30-5-2:30 all at 5:50-6:00 pace off 4 mins. With the benefit of hindsight I should’ve canned the workout and just done some strides. Felt pretty ropey on the warm down.

(p.m.) Wasn’t sure about doing a second run as I thought that I might be at the tail-end of whatever it was that I’d been fighting off. But I went out and did an easy 5.5. Felt ok.

(17)
Tuesday 10th June

a.m. 8 miles with PtK. Very slow. I was laughing so much I had to keep stopping. But all joking aside, I have to admit that I’m a tad disappointed with PtK. Not because he’s running awesome splits that suggest he’s going to make another huge breakthrough and I’ll have no chance of beating him, rather, he’s sold his soul – he’s bought a singlet. A singlet! He’s starting to believe all the publicity.

p.m. 6 miles easy.

(14)
Wednesday 11th June

a.m. 8 miles ez. Nice run up in the Kerries and along the canal. Legs pretty tired from the Functional Fitness work I’ve been doing.

p.m. 6 miles plod. Wanted to take it very slow to make sure I was in good condition for tomorrow’s session.

PtK sent through his splits for his 5x800m off 2 mins. I think he must be on salt tablets or something. The boy is flying.

(14)
Thursday 12th June

a.m. 4 miles shakeout. Decided to change things about and do the session in the evening.

p.m. 9 miles, incl 8x300m off 60 sec jog rec. Did 4miles w/u incl 6 strides. Changed the Garmin over to km’s and measured out 300m on PtK’s tempo loop. Measured it 3 times to make sure that it was accurate(ish). The times would be the real test. During the strides I could feel the hammy but it was nowhere near as bad as it has been.

Every split was 53 high. Although the session wasn’t as fast as I would have liked, I got something fast done without injuring myself. This was very hard. Hands and knees at the end. 10 out of 10 for effort and concentration. Hopefully they will speed up as the leg improves. They’ll need to…

(13)
Friday 13th June

a.m. 8 miles ez with Paddy the Kenyan. Couldn’t believe my eyes. Blinkin’ PtK came loping down the road in a white singlet, knee length shorts (GAA style), black clob-hoppers and some Ovettesque stubble. He looked like some sort of post-modernist existentialist with a fancy for solipsism. But the grin on his face was pure, I’ve done 5x800m off 2mins in times you would only dream about. Couldn’t argue with that.

p.m. 6 miles ez and finally, for the first time in a long time, my hammy/glute felt ok.

(14)
Saturday 14th June

a.m. 8 miles ez. Tired at the start but as things went along I seemed to pick up a bit.

p.m. 6 miles ez. Tired from Functional Fitness. But, the great news is that the leg seems ok. I should be able to start doing some quality again…
(14)

ThebitterLemon

Savage mileage, you must be as thin as Kate Moss after a dose of the squirts

What have you in mind racing wise?

TbL

Stazza

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Savage mileage, you must be as thin as Kate Moss after a dose of the squirts

What have you in mind racing wise?

TbL

Haha. Kate Moss with the squirts – excellent. Five more pounds and I’ll be down to racing weight. The mileage is ok but because I’ve had to keep an eye on the hammy, there’s been no real quality work. Had hoped to race a 10k next weekend but that’s not going to happen. I’ve got to go to the County Community Games thingamajig. Also I don’t want to risk the leg/glute going berserk.

I’m off to Spain for the month of July and when I get back I’ll be straight into the racing lark.

jakek

Nice couple weeks of running.

You know, not many guys other than Haile Geb can run fast in a t-shirt! :-)

Stazza

jakek wrote: »

Nice couple weeks of running.

You know, not many guys other than Haile Geb can run fast in a t-shirt! :-)

I'm telling ya, the way the boy's going he doesn't need a singlet. One thing's for sure, the day he comes down that road wearing a pair of compression socks is the day I'll knock him out

On the subject of running apparel, I read your review of the Kinvara 5 thingymajigs. Are they really that good?

Did the Doc and Fritz wear them in the testing? The reason I ask is because like me, they're Nike guys. Is Kinvara 5 ok for those of us with perfect biomechanics (neutral)? Or are they just for the Gumpies?

