Making every mile count

Go hard or go home. Next bus back to Bettystown, Tayto Park for the Meath supporters!

Pretty annoyed to have missed out on the Fingal 10km. Arrving in late I began the search for my number. Somehow it went missing. It was in the hall for the past week and when I finally went to pin it on my singlet it was nowhere to be seen. Now, this was at 4.30am, with 5 hours of driving framing a busy night at work. I looked at myself in the mirror and told myself to cop on.

There will be other races. In saying that I am disappointed to miss out. I feel like I am in good shape. Finally.


Saturday 19/7
5.25 Miles

5 Miles Easy @7.25p/m in 37:08
-inc.3x30 second strides @10km effort

Another shortened run to give myself a chance of racing the next day For the strides I did a 'yaboya1'. This involved noting the distance and pace of each stride. As I thought, it was pretty futile (sorry yaboya1 :pac:) A good experiment but one I won't be repeating. Each to their own I suppose. Looking at his fantastic progress proves he is doing a lot right. Some shape.


Sunday 20/7
11.50 Miles

8 Miles Steady @6.33p/m in 52:30

Splits per mile:

1. 6.48
2. 6.41
3. 6.30
4. 6.33
5. 6.35
6. 6.31
7. 6.30
8. 6.20

3.50 Miles Easy @7.27p/m in 26:07

Very happy with these splits, particularly as the effort was always honest and hard. Running through the city is far from ideal though. I was on the receiving end of two beeps from the nice drivers of Dublin. I may leave my faster runs to area a bit more conducive to man of my size and speed :cool:

WEEK TOTAL: 75.81+ MILES

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A missed race but a decent weeks training. Feeling a bit frustrated as I was looking forward to finding out what sort of shape I am in. I will bottle that frustration.

Mainly I am annoyed that I had TWO open bars during the week and stuck to coffee/soft drinks because of the race. An opportunity missed. Time to make up for it......!

Finally, I may have adapted to the hot and humid conditions we are experiencing at the moment. Yes, the level of sweat produced is at times unnatural but it hasn't quite been the usual struggle. The effort expended is without doubt greater but the runs are actually enjoyable, even if the pace is that bit much slower.


Wednesday 23/7
14 Miles Various

AM

8 Miles Very Easy @7.36p/m in 1.00:45

Legs pretty receptive after the previous nights session. Kept it nice and handy.

PM

6 Miles Easy @7.32p/m in 45:12

Pretty uneventful mile building run.


Thursday 24/7
Hill Run

10 Miles Easy @7.30p/m in 1.15:00

I made a complete mess of this run. Like a typical Irish man I got lost but convinced myself I was in fact going in the right way The plan was a hard 8 mile run up and down Ticknock/Three Rock but by the time I found the road to be climbed I was already 5 miles into the run. I started the climb but soon turned around. It wasn't the day to be stupid. It must have been 24 degrees and I was along way from the car. I finally know the way now so another attempt shall be made in two weeks. That's 2-0.

Still a decent training run over lumpy terrain. There is one great thing about run up though. As you begin the climb there is a water fountain/pump (whatever it's called!) by the side of the road.....heaven.

Billy Mills wrote: »

Hahaha - the mountain wins, again! I don't even wanna think about what it would feel like climbing it in the heat!

Still good training going on DR!

Cheers. I think it was a blessing in disguise! I'll be dragging you up soon enough, don't you worry

Saturday 26/07
Progression Run
-8.5 Miles @7.04p/m in 1.00:01

For once, the person driving someone to a race was my good self. It was a great feeling being on the other side for once! I left this run a bit opened ended setting out, allowing the legs to dictate what they wanted to do. Naturally the pace steadily increased and the run turned into a solid progression run with the last few miles at sub 6 minute pace (5.56p/m). Motoring down Chesterfield Avenue was a great feeling. Having so many other runners around was a real motivation.

The 5k Colour Dash race in aid of the Irish Cancer Society is a good example of how a charity race should be run, with 100% of the entry fee going straight to the charity. Good to see.


Sunday 27/07
9 Miles General Aerobic
-6.54p/m in 1.02:05

Originally planned as a steady run but the late night the previous night ended any plans of this. I could pushed harder but there was more to lose than to gain. Legs felt great. Feeling strong.


WEEK TOTAL: 80.65+ MILES

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The mileage won't increase much over the next weeks. It's exactly where I want it to be. What I will be looking for is an increase in the intensity, particularly targeting the steady/tempo run sessions. I am feeling very strong at the moment and probably the best I have felt in a long time. The last time I remember feeling this good was the week or two before the taper in late March. I don't want to get ahead of myself so a very prudent approach to training is needed (boring, I know!)......:pac:

Next proper race? Looking like The Streets of Galway 8km in two weeks time.

Thursday 31/7
11.51 Miles Various

AM

5 Miles Very Easy @7.36p/m in 38:01

Quite enjoying these pre-breakfast runs. Last weeks 5 miler went well so I pushed the boat out and added an extra mile because that's the way I roll at the moment :cool: Kept it nice and handy even though there was very little tiredness in the legs.

PM

Hill Run

-Sutton to Howth Summit (carpark)

~6.51 Miles @6.35p/m in 42:47

http://www.strava.com/activities/173497529
-some discrepancies between Garmin Connect and Strava. I'll stick with the Garmin details......

That makes it 2-1 to the hills. Still behind but catching up.

Nicely rested after a 4 hour break the runners were back on Ticknock has chewed me up twice now so a change of scenery was called for. The aim was to maintain a solid steady run effort. The effort on the climb was well judged, although the steep climb from the pub up to the carpark pushed the effort briefly into the tempo effort range. As downhills are my achilles heel, I kept the effort honest on the descent without ever really pushing.

The most enjoyable run in a long while. Hard to beat. The idea is to use the hills to strengthen the legs, gradually increasing the effort and distance. If I could do the 8 mile loop of Howth Head (Sutton-Carpark-Pier-Sutton) twice to make it a 16 miler before Dublin I will be a happy baby rabbit.

Might do Charleville but I may stump for Athlone. It was a seriously good race last year. Yeah, it's a tough climb but there is one or two areas of respite on the way up. The problem is on the way down those areas are climbs, quite tough but the scenery and general road conditions make it a pleasure.

I am definitely not racing the 10 miler but may use it as a MP run or something. The weekends are the moment are a real mess how pretty apprehensive about losing anymore money booking races only to cancel because of work!

Jebus vs Ecoli........that's a good one!

Monday 4/8
18.22 Miles Various

AM

Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon

1.45 Pacing
-13.22 Miles @7.54p/m in 1.44:30

The previous nights steady run left the legs in a nice state of fatigue so a nice run around Dublin was just what was needed. I probably prepare more for pacing gigs than I do for my owns races. This gives me much needed discipline. Give me a training schedule and i'll complete it and then some but ask me to be on time for a race and well :pac: After a near timekeeping disaster in work on Saturday night I am now a new man who turns up on time, everytime!

It really was a beautiful morning. A combination of glorious sunshine, coupled with a light breeze, meant almost perfect racing conditions. The start was quite congested, as usual in a big event like this. I may be now unused to running around this part of the field but the congestion never really eased up for the remainder of the race. Nothing too bad but certainly noticeable. This made it quite difficult to work out who was actually following us. The first two mile markers came early but from there on in they seemed to be bang on the money. The course was a tough one and if I were to be honest, a course I was very happy not to be racing. Myself and my fellow pacer kept the effort nice and controlled, easing up on the hills and gaining slightly on the descents (not too many of these!) This is how I like to pace.

Unusually, the chat amongst the group increased as the miles ticked by. Once again I apologise to anyone I annoyed when 'encouraging' them to 'finish strong' :cool: Sitting here drink my first beer in a week I am pretty confident we helped a good few people to hit their target times today.

As I have mentioned in the race thread, the race was brilliantly organised. The only issues for me being the first two mile markers and possibly the water stations. I don't really mind cups but I wonder would it be preferable to simply leave the cups of water lined up on the table rather than handing them out. I know this race has it's critics but what I will say is that the pacing team were treated very well (even a VIP area at the finish....fancy! A bit too early for wine though :eek:)


Later AM :pac:

-5 Miles Easy @7.12 in 38:04

It was a bit of a pain having the finishing line 4+ miles away from the car start line. The choice of getting the bus or running was a no brainer. Full of coffee, muffins and pastries the run was pretty forgettable.

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A slight concern of late in the pain in my heel. It can be very noticeable whilst driving and walking. It became a bit more noticeable today, with possibly the unfamiliarity of running at recovery pace for 13+ miles. The differing foot strike and cadence at this pace cannot be discounted, especially when running for over two hours in total. I will keep an eye on it as I know what it possibly might be but am currently afraid to say! It has been a small issue for the past few weeks. If it does persist I will see someone later in the week about it.

yaboya1 wrote: »

Nice work this morning

Thanks! Very tactical affair this morning. Worked on the win rather than time. Happy enough