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How low can I go...?

13567

Comments

  • #62
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Thursday May 01: 7 miles @ 7:31 pace.

    This was the regular fairly easy paced run. I felt a little tired after the interval session the night before but nothing much. Twas a grand run!


  • #63
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Friday May 02: 8.34 miles tempo run including 2 x 20 min up tempo with 8 min rest. Both tempo runs @ 6:53 pace.

    The plan called for 8-10 miles with two 20 min sections at marathon pace. I had to do a few over and back sections so as to keep the mp parts on reasonably level road. I was very happy with the pace of the "fast" sections. They were a good bit faster than what I think my goal pace will be but I felt comfortable enough at that pace. The heaviness from the previous night was gone from the legs and I was moving quite freely. I can't help but subconsciously lower my marathon target as the weeks go on. The training is going well and I think the club sessions are really helping me to increase my base speed. The realist in me is telling me to cop on though! I don't want to be in a heap somewhere around the Halfway House on the way in from Tramore on the 28th of June. Still though...nothing ventured!...


  • #64
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Saturday May 03: LSR- 16 miles @ 8:01 pace

    This was a real slog. I only got out around 6 o'clock this evening after a hard days graft in the garden! I brought the run forward a day as there's the possibility of running in the Leinster novices/masters road races next Monday in Gowran and tomorrow would be a rest day. Conditions were miserable with mist, wind and cold. I've been enjoying my running of late but I was saying to myself on this one that not every run has to be great. Getting them done is the main thing especially the LSR when there's only 8 weeks left to the goal marathon...8 WEEKS!:eek::eek:!I don't know what to do re Monday yet. It's a 6 km course. I've never done a race like this before and will be well down the field if I do enter but I know if I do I'll go flat out from the off and I'd be afraid of picking up an injury. Still it would be a great experience.


  • #65
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Sunday May 05: 6 km @ 6:06 pace - Leinster Masters Road Race - Finishing time: 22:45

    Was happy with this run as it was a totally new experience for me. I was way down the field but wasn't expecting anything else! Jaysus those "auld fellas" can fairly shift! I was able to keep close enough to the fellas from the club that I know are a bit faster than me so that was good. The legs felt strong all through and I was able to pick a few runners off in the last lap of four. Also I was glad to get through without injury. I know that sounds silly for such a short race but I was worried that the full effort over the 6 km would put the calves and hamstrings under pressure especially with the inevitable sprint at the finish!

    I have a short race report here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=90255451#post90255451


  • #66
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Tuesday May 06: 9 miles @ 7:37 pace.

    This was an easy effort run and the pace shown on the garmin is a bit out I'd say because it gave a far faster time for the first two miles than what I felt they should be! I did the run on the Barrow track and it was quite soft in places but at least the grass was dry. My groin was a bit tight during the run and with my history I'll have to be careful. I might have to take it easy in tomorrow night's track session as I don't want to aggravate an already weak groin any more.


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  • #67
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Wednesday May 07: Track session- 3 sets of 4 min @ 5k pace, 2 min rest, 8 min @10 k pace, 2 min rest.

    Had a slight doubt about doing this session because of the tightness in the groin but I headed into the track anyway. I could always stop if I felt anything too worrying. It was a very blustery evening and when I got there I was on my own :(. Well our coach was there and he would have been running but for injury. Because the session planned was a challenging one and I have to travel around 40 min to get to the track I decided I might as well give it a go! It was one hell of a tough session and all the more enjoyable for it. I have no experience of 5k racing so I tried to go between 10-15 sec faster than what I hope I might be able for on a fast 10k route i.e. 3:50 per k. It was hard doing the session with nobody else to gauge from but I worked my ass off all the same!

    The 4 min 5k pace sections were: 3:38, 3:43 and 3:47 per km pace respectively.

    The 8 min 10k pace sections were: 3:53, 3:50 and 3:45 per km pace respectively

    Very happy with the results of the session. The legs were like jelly for the last two minutes of the last 8 min repeat but I kept the effort up and got the fastest pace of the three. A fraction faster than the last 4 min repeat! All in the head!:D. I didn't feel anything in the groin during the session despite pushing so hard so that was great news.