And talking about 'real' athletes like the Doc and Fritz - both of whom can get away with singlets - what do you think of young Conner? 4:07 for the mile at the Adidas Grand Prix Meet - soon enough, he'll be tickling 3:59.

Anyway, I thought you were up in the mountains living off bear meat and drinking bear blood

did you take your ipad with you?:D

thewolf_ie

I'd be interested to hear the information on Kinvara 5. I've went from the 3 to the 4 recently didn't notice much other than it being a newer shoe and a bit more life in them. I've 5-6 pairs I just rotate with the older ones used for grass and trail. I heard the 5 have a big change.

jakek

Stazza wrote: »

I thought you were up in the mountains living off bear meat and drinking bear blood did you take your ipad with you?:D

I was on top of a mountain, at 11,000 feet, yesterday... and a guy was walking around with an iPad. The times we live in!

Kinvara 5s are a great shoe for neutral runners. It's flexible, fairly light (7.7 ounces for men's 9), and has a nice soft feel. It lets your foot do the work. Several of the people that tested them for me were Nike runners (Fritz and Doc were a part of that group), and their feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Re: Kinvara 3/4 vs 5... it is a noticeable difference. I could never tell the difference between the 3s and 4s... but this newer version does have a slightly different feel. What I notice is the little bit of extra room in the forefoot, and more of a glove like fit around the collar and in the upper. Not tight, just more of a seamless fit.

thewolf_ie

jakek wrote: »

I was on top of a mountain, at 11,000 feet, yesterday... and a guy was walking around with an iPad. The times we live in!

Kinvara 5s are a great shoe for neutral runners. It's flexible, fairly light (7.7 ounces for men's 9), and has a nice soft feel. It lets your foot do the work. Several of the people that tested them for me were Nike runners (Fritz and Doc were a part of that group), and their feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Re: Kinvara 3/4 vs 5... it is a noticeable difference. I could never tell the difference between the 3s and 4s... but this newer version does have a slightly different feel. What I notice is the little bit of extra room in the forefoot, and more of a glove like fit around the collar and in the upper. Not tight, just more of a seamless fit.

I've just bought 3 pairs of the 4 recently. It will be a little while before I get the 5's because I normally stay a model behind as it keeps the cost down. Thanks for the info.

Stazza

Wolfmeister - here's the link to Jake's review of the Kinvara 5. Although I'm a big fan of the Nike Flyknit Trainers and Racers, I'm going to give the Kinvara 5 a go. Apart from all the fancy-dancey stuff I don't understand, I like the sound of the plushness, lightness, and durability.

thewolf_ie

Stazza wrote: »

Wolfmeister - here's the link to Jake's review of the Kinvara 5. Although I'm a big fan of the Nike Flyknit Trainers and Racers, I'm going to give the Kinvara 5 a go. Apart from all the fancy-dancey stuff I don't understand, I like the sound of the plushness, lightness, and durability.

Cheers, Well if the 3 and 4's are anything to go by you're onto a winner. I moved to them because I wanted a lighter shoe. I had been wearing asics and brookes and the switch was very noticeable. You would feel a pebble if you stone on it you get great feedback from the surface you run on. And as Jake say you foot gets to do the work which helps with not becoming lazy......

Stazza

There's a rumour circulating that Jake's in the process of sorting out a deal for the new members of Team Stazza...:D

Not you, PtK - you just ain't cool enough to wear Saucony:pac::pac::pac:

thewolf_ie

Stazza wrote: »

There's a rumour circulating that Jake's in the process of sorting out a deal for the new members of Team Stazza...:D

Not you, PtK - you just ain't cool enough to wear Saucony:pac::pac::pac:

Coolabula all the kids are always wowed by the colours. I used to think it was my great stride but I'm affaird it's the colourful shoes.

Stazza

Sunday 15th June
a.m. 16 miles with stuff. Did the first 7 at a canter (7:15ish). Then did 18 mins at 6:40 just to get things moving a bit and pop a small amount of fatigue into the old legs. Took a couple of mins at 7:15ish then threw in 6x45 sec efforts. The efforts weren’t hard – progressing from LT down to 10k and then for the final 2, 5k. Then did 5 mins easy before dropping out a 5:40 mile. Nice way of getting in 16 miles without falling asleep – also good for fibre recruitment etc.

