Not Quite Four Laps

Mon 28.04.14

4.8 @ 6.58/mi

Plan was to take this particularly easy but I felt unusually sprightly for a lunch time run so the pace ended up a little on the faster side. Sometimes these can ten to have a bit of a death march element to them but not today.

Tue 29.04.14

Off

Had intended on going for another lunch time run but a late meeting before lunch and a meeting straight after lunch didn't afford me the opportunity. No great loss with a race on the following day

Wed 30.04.14

Graded Meet 3,000m (9:13.45):D

This was the first time in a long time that I'd really put a lot of focus on one race so I was a bit more nervous than usual. A month or two of good, consistent training done and this was the first opportunity to see how the new training approach would translate in to an actual race performance. Anything under 9.20 and I would be happy, with getting close to 9.10 being the real aim.

It was a chilly enough evening and despite the new online system, the meet was running about 45 minutes late already when I arrived, so it was an hour or two waiting about in the cold. Some good banter with the clubmates and keeping an eye on PConn and Timmaay in the 800 races helped while away the time in the end.

Went for a very short warm up (~1/2 mile) and was then told that there was no women's race so I had to boot it over to the startline. Thankfully, I was in the second of the two races so I could get in 4-5 strides while this was taking place and also keep an eye on ecoli and Beepbeep who put in some intimidating performances for me to live up to.

For the race, my intention was to set up my Garmin to lap by position and hopefully get some reasonably accurate lap splits to gauge my pacing. Never charged the battery like an idiot so this experiment was out the window before it even started. I was lined up second from the inside and on the gun, I went out reasonably hard but was happy to slip in to 3rd or 4th place on the inside lane. First lap was called at 73 seconds and felt comfortable. The same guy called out the lap splits for each lap so this was a bit of a God send.

First lap down, my plan pre-race was to try and hit 73-74s for each lap and then see what was left in the tank for the last 2-3 laps. The second lap was called at 76 and the next one was the same two. Now, I had a choice to make. Sit in third or fourth position and hope the pace would pick up or go the front and try and dictate the pace myself. I was there to run the best time I could so it was a bit of a no brainer. I went round the outside and with 4 laps to go, I was in the lead. This lap was 74s and I think maybe the next one too.

With two laps to go, I made my move for the win. It must have been only the two of us this stage. I never like to look behind me in a race but there was a bit of a gap to third place in the results so I'm guessing this was the case. I opened up the stride a little bit and tried to open a gap but the sound of footsteps didn't lessen. I made another burst on the final lap but again couldn't kick him. Was feeling decent with 200 to go, so was optimistic that I'd put up a decent fight. Finally he made his move with 100 to go and pulled along side. I held with him until about 40-50 to go and then the legs just went to jelly and he pulled away. Fell over the line and delighted to see his winning time of 9.12, knowing I was just a second behind. Really went for it in this race.

Thu 01.05.14

5.9 @ 7.17/mi

I assumed that my legs would be in a jocker after the race on the previous day, I could barely walk for the hour after the race, but this wasn't the case. It was very tranquil out by Clontarf Strand this evening and it gave me some time to mull over an opportunity to go work down in Waterford for 5-6 weeks. I was initially skeptical but I'm going for it now. Going to miss a few Graded Meets but I did see that there's a track just a mile or two from the hotel:D.

Fri 02.05.14

1.2 @ 7.03/mi & 5.6 @ 7.08/mi

Now, the muscle fatigue kicks in:eek:. Knew, I couldn't have escaped completely unscathed from a hard race on the track. Felt very fatigued on this run but a satisfying fatigue, like after......;).

3.7 @ 7.18/mi, 5 X 1k w/75s recovery (3.20, 3.19, 3.23, 3.21, 3.21), 3.7 @ 7.23/mi

I was still feeling the race in the legs so I took these at a slightly lower intensity and was out on my own behind the main group. Times were very similar to last week but there wasn't a gale force wind to deal with today, which made a big difference. We finished up with 4 strides at a good clip as the coach wants us to get some speed in to our legs. He also suggested the 1500 in the Irish Miler's Club meet next Saturday in Greystones so I've signed up. Slowest time in the 'B' race last year was ~4.15 so there is a strong possibility that I will come last but it will be a good experience for my first attempt at the distance.

Wow, its a long time since I posted here last but I guess a running log wouldn't be very interesting without any actual running.

After a good opening 3k to what would have been my first track season, I got shipped down to Waterford for a few months and my running became more sporadic. I knew I was going to America for 3 weeks at the end of the summer so I decided to take a complete break and get straight back in to it after my holidays.

That was now 10 weeks ago and I've been getting in some solid training. 40-50 miles a week with the club sessions on the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Ran 2 XC races (Dublin Novice and the Teacher's XC) with both going average enough. A good reflection on the fact that I've a fair bit more training to go until I'm back to where I was at the start of the year.