    Thursday May 08: 11.27 miles @ 7:34 pace.

    I ran this at a relatively easy effort on the hilly roads around home. The garmin read the second mile at 7:15 which it most certainly wasn't so the over all average pace is a little skewed! It was a good uneventful. The legs felt grand after the hard session the previous evening. No niggles to report, the best news of all! Looking through the splits, apart from the blip with mile two and two other miles with stiff climbs, the paces stayed between 7:25 and 7:40 per mile for the other eight completed miles. I wasn't minding the splits at all so this is a nice surprise!


  • #68
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Saturday May 10: LSR - 20 miles. Last 5 miles @ mp.

    Did my lsr for the week today as I can't do it tomorrow. My first 20 miler. I decided to do it on the River Barrow track. I couldn't face hills today and the weather was cat! Where did that wind come from?! Wtf?! It was ten miles up river and the return ten to make up the 20. Whatever way the gale was blowing it was in my face for much more than half the run! The plan was to do the first 15 at a slow pace and then when the legs were flagging to try and push the last 5 at marathon pace. Those first 15 were at a rough average of 8:03 per mile. It didn't feel as easy as it might have because of the wind which was really draining both physically and mentally and because the underfoot conditions were soft in places. By the time for the mp miles at the end I was fairly shook! Also just as the mp miles began the wind got even stronger and was completely head on! The effort to get to mp was really hard. The average pace for those miles was 7:11 per mile and considering how I was feeling at the start of them I would have to say I was very happy with that. The last mile was 6:55. It would be nice to be at that pace for even a few miles on the day! I'm wondering what my target pace will be?!


  • #69
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Monday May 12: 8 miles @ 7:34 pace.

    Up to now nearly all of my midweek runs have been in the evening or even later. From now on I've decided to make an effort to get my ass out of the bed early and do them in the morning. By saying it here maybe there'll be a chance this might actually happen! Anyway today was the start. It was made a bit easier as my eldest had to be into school at 6 a.m. to head off to Dublin for a music competition. All other mornings will have to be self motivated! The plan said 6-9 miles. I settled for 8. It was a nice easy run although the garmin read mile two at 7:15! I wasn't near that pace. There have been a few examples of weird timings during runs lately. I hope it's not a sign of trouble with the watch. It was a grand morning for a run although it was cold. I wore a base layer and was glad I did. The lags felt grand. No soreness from the lsr on Saturday. I think that's the big benefit of doing the lsr on the Barrow track. The downside of that though is it's too flat. I'll have to do next weekend's one on the road. There are plenty hills on the Waterford route!


  • #70
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Haven't updated here in a while. Had internet issues and been under time pressure over the last while. Been a bit lazy about it also it has to be said! The main thing is that I've been able to keep up the training. Be stupid to let it slacken at this stage.

    So her's a summary of what's been done from May 13th to date:

    Tue May 13th: 8.49 miles @ 7:14 pace. This was a nice run on my usual loop with a couple of strides thrown in from about half way. Felt grand.

    Wed May 14th: 9.07 mile tempo run. This was in Kilkenny with the club but I was on my own again as the rest were running one of the KCH summer series races. It was a warm up followed by 45 min broken into 5 min sections alternating between 6:50 and 6:20 (!) pace with no rest followed by a warm down. The idea was that the 6:50 sections would feel like the recovery part! Didn't think I'd manage it but got it done and each section was a second or two ahead of the prescribed pace. A good confidence building run.

    Thursday May 15th: 9 miles @ 7:33 pace. An ordinary run that I almost treated as a recovery run from the tempo of the night before. Uneventful, which is good!

    Friday May 16th: 9 mile tempo with two 15 min sections @ mp with 5 min recovery between. I found this tough. The mp sections were 7:03 and 7:02 pace respectively and that was about as fast as I could manage on the day. I think the effort of Wednesday was still in the legs.

    Saturday May 17th: 21 mile LSR @ 8:08 pace. This was to have included the last hour at mp but because of the tiredness I felt the day before I decided to just do it for the mileage and time on the road. also I needed to do it on the road and take in hills as I had avoided these on the Barrow Track the previous week. By jaysus did I take in hills! some were of the nosebleed variety! It was needed though and most of the run apart from the last two or three miles felt like a jog.

    Monday May 19th: 7 miles @ 7:04 pace. Got a bit carried away on this one. This was the maiden voyage for my new Brooks st5's and I wanted to test them! They felt great even though it took me a while to get used to the lightness of them. The effort didn't feel to much either. These shoes should surely make a difference on marathon day!?

    Tuesday May 20th: 8.49 miles @ 7:32 pace. More of an ordinary run today. Still wore the st5's but didn't push it this time. threw in a few strides in the last mile.

    Wednesday May 21st: Interval session- 10 x 1k with 60 sec rest/recovery. 10 min warm up/down. The average pace I managed for the reps was 3:47. It was tough but doable and I was very happy with it.

    Thursday May 22nd: 11 mile mlr @ 7:24 pace. Wore my old Ravennas for this run after using the st5's all week. Even though they have 693 miles on them they felt lovely and soft! Still plenty of bounce in them and great cushioning. I think I'll still make good use of them in the weeks leading up to the race.


  • #71
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Friday May 23rd: 8 miles @ 7:22.

    This was to have been a longer tempo run but I didn't have the time so just did an ordinary 8 miler over and back the road at the top of my lane. I felt great and the eight miles were done at an easy effort.

    Saturday May 24th: 16 mile LSR/tempo/evaluation!!

    With yesterday's tempo run being cancelled, my club coach advised me to incorporate it into today's long run. The run itself was to be a little shorter than the last few weeks and the idea was to do 45 min of it at mp followed by 15 min at half marathon pace. So I began the run as an ordinary lsr and did the first 6 miles at 7:45 pace. I wasn't feeling all that great and the effort was a bit more that I thought it should! Once the six miles were done it was time for the 45 at mp. I decided to try and do these as close to 7 min pace as I could manage and ended up with 7:01. It was tough and I wasn't optimistic for the faster paced 15 minutes to follow. What did follow was very surprising and very pleasing! As it happened the beginning of the half marathon paced effort was on quite a bit of a hill so I was working hard to get the pace right. The coach had said try 6:45 pace but when I looked at the garmin after about three minutes it was on 6:30! I had continued same effort but the road was level and I found myself able to sustain that pace. It was hard but I didn't feel under severe pressure. In fact when the 15 min were up I still had a bit to go to finish the 16 miles and decided to try and keep the pace up to the end. I managed it too and so the amount of time at this 6:30 pace was 23 min 11 sec. Maybe I pushed it too hard but it was encouraging and the legs felt grand for the rest of the day after.


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  • #72
    echancrure
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 608 ✭✭✭echancrure


    You truly are flying!!!

    What's your goal for Waterford?


  • #73
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    echancrure wrote: »
    You truly are flying!!!

    What's your goal for Waterford?

    Good question echancrure! I'm not sure. I'll see how the next few weeks go. The big thing so far is that the injuries are staying away. Waterford is a tough route but the training has gone well. 3:17:59 is my pb. Anything under 3:10 would be a great result I suppose.


  • #74
    echancrure
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 608 ✭✭✭echancrure


    Bahanaman wrote: »
    Good question echancrure! I'm not sure. I'll see how the next few weeks go. The big thing so far is that the injuries are staying away. Waterford is a tough route but the training has gone well. 3:17:59 is my pb. Anything under 3:10 would be a great result I suppose.



    Seems to me you are under selling yourself!


  • #75
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Monday May 26th: 8 miles @ 7:32 pace

    A nice easy run. Legs a little weary at the start following last Saturday's effort but was soon into a nice comfortable rhythm. Mind keeps wandering into different scenarios for race day already!!


  • #76
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Tuesday May 27th: 6 miles @ 7:28 pace.