(16)
Monday 16th June
a.m. 8 miles ez. With Himself.
p.m. 6 miles ez.

(14)
Tuesday 17th June
a.m. 8 miles ez.
p.m. 6 miles ez.

(14)
Wednesday 18th June
a.m. 10.5 miles with 2x2 miles in and around LT effort. 4 miles w/u with 4x30 sec pick-ups and then into the session.

First effort was 5:55 and 6:07 – fell asleep during the second mile. 3 mins jog rec. Second effort was 5:54 and 5:48 – better concentration.

2.5 miles c/d.

p.m. 5.5 miles progression run. Started out very slow and just let the legs go as they felt. Zipping along during the final mile or so.

(16)

Thursday 19th June
a.m 6 miles with Paddy the Kenyan. Couldn’t believe my eyes. PtK’s got rid of the 28 inch shorts and is now gone all lady-tease: he’s wearing 5 inch shorts – very daring.

p.m. 8 miles progression. Planned on just doing this easy but the legs wanted to go so I just let them. Kept it under control. Good run.

(14)

Friday 20th June
a.m. 6 miles ez.
p.m. 8 miles ez-moderate progression. Felt good on this and had hold back

(14)
Saturday 21st June
a.m. 8 miles ez. Legs a bit tired.

Big day – Community Games and Paddy the Kenyan was running in a local 10k. When we got home after the Community Games I was too whacked to go out for a run and was pressed for time. The family headed out to watch PtK in the Summer Solstice 10k.

The plan was for him run it at LT/HM pace, which equated to 35 mins. With the heat and the wind and the hills, there was no point pushing hard, unless it proved necessary for the win. In the end he plodded around in 34:56 and won by over 40 secs. He felt that he could have continued for another 6 or 7 miles.

(8)
Sunday 22nd June

No morning run. We had to be over at the Community Games for the finals etc. The wife’s running is more important than mine, so she went out for her long run before we headed over to Community Games. When we got back I was shattered. Banged out a sluggish 6 miles.

(6)

I’m off on my hols in a week or so, so I will not be posting any training for a good 7 weeks. When I get back, I might open up with bang…

thewolf_ie

Is that 7 weeks not over yet!

Stazza

thewolf_ie wrote: »

Is that 7 weeks not over yet!

Mr Wolfie, you’re bang on. (Great to see you running so well.)

I wanted to return with a bang but it‘s going to be more of a phut. Injured. Nothing to do with running: hurt myself playing volleyball with the kids – thought I was 18 and went flying through the air to dig the ball and ended up shafting my hammy and achilles. So, that’s me out for the rest of the year. I’m jogging/running easy but I can’t see myself getting fit this side of Christmas. There’s no point logging until I’m ready to race – going off my record that could be a good few years. In fact, I’ll probably drop dead before I can get in shape to race. Wanted to get stuck in against Paddy the Kenyan – he just ran another 10k pb (34:20) – but it’s not going to happen. Ho hum.

But then, you just never know…

thewolf_ie

Ah sorry to hear that. When praying for fast times I will kindly ask for the fast recovery for you! Now tell us a story!

Stazza

thewolf_ie wrote: »

Ah sorry to hear that. When praying for fast times I will kindly ask for the fast recovery for you! Now tell us a story!

Haha - great stuff and thank you.

What sort of story do you want? Give me a title/something to tell and I'll make one up - Stazza v XXX Cork Marathon 2015

:D.

Or do you want something in the Faction genre (mixture of fact and fiction) or pure fact (me and Mandela/Alan Hudson/Vialli/Roger Bannister/The Kenyans).

I could give you a snippet from 'The Reluctant Olympian'- a story about a a troubled young man and breaking 2hrs for the marathon...

I could, of course, do something using characters on here... You decide.

thewolf_ie

Lets start with the Kenyans as I want to be one when I grow up!

Stazza

thewolf_ie wrote: »

Lets start with the Kenyans as I want to be one when I grow up!

Ok - do want fact/fiction/faction?