When I messaged PConn over the weekend to change the title of my log, I was going to say it would be good to have one person training for the 1500 on the logs, when I realised he would probably be doing the exact same :rolleyes:. Let's show them joggers how its done Pat! In any case, its good to have a bit of a middle distance renaissance on Boards.

Well, back to the training.

Tue 28.10.14

1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 (w/ 1 min jog rec.)
Pace (5.35, 5.32, 5.38, 5.35, 5.35, 5.24, 5.28, 5.21, 5.00)

I felt not so great going in to this. Was a little tired and the stomach was in not too great shape from the *ahem* marathon celebrations. Supporting on the bike can be just as hard you know. I felt better as the session went on, with the pace going down as well as the effort levels.

Next up is the Dublin Seniors on Sunday. A 10k XC is my idea of hell but I'll try to be conservative going out and see how I get on. Can't wait to put up the dirty spikes and get out the clean ones.

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Where is the Dublin seniors on?

Its on in the Demense. Same course as for the national novice I think so should be good preparation for that, if nothing else

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Hey KU,

Welcome back, I used to enjoy this log but now that you're reincarnated as a tea cosy wearing track fairy, I might have to suck it and see for a while

TbL

Well, I'm playing the long game TbL so you'll have to stick around for a while. The ultimate aim is of course to be able to jog that little bit faster in a few years time

RacoonQueen wrote: »

I think he's sneakily training for the beer mile champs next year...

The training never stops. I'm either doing one or the other and I'm very dedicated to both.

Sat 01.11.2014

Rest

Sun 02.11.2014

Dublin Seniors XC (Not quite 10k @ 5.57/mi)

This was never going to be easy. I'm a bit of a broken record these days in saying that I'm not suited to XC. In truth, I don't think anybody finds it easy but I'd prefer to be a bit fitter so at least I could be up there with some of the other club members that I was training with before my self imposed sabbatical.

Having said that, I could not have anticipated the standard in the race today. My plan was to hold back for the first half and try to pick off a few places in the second half. I tried to go out easy but I was 3rd or 4th from last and still running sub five pace for the first few hundred metres. I eased off and the first mile garmined at 5.33. The course was 6 laps, a little boggy in places with some short hills but not very challenging if truth be told.

After the first 2 laps, my legs really started to tire and I felt like I was reduced to a crawling pace. In reality, I maintained 6 minute mile pace for the rest of the race. All in all, I was reasonably satisfied with this. I kind of thought that 5.50 pace for the whole race would be a decent achievement and I wasn't too far off this. It just felt relatively a lot worse due to the overall standard of the race.

I'm not going to get too hung up on these cross country races. My long term aim is to be in better shape next Spring going in to the track season and I reckon I'm making good progress towards this. I've said to the coach that I'll do the Dublin and Leinster Intermediate as well as the National Novice if we have teams entered. I might regret the decision but I'm hoping they'll do more harm and good. You can't beat a good race to bring you along in fitness

belcarra wrote: »

You better not have ripped up my local park!!
I was actually hoping to get to watch the race but was elsewhere at the time and only made it back in time for a slow trot with Ultraman1 long after the event was finished...:-(

How dare you. I glide over the turf like a Russina ballerina.

The other lads were like a crowd of heifers stampeding towards the water trough, so you might want to stay away from there for a while.

Sacksian wrote: »

That looks like a very solid run! I'm surprised at the standard, tbh - you'll be much further up the field in both intermediates.

Like yourself, I'm hoping the xc work and extra mileage pays off on the track at some point and am getting very tempted to throw in some track sessions in the next few weeks!

Solidish, I'd say. A great workout anyway. The standard was immense and the field was so strung out that it was hard to run really well with no one to pace off.

Would love to do a few track sessions but Irishtown is out of commission until the Spring. Not sure what we'll be doing.
Coach seems a little against the idea of the indoors but I'd like to run one at least.

How's your winter's training coming along? Dublin intermediates up next?

Sacksian wrote: »

At what stage will your "race to fitness" actually be complete?!

Not sure if you meant this as a rhetorical question but I'll answer anyway .

I'm not a prolific racer normally. One every month or two normally does me fine. This will obviously change as I transition to the shorter distances. The reason why I don't mind racing so much XC, is that I recover quite quickly from it. The soft surface obviously helps. The pounding your feet get on the boithríns around Ireland can take a while to recover from but the muck and dirt of Santy or Phoenix Park is a bit more forgiving. The pace is also a lot slower than on the roads (for me anyway). I ran 3 miles at lunch time today at the same pace as I ran on Sunday with a lot less effort.

Come Christmas the racing will be a lot less. Hopefully the Raheny 5 in the new year will give me a good indication of where I am. I've ran it the last 2 years so its always good for comparison.

Thu 06.11.14

3 X 9 mins (w/ 2 min jog recovery)
Paces: 6.02, 5.52 & 5.38

One of those evenings where I reluctantly went out but when I got out, I really enjoyed it. Sent out a Whatsapp to the XC group on the way in to town because I thought there might be a low turnout given the conditions. Seemed like most were up for it so my mind was made up for me. Session was around the Clann na nGael pitches in Sean Moore park with some driving wind and rain down one of the long sides.