    Again a handy run. Was supposed to be 8 miles but the legs were feeling a little tired and I didn't think there was anything much to be gained from doing the full distance. 6 was grand. It was a beautiful morning for a run. Sunshine but not too hot yet and little or no wind.


  • #77
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Wednesday May 28th: Tempo run. Warm up of a couple of min followed by 1 hour of 5 min sections alternating between 6:50 and 6:20 pace with no rest between followed by warm down.

    Happy with this effort except for one silly mistake during the run!!! Had the garmin set for an interval session of 6 X 5 min reps with 5 min "rests" between. The reps would be the 6:50 pace sections and the rests would be the 6:20 stints. All going well until I fatigue was setting in near the end and looked at the time elapsed to see 1 hour up. I thought I was finished but forgot about the warm up and had one set to do! :mad: So instead of a 6:50 pace I ended up with 7:46! I then realised I had to go straight into a 6:20 pace to finish the session! That section started on a hill and was very punishing. Serves me right for lack of concentration!! Happy to have got the 6:20 pace for that one though considering I was in warm down mode just before.

    The 5 min pace splits were: 6:48, 6:21, 6:47, 6:21, 6:42, 6:18, 6:44, 6:19, 6:41, 6:16, 7:46 :eek:, 6:19

    Thursday May 29th: 13 mile MLR @ 7:36 pace.

    Wasn't looking forward to this this morning after the tough tempo run last night. Decided to do it on the Barrow track to save a bit of pounding on the legs. Good decision. A bit lethargic over the first two thirds but got a nice rhythm going and didn't look at the watch too many times! Began to find myself quickening up over the last third of the run with no conscious extra effort which was nice. Decided to push the last mile and got in a 6:50. This was a good encouraging run.

    All signs have been very encouraging over the last couple of weeks. No niggles worth mentioning and I've felt strong in nearly all the runs I've done, reaching and sometimes bettering any targets I've set. All I can do is hope that things stay the same right up to crossing the finish line on the 28th of June. I haven't decided on what might be a reachable target for that yet! :confused:


  • #78
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Friday May 30th: Tempo run. 8.42 miles with 40 min @ 6:47 pace.

    This was to have been an easy run on the advice of someone who is far wiser than me but the plan had a tempo and I couldn't resist. I've yet to do a longish stint @ a sub 3 hr (There I've said it!!:eek:) pace during a run and I wanted to see how it felt after what has been a fairly hard week so far. I did the first 2 miles at a nice easy pace and then went into the 40 min. I know 6:52 is bang on 3 hr pace but have always been told to aim a few seconds lower to allow margin for error on the garmin. I found it hard enough to maintain the pace at first but by the end of the 40 min I was happy to realise that I was in a fairly relaxed rhythm! Still finding it hard enough but then again I'm never going to find running at that pace too easy! Just thinking.... all I'd need would be another three and a half of those 40 mins and I'd be in dreamland!!:D


  • #79
    echancrure
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 608 ✭✭✭echancrure


    Bahanaman wrote: »
    Friday May 30th: Tempo run. 8.42 miles with 40 min @ 6:47 pace.

    This was to have been an easy run on the advice of someone who is far wiser than me but the plan had a tempo and I couldn't resist. I've yet to do a longish stint @ a sub 3 hr (There I've said it!!:eek:) pace during a run and I wanted to see how it felt after what has been a fairly hard week so far. I did the first 2 miles at a nice easy pace and then went into the 40 min. I know 6:52 is bang on 3 hr pace but have always been told to aim a few seconds lower to allow margin for error on the garmin. I found it hard enough to maintain the pace at first but by the end of the 40 min I was happy to realise that I was in a fairly relaxed rhythm! Still finding it hard enough but then again I'm never going to find running at that pace too easy! Just thinking.... all I'd need would be another three and a half of those 40 mins and I'd be in dreamland!!:D

    There you've said it.
    Your surely not very far from that dream.

    Why not keep it for Dublin (easier course I read) and aim for 3:05 in Waterford (with a pace of 7'00'' + some slow down on the hills) ?

    That should be comfortable for you and boost your confidence and still be a great PB improvement.

    Time to think!


  • #80
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Just in from a 22 miler! I hear what you're saying echancrure. I've done both marathons twice and I'd say Dublin is definitely a bit easier as regards the route and obviously the support along the way. The thing is I never really had any sub 3 ambitions for either. I didn't think I would be physically capable of it no matter how well I trained. But I joined a club and have been getting excellent advice from a sub 2:50 guy who has basically been my coach! Also I've been following a plan that has pushed me right to the limit but not past and with the times I've been doing in the last few long tempos the thought has crept into my mind. Realistically sub 3 is probably beyond me and sub 3:05 would be a massive pb. I'd be delighted to go sub 3:10 which would be an 8 min pb. I'm not sure I'd be able to commit to the same level of training for another crack at it in Dublin so I reckon it'll have to be Waterford! I won't be in the least disappointed if it doesn't happen.


  • #81
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Saturday May 31st: 22 mile Lsr @ 8:00 pace.

    Overall I'd have to say I was happy with this long run. Wasn't feeling too good at the start of it though! The first three miles were really hard and I was going quite slowly. I didn't start to feel any way comfortable until the 10 mile mark. The route i chose brought me very close to home at around the 13 mile mark and I was tempted but only for a second!! I swear!! Anyway I found I was picking up the pace over the last 5 or 6 miles and I finished relatively fresh. I took gels during this run for the first time this training block and they were grand. I took 5. I used a belt and it was a bit of a nuisance at times although I only seemed to let it bother me when I was feeling a bit tired. The next time I go beyond that distance will be race day.

    The coming week is going to be a big one. There will be a few runs that will have a big influence on what the race strategy will be.


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  • #82
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Monday June 2nd: Éist Charity Walk/Run- 9 miles on Barrow track- 9 miles @ 6:40 pace.

    I did this run to support Éist, the Carlow Cancer Support Group. A fantastic cause. It was actually a walk rather than a run but a few people did run it. It was from lovely St. Mullins to Graiguenamanagh and back along the River Barrow track. I didn't intend running this hard but met a friend who has gone sub 3 twice over the last few years at the start and we set off together. He was going a right lick! So much for an easy run! I didn't feel it too much though and we were able to chat away. He's been injured for the last while and he faded on the return section coming back to St Mullins from Graig. I was feeling really strong and picked up the pace over the last three miles with each being in the 6:20's. After finishing I felt good, not that tired at all. I felt I handled the pace quite well. Might be able to handle 6:50 pace for a good while!!!!


  • #83
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Tuesday June 3rd: 7 miles @ 7:34 pace

    Lovely morning for a run again! I'd take those conditions on the 28th! The run itself was ok. I felt quite tired for most of it which I'd attribute to the extra effort yesterday. I didn't push at all and felt like I was plodding along and was happy with the overall pace at the end. I'm wondering should I do a speed session tomorrow. I've a mlr planned for Thursday followed by the big tempo run on Friday. It's the Friday run that is the most important this week as it's going to be an indicator as to where I stand re a target for Waterford. I'd like to be a bit fresh for this so might just do an ordinary "mileage" run tomorrow.


  • #84
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Wednesday June 4th: 7 miles @ 7:03 pace.

    I didn't do the session that was on the plan because of the big tempo on Friday so I decided to run this ordinary run a little faster. I wore the St5's for it. They really do seem to make running faster that little bit easier although I still love the old Ravennas. Even with the massive mileage they have on them they feel lovely and soft compared to the St5's and the St5's aren't too bad on that front either. The pace felt grand and generally I'm feeling good. It'll be another ordinary run tomorrow and then that tempo on Friday. It's a long one with savage paces. Not sure I'll be able for it but at least I'll now where I'm at after it. It's a sub 3 type of tempo effort!


  • #85
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Thursday June 5th: 10 miles @ 7:29 pace

    I wasn't going to do too much today with tomorrow's tempo in mind but it was a lovely morning so I decided to do a nice easy 10 miler as a mlr. I'm getting a bit worried about the garmin. At the top of my lane where it should read .3 of a mile it read .35! There've been a lot of inconsistent readings lately. It locks on fairly quickly but when I upload the run to garmin connect, the first quarter of a mile of so is often all over the place and the track of the run is not near where it should be. Maybe I should turn on the gps a little earlier before runs to allow it to settle down.

    Anyway the run itself was grand. The average pace shown above is a little off because of the dodgy reading for the first mile (7:10!). It was an easy effort with the legs feeling very comfortable. I've even found that I'm not hating the hills as much as I used to! that could be a good thing with the Waterford route in mind! I have a general feeling of tiredness these days but I'm told this is usual at this stage of a heavy training programme. It's not effecting my running though thankfully!


  • #86
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Friday June 6th: 14.69 mile Tempo. 10 min warm up, 50 min @ 6:39 pace, 30 min @ 6:29 pace, 10 min warm down.

    Well this was the "big" tempo I've been blathering on about the last few days!! Jaysus I had myself worked up about it no end. I was treating it as a race almost. I did it on a 4.3 mile loop near work that is fairly level but has a nice few little pulls to keep things honest. The conditions were fairly windy with rain at the start but they could have been worse. The first part of the run was into the wind but as this was the warm up there was no problem here. The 50 min section started with a bit of a tailwind and a downhill fairly early on so It was easy to settle into what was to be a 6:40 pace. I found I was able to maintain this pace fairly comfortably until near the end. The was one section of the loop which was an stiff enough climb straight into the teeth of what was a fairly strong wind and the pace always dropped a second or two on that section. It needed a bit of hard work to get them back over the following mile or two each time. I was beginning to feel it a bit near the end of this section and was worried about dropping to 6:30 pace for the following 30 min. That 50 min stretch was completed at 6:39 pace which was pretty much bang on. The problem now was the faster paced section happened to kick in right at the beginning of that up hill bit into the wind. I was working really hard to try and get the pace down but saw 6:36 on the garmin which wouldn't do! Once I got to the top of the climb though and turned away from the wind I kept up the effort and the pace began to come down. It was a lot of hard work but I was managing and the next time I came to that tough bit I didn't lose as much time as I was in a good rhythm even though I was suffering! The last ten minutes of at this pace were eyes out time!! I really wanted to hit the 6:30 target pace and was delighted to hear the watch beep and see a pace of 6:29! A rally slow 10 min warm down finished the session.

    I was fairly kanckered for the rest of the day after but was really happy to have hit the targets for the run. I'm thinking now if things go ok in the next three weeks that I will have a go at keeping up with the 3 hr pacers on the 28th. It's 12:18 as I type this which means I'll be finished at least 4 minutes ago this day three weeks!! (Starting time 9:14 am!)

    Wonder what people think?


  • #87
    echancrure
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 608 ✭✭✭echancrure


    Bahanaman wrote: »
    Friday June 6th: 14.69 mile Tempo. 10 min warm up, 50 min @ 6:39 pace, 30 min @ 6:29 pace, 10 min warm down.

    Well this was the "big" tempo I've been blathering on about the last few days!! Jaysus I had myself worked up about it no end. I was treating it as a race almost. I did it on a 4.3 mile loop near work that is fairly level but has a nice few little pulls to keep things honest. The conditions were fairly windy with rain at the start but they could have been worse. The first part of the run was into the wind but as this was the warm up there was no problem here. The 50 min section started with a bit of a tailwind and a downhill fairly early on so It was easy to settle into what was to be a 6:40 pace. I found I was able to maintain this pace fairly comfortably until near the end. The was one section of the loop which was an stiff enough climb straight into the teeth of what was a fairly strong wind and the pace always dropped a second or two on that section. It needed a bit of hard work to get them back over the following mile or two each time. I was beginning to feel it a bit near the end of this section and was worried about dropping to 6:30 pace for the following 30 min. That 50 min stretch was completed at 6:39 pace which was pretty much bang on. The problem now was the faster paced section happened to kick in right at the beginning of that up hill bit into the wind. I was working really hard to try and get the pace down but saw 6:36 on the garmin which wouldn't do! Once I got to the top of the climb though and turned away from the wind I kept up the effort and the pace began to come down. It was a lot of hard work but I was managing and the next time I came to that tough bit I didn't lose as much time as I was in a good rhythm even though I was suffering! The last ten minutes of at this pace were eyes out time!! I really wanted to hit the 6:30 target pace and was delighted to hear the watch beep and see a pace of 6:29! A rally slow 10 min warm down finished the session.

    I was fairly kanckered for the rest of the day after but was really happy to have hit the targets for the run. I'm thinking now if things go ok in the next three weeks that I will have a go at keeping up with the 3 hr pacers on the 28th. It's 12:18 as I type this which means I'll be finished at least 4 minutes ago this day three weeks!! (Starting time 9:14 am!)

    Wonder what people think?

    Well, with training like that, sustained as it has been over many weeks, I do not see how you could NOT achieve a sub 3.

    Don't forget to taper;)


  • #88
    yaboya1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,610 ✭✭✭yaboya1


    Don't mean to sound negative, but I think you should be careful not to injure yourself, especially with the race so close now. I've gone through your whole log and I don't think I found an entry where you ran slower than 8min/mile since you started it.
    I'm relatively inexperienced myself, but running recovery/easy miles too fast was something that I also struggled with at first. I found that slowing down the easy runs has left me much fresher for the hard sessions and aided my improvement as a result.


  • #89
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    yaboya1 wrote: »
    Don't mean to sound negative, but I think you should be careful not to injure yourself, especially with the race so close now. I've gone through your whole log and I don't think I found an entry where you ran slower than 8min/mile since you started it.
    I'm relatively inexperienced myself, but running recovery/easy miles too fast was something that I also struggled with at first. I found that slowing down the easy runs has left me much fresher for the hard sessions and aided my improvement as a result.

    Not negative at all yaboya! Thanks for the advice. It's something I struggle with alright. I try to feel comfortable for those "ordinary" runs and I know the paces for them might be a bit quick. I'm just praying that I get to the line in one piece. I'll try and slow it a little over the next three weeks.


  • #90
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Sunday June 8th: 20 mile lsr @ 8:08 pace.

    I think I've come full circle regarding hills. Before, I used to plan my routes to avoid them but now I almost try and make sure there are a few in every long run. Who'd have thought it? Anyway, the long run this morning had loads of hills. They keep a fella honest! I was off before 7 this morning and conditions were grand but around mile 5 a deluge began which lasted until mile 10. I was soaked and every step was a loud squelch. It was milking time too and you should have seen the looks on the faces of some of the farmers as I made my way past as they drove their cows to the milking parlours! They looked at me as if I was cracked. I was feeling grand though and was taking things nice and easy. The hills helped with this. My hips were a little sore from the tempo Friday and I could feel them today too. Nothing much but something to watch from now on. Otherwise the run was grand. Long runs will be getting shorter from here on. It'll be interesting to see how the next three weeks go. I'm hoping to dial things back a little and get well rested for the big day.


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  • #91
    Bahanaman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,206 ✭✭✭Bahanaman


    Monday June 9th: 6 miles @ 7:38 pace

    Normally I take the full day off after a long run but the long run was a day later than planned yesterday and I wanted to get back on track with my plan so I decided to do a recovery run today. I left it until the evening so as to allow a little longer rest time. I set off nice and easy, just jogging really and the legs felt good. The discomfort in the hips that I was noticing was not there thankfully. I was running at what felt like a really easy effort and the legs felt fine. The pace over the first 4 miles was 7:44. The effort seemed so easy that I decided to throw in a mp mile for the craic! I know I'm asking for trouble but anyway.... It was done in 6:50 and the effort needed for that was a little more than it should have. It was into a strong headwind though. Slowed down considerably for the last mile of the run. Happy I did it but now I must take it easy and resist the temptation to want to push it when I think I'm going slow during a run and not gaining any benefit. I know that's not the case . Every mile is of benefit at this stage and I have my interval and tempo sessions for building speed and strength. DISCIPLINE:mad:


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