Yesterday I had reverted to my old running style on the lunch run, with more emphasis on cadence than stride length. I stuck with this tonight and again found the going a lot easier. Group of 4 or 5 doing this but ended up running most of it with a 400m runner making the transition to the 800m. Good that we are working together at this stage because hopefully I'll learn a thing or two off him when the specific training starts next year. Anyway for the session tonight, I started off at a relaxed pace and gradually upped the effort on each rep.

Very happy with the weeks training so far and just looking forward to my next race. Not enough interest in the Leinster Intermediate so it will be the Dublin Intermediate up next. Probably a good thing in the long run.

Mon 10.11.14

5.3 @ 7.29/mi

Lunch Run

Tue 11.11.14

1.8 W/U, 400/800/1200/1600/1200/800/400 (Rec.: 30, 60, 90, 120, 80, 40), 2.1 W/D
Paces: 5.20, 5.33, 5.29, 5.31, 5.28, 5.24, 5.02

This is such a long time ago now but I do remember it being a great night for training. Good group of about ten doing the session and the thick fog made it really atmospheric. Ground was quite boggy in places so very happy with the times all things considered.

Wed 12.11.14

5.7 @ 6.58/mi

Lunch Run

Thu 13.11.14

1.3 W/U, 3 X 10mins (w/ 2 min rec.), 2.1 W/D
Paces: 6.01, 5.59, 5.57

Met up with the club and we decided beforehand that we could keep these very controlled and we actually did, which was unusual.

Fri 14.11.14

5.6 @ 6.29/mi

Had a bit of a heated debate with the boss in the morning so I was in a bit of a mood heading out at lunch for this run. Hit a good pace and headed up Bray Head to take my mind off things. Was a nice way to blow off a bit of steam.

Sat 15.11.14 & Sun 16.11.14

Nothing

Headed out Friday night after work to wish a colleague farewell. I somehow forgot to eat all the day long besides a bowl of cereal in the morning, including after my run at lunchtime. This lead me to getting very, very drunk. I woke up Saturday morning (probably afternoon) in an absolute heap. I was barely fit to stand up, let alone run. This followed on to Sunday, where I was really, really weak, likely from not having eaten enough. Anyway, bottom line - no running. Also, my Garmin was lost/stolen at some period over the night. Threw it in my pocket leaving work as I thought I'd need it over the weekend.

Mon 16.11.14

6 @ 6.45/mi

Back to the stone age, with no fancy watch on my wrist communicating with some satellites in the sky as I amble along the Clontarf promenade. Still a little tender after weekend :eek: and trouble sleeping the night before (likely drink related also). Never again!!!!

Tue 17.11.14

1.5 W/U, 8 X 800 (w/ 2 min jog receovery), 1.5 W/D

Trouble sleeping again on the previous night so I wasn't expecting much from this. We were doing the 800s (approx.) around the pitches in Sean Moore Park with a very strong wind along one of the long sides. Was a bit sluggish on the first one and finished in around 2.50. Three of us were running these together so we decided to take turns in to the wind. Times started to come down and the last 4 were all under 2.40 and I felt really strong. Best session since my return from my sabbatical.

Wed 18.11.14

5.3 @ 6.48/mi

Lunch Run eile

Thu 19.11.14

1.5 W/U, 3 X 10mins (w/ 2min rec.), 1.5 W/D

The fog was so incredibly dense for this that you could barely see 10 yards in front of you. Great weather for running. I was between groups for the first rep and kept a good pace going. Being now back in the stone age, i don't know what this was. For the second one I was joined by one of the lads that was in the group behind. We were going strong here (5.40 pace he said after). Last one was probably a little bit faster but can't confirm this. Regardless, it was a good session.

Fri 20.11.14

5.7 @ 6.42/mi

Again, I'm going a bit fast on these easy runs and again I think I could feel the cumulative fatigue on the Saturday session. Need to be more

Sat 21.11.14

1.5 W/U, 3 X 2.4k (w/ 1 min rec.), 2 W/D
Times: 8.17, 8.19, 8.14 Pace: Approx 5.30/mi

Headed back home for the weekend as its been a good few months now since I've been back in fair Borrisoleigh. We built an 800m gravel walking/running track a few years back, so I decided to use this for my session. Meant to be 3 X 2,5k but I'm hoping the coach will let this one slide. Think I went too hard on some of the runs during the week so the legs were fatigued but I still hit a really good pace for the 3 reps. Legs were so tired heading out on the last rep so was delighted to see this coming in as the fastest of the 3.

2 big XC races coming up over the next 2 weekends (Dublin Inters and National Novice) so it will be good to see how the recent good training translates in to a race performance. Good excuse to stay of the beer for a few weeks too. Lord knows, it will be tougher in the following weeks.:rolleyes: