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Target Practice

Dubgal72

Hi boardsies, Ososlo (blame her) pointed me in the direction of Training Logs and suggested that I might like to add one. So here I am.

You can probably guess from the log title that I am shooting for some targets. You might also guess from my user name that I am female, with affiliations to Dublin and am aged 32. I am also not a mathematician.

Back in the 80s my 'previous life', I ran a lot for a teenager. Skip a few decades and I am again running a lot. The interim, not so much. My twenties I spent running away from running, my thirties were spent running back to running, away from running...and mostly drawing to a standstill.

In many ways, I feel like a dinosaur or like I have entered a different century in my reincarnation as a runner (ok, actually I have. Push comes to shove I have entered a new millennium...).
I only found out what a Garmin is this last August, I have no idea what VO2 max is, my HR Max is uncharted territory and I am still sketchy re aerobic and anaerobic fitness details.......
I am going to relearn how to run 'by feel/effort' (actually that's going well, slowly but well) so won't invest in a gps watch just yet. I will get a HRM and definitely buy a stopwatch. The other details I hope to fill in via you guys.

I picked up my asics last Jan and decided (cue eyeball roll) to....run the marathon. As a bucket list thing. So yeah.

I'm glad I did, me and running are back together (*violins*).

And of course the marathon bit me. In the bum and badly. 23 minute positive split anybody?! But along the way I hope I have banked some endurance and have definitely dipped my toe into the beginnings of some quality session work.

For 2015 my targets are:

5k sub 20 mins (Current 21:38)
10k as near to 40 mins as I can (None official)
10 miles as far below 75 as I can (Current 78:04)
HM 1:35. (Current 1:41:08)

Would also like a crack at the track, 800m, 1500m and 3000m for old time's sake.

All advice and suggestions very welcome, thanks in advance. Nagging 'have you done your core exercises this week??' especially welcome!

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Dubgal72

Ososlo wrote: »

Fab! Can't wait to read more!

Any chance I can PM you with a brief overview (keywords pain, muck and more pain) and you write it? I'll pay you in tequila

You write deadly reports (no grovelling, ok a tiny bit

)

Bungy Girl

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Wicklow Masters Cross Country Championships Sat 3 Jan 2014

No spoiler today
Brief race report: the 'competition' that I felt was absent in the Seniors were back with a bang today; my clubmate (sub 40 10k), a Parnell athlete and 'CC' from greystones. So Yaboya, I have to confess you are going to be disappointed but I feel that I have proved to myself the Senior's win wasn't a flash in the pan...2nd to CC with less than a metre to spare at the end. This was a real race, close run all the way with 3-5 in the group and no sure outcome. Looks like our team got gold too so happy happy out. Men's team did well too with 3rd place and a definite team place too.

More later!

Wow that's fantastic, that's some collection of medals you're amassing! Well done, can't wait to read all about it.

Ososlo

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Any chance I can PM you with a brief overview (keywords pain, muck and more pain) and you write it? I'll pay you in tequila You write deadly reports (no grovelling, ok a tiny bit )

Lol ... no problem if you run my next race for me!

Murph_D

Great result, fair dues.

BeepBeep67

Nice battle today, you were closing all the way to the line, if the conditions underfoot were better you may have had it.

laura_ac3

You're as bad as bungy girl - where's that more to follow??

Dubgal72

Race Report Wicklow Masters Cross Country 4k 3 Jan 2014

I'll start with the race prep and it involved wine

Tbh, I wasn't going to, I'd had a bit of a lurgy/lethargy bug mid-week and was going to go into this 'clean'. (My two previous race reports have drawn a shaky non-empirical line between pre-race red wine and 'success'.)
I'm trying to put that sort of superstitious nonsense away and tell myself that it's the hard work in training and a positive mental attitude that brings the success. Oh and core/strengthening regime etc (yawn)....
So around 9pm I let the heebie-jeebies take control and opened the nice bottle of French Medaille D'Or something-or-other that I had been saving for this evening....Just the one glass tho and I had lined my insides with a big bowl of stew earlier. Bed before 11 and the kids slept all night...hallelujah.

Race morning and the weather delivered what it had promised. Rain, rain and more rain. Never mind, we were all going to be in the same boat, this is the egalitarian joy of XC, if it hurts one, it hurts all.

I got to the park before 10 (race start 11), dumped my rucksack, brief chat about course....oh the course: I had psyched myself up to 2*2k laps, similar to the Seniors 3 weeks ago. Faaaar too predictable....: one small lap of 700m and three (THREE??!!) laps of 1100m ea...so THREE times up that sneaky cliff hill (see prev race report...). Psychologically, this was tough but reinforced the value of the fartlek session I had done on Tuesday, where I took this hill in four times. More of that later

Warm up consisted of 25 minutes v easy jogging followed by 4*60m strides and 4-5 drills including skips/arm swings, high knee skips, butt kicks, side shuffle etc.
While faffing around at the registration desk, I heard CC (Greystones lady) register (tummy sink) and knew also that my clubmate was running today, so the battle lines were beginning to be drawn

. Luckily the rain had stopped.

The line up this time was reassuringly and considerably bigger than the seniors. Start was fast, not too fast and a group of six or so of us settled at the front (me, the athlete who finished second in the seniors, her clubmate, my clubmate, CC and ?)
My tactic was always going to be 'sit in and size up' so I did exactly that. The underfoot going was sticky, wet and bumpy: 'perfect' cross country. My memories of the race itself are a bit hazy (except of course for the 4yo's voice " mam, maaaaam" each lap) so I'll just give an overview of my impressions.

Firstly, this group ran quite tightly, sharing the lead (except for me, I stayed put mostly on the leader's shoulder). It was all the big unknown, I have been out of the game so long, I am mostly familiar with athletes names only so far, not their form, strengths, tactics etc. I didn't know who was going to push, kick, be strong etc so as I said, I was just waiting and seeing. The pace was quick enough that I wasn't going to be doing any crazy breaking from the pack too early either! The athlete who came second in the seniors was accompanied today by a rather fierce clubmate who exhorted her teammate to 'get up here X' etc as she took the lead. We share the same name so I did as I was told and didn't let her get away

Secondly, I did a form check and assessment every so often, checking I was getting purchase with my spikes and not running too far back on my heel, dropping my shoulders, leaning a bit forward when necessary etc. (Note to self during the race: invest in longer spikes for days like these!) I also did a fatigue check every so often and was pleasantly surprised to find that although tough, I was managing.

Each time on 'the hill' (it's actually a slope but all the athletes I talked to called it 'the hill' with a pained eye-roll expression so I think we should start calling it the mountain), I thanked myself for going up it four times on Tuesday because now I knew I could handle three times

It was still a shoe-in for position until somewhere on the last lap when CC broke and smashed our little group up, my memory is of her going on 'the hill'. I knew at the top of this slope, the finish was 4, maybe 500m away so I stayed as close as I could, maybe 5m back. We clattered across the track into the next field to the final strait, maybe 300m. Now it hurt and she was kicking. Feck it I thought, fight, kick too! (but keep your form

)

So I did and as the finish line drew closer, so did I to her but it wasn't to be. I dug deep and gave it 110% but she got there first. Ah well, next time I'll give it 120%

What I have taken from this race is that I should not let someone go because I 'know' they are better than me. Next time, on the finishing strait I will dig deep, then dig some more.

Brooks and Mach have climbed a couple of rungs on the promotional ladder

As the picture shows, they earned it. The 4yo also refused to hug me at the end of the race

Team gold confirmed, happy out!

Dubgal72

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Nice battle today, you were closing all the way to the line, if the conditions underfoot were better you may have had it.

Thanks D, although on the other hand she may have increased the gap

Next time...

Tom Joad

Well done DG - great performance and a nice report too and you barely got the spikes dirty!!

martyboy48

Really good going there DG, super performance. Really makes me wanna try XC

You make it sound so much fun

Could you tell me more though about this red wine and success plan, it sounds like it may well be what I'm after

Dubgal72

martyboy48 wrote: »

Really good going there DG, super performance. Really makes me wanna try XC You make it sound so much fun

Could you tell me more though about this red wine and success plan, it sounds like it may well be what I'm after

Haha thanks Marty

There's definitely a sound mathematical formula emerging:

2x glasses of red = either PB or First place

1x glass red = 2nd place.....

In the interest of science and maths, I volunteer you to take it further. Avoid the bollards tho. Maybe that's where you went wrong, was it beer, not red wine??!

Dubgal72

Tom Joad wrote: »

Well done DG - great performance and a nice report too and you barely got the spikes dirty!!

Ha that was AFTER I washed them

career move

Well done DG. Sounds like you ran another great race. Loved the report too

Runchick

Epic stuff DG! Brilliant report, sounds like a lotta hard work! In this house the number of glasses of wine consumed tends to correlate with the number of night wakings from the kids, you did well on that front

laura_ac3

Congrats again DG! You're flying it, well done.

Dubgal72

Murph_D wrote: »

Great result, fair dues.

Thanks Murph, am absolutely delighted

career move wrote: »

Well done DG. Sounds like you ran another great race. Loved the report too

Thanks CM, it was a different ball game this time re tactics and pace but it's all a baptism by fire refresher course

Runchick wrote: »

Epic stuff DG! Brilliant report, sounds like a lotta hard work! In this house the number of glasses of wine consumed tends to correlate with the number of night wakings from the kids, you did well on that front

Haha hadn't thought of it that way, but yes it's true isn't it. Just like the times I have to have an early night...and not a kid in the house asleep before 10.And thanks, it was hard work but labour kind...you forget about it til next time

laura_ac3 wrote: »

Congrats again DG! You're flying it, well done.

Thanks Laura, looking forward to seeing you christen your XC spikes

SamforMayo

Great stuff, well done!

Dubgal72

So, to end the week off, a log catch up:

Wednesday 31 Jan
Spent most of the day after 11am in bed trying to sleep, I felt like I had been hit with a train, lethargic and achy. I assumed I had Himself's rotten cold coming on me but no cough or throat symptoms. Of course by 7, I thought I'd "just try the legs out" and went out for an easy 5 mile. Legs didn't feel great but then again didn't feel terrible.

Thursday 1 Jan 2015
Again, didn't feel great but had been dosing myself with (get this!): cinnamon, turmeric and ginger mixed with honey and hot water plus - a recommendation on FB - honey, vinegar, lemon juice and something else vile mixed with hot water...along with paracetamol and double-dosing vitamin C all day long. I also restarted a 30 day iron course. Something worked cos by Friday I was back to 'normal' (ahem).
On Thursday evening, I went out for 7k incl 8x50m snappy 'form strides' to loosen and shake the legs out for Saturday. Worked a treat

Friday 2 Jan
Rest. I toyed with the idea of going out for a warm up pace 3 miler but decided to be kind to the old body as it had clearly been battling something. Funnily, my mam mentioned that her and the pa had had something similar mid-week...

Saturday 3 Jan
As reported, just adding the time 4k in 16:47 I know time in XC is not important but as it's my first 4k I thought it deserved a mention

Total 7.5miles

Sunday 4 Jan
Really wanted to do a very easy 5m recovery run but between one thing and another...and the club mentor telling me to take it easy...I rested...

Week Total: 26

Plan for the next month is to continue to build a solid winter endurance base with a long fartlek session, club session, lsr, hill/drill session and tempo run over a 7-10 day cycle.
Still haven't factored in how to incorporate a double day due to Himself's erratic work schedule.
Race targets come hard and fast at the end of Jan: Raheny 5, National Masters XC and Enniscorthy 10k. The masters is the only 'prime target' race.
Oh and PS, I did a core session today, feeling virtuous :cool:

Bungy Girl

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Oh and PS, I did a core session today, feeling virtuous :cool:

Good on ya! Take the rest of the day off

Dubgal72

Monday 5 January

5 miles at easy-steady pace, easy effort. Some remnants of Saturday in my legs towards the end of the run.
Another 30 day challenge session done AND some extra stuff. Go me

Tuesday 6 January

15k/9.32m fartlek session (4k w/u; 9k fartlek; 2k w/d)
This morning's session was a toughie, mentally and physically: seven long surges with a short return to base pace. I was working on a tarmac'd park loop of 4*2.25k, the surges were around 900-1000m with returns to base pace of 400-500m. If I had a HRM, it would probably have shown a high at the end of each surge as each was followed by a drop in pace for 20m or so but as the recovery progressed I found myself clipping along at a steady base pace.
In 'feely language' it went like this:
Surges 1-3 fresh; a low-hard intensity effort/brisk pace with a return to base pace at high-moderate effort and pace (focused on maintaining similar recoveries throughout)
Surges 4 and 5 fatigue creeping in; medium-hard intensity effort/brisk pace with a return to base pace at same effort as previous
Surges 6 and 7 tired but end in sight

; medium-hard intensity etc, probably dug a bit deeper and concentrated on form etc but kept the lid on the intensity level.
A satisfyingly tough session.

Dubgal72

Wednesday 7 January

Got my 'double day' in

Not the ideal way to do it, especially sandwiched between two quality days but you've got to take your chances. Made sure to keep the pace slooow: after dropping the kids off at their respective 'breaks from mammy', I jogged home, 4.25 miles, and a few hours later did the same in reverse to pick them up but took a slightly shorter route of 4 miles
T: 8.25 miles

Thursday 8 January

Extra day of recovery due to enforced rest. Missed the club session due to baby sitter illness. Oh well, I told myself, you'll be able to fit in a really good core etc session when the kids go to bed. 12:15 am and not an adductor stretch or piriformis stretch attempted or psoas muscle even tickled...

Friday 9 January
Early season interval session, done mid-morning on an empty stomach

Got last night's club session via text:
3x800m, 2 min rec; 3x600m, 90 sec rec; 3x400m, 90 sec rec.

These were to be done at 10m pace, 10k pace and 5m pace. I assumed the 5mile pace was meant to be 5k pace and adjusted accordingly.

While dropping sprog #2 at granny and grandad's, I grabbed my dad's stopwatch. When he commented that this session was usually done as a pyramid, of course that planted a seed in my head. But thoughts of injury etc reared their sensible head and I left it as it was.

All this talk of intervals at various paces is a steep learning curve. As a teenager, I lazily just accepted what time to do each rep in. I must have made a funny sight last night with pen and paper at the kitchen table in front of the vdot table and mcmillan calculator trying to calculate the various paces for each rep. "I am...not a mathematician"

My 10 mile time is from last August - my first race in 23 years or so - so had to guesstimate what my race pace for that is now. Anyway had a chat with the pa and he recommended I start the first 800 at 7m/m pace and if it felt comfortable, increase the paces from there.

So the eventual times were too fast and I don't know if that defeats the purpose of the session. Anybody any thoughts on that? It all felt comfortable enough to begin with, started feeling a pinch on the second 600 but nothing unmanageable. When it came to the 400s, I decided to blast them just to see if I could do 90 secs. I did but it put me under the kind of pressure where you have to really concentrate on relaxing and maintaining form in the last 100m.
Overall pretty pleased with the session.

Warm up of 2.5m+, incl joint limber ups, 6-7 drills and 4x50m strides. Bought some extra time this morning so was lovely to have the time to have a relaxed non-rushed warm up

Done on 800m tarmac'd loop in local park, had to guess where the 600m mark was but used three lengths of the field and stopped at the same spot each rep.

Splits were:
800m 3:18, 3:17, 3:13 (rough half way point check was 1:46, 1:45, 1:43)
600m 2:24, 2:24, 2:22 (rough 400m mark check was 1:40, 1:40, 1:41)
400m 1:29, 1:31, 1:30

2.5m jog cool down

9.5 miles total

Training from Sunday-Thursday will be pretty erratic as am away for a few days. There will be late nights and alcohol involved. My friend and I sensibly agreed to postpone any health kicks until next week

Bungy Girl

Wow, that's some session - impressive splits! All the more so when you're training solo. Enjoy your few days away

Ososlo

Great work Dubgal!
Does your da still run? Nice to have him to bounce ideas off. Was he a good runner in his youth?
Enjoy the break!

SamforMayo

Alcohol she said, it's January!!!! Seriously I think it's a bad idea everyone giving up drink forJanuary as it may cause the economy to go back into recession so I have decided to help and buy a bottle of wine on the way home! Enjoy the break.

yaboya1

Using your Vdot to calcualte equivalent race times for 10k & 10m suggests that you were slightly too quick on all reps, but not by much at all on the final two sets. It's the 800's that are way too fast though. They should be around 3:33 I think? Anyway, it shouldn't do you any harm once you don't do anything stressful tomorrow and you're taking a break after that for a few days.

NB: Maybe the 800's weren't too fast and we're working off the wrong Vdot?
It's a possibility if you've been sandbagging......:p

Emer911

yaboya1 wrote: »

NB: Maybe the 800's weren't too fast and we're working off the wrong Vdot?
It's a possibility if you've been sandbagging......:p

Sandbagger - definitely!

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Wednesday 7 January

Got last night's club session via text:
3x800m, 2 min rec; 3x600m, 90 sec rec; 3x400m, 90 sec rec.

These were to be done at 10m pace, 10k pace and 5m pace. I assumed the 5mile pace was meant to be 5k pace and adjusted accordingly.

Nope - should have been 5mile pace - bold!

R didn't want us training at 5k pace this early in the season and so soon after the christmas break.

Seems like you managed it pretty well though. I don't know how you kept the paces up doing that on your own! Fair feics to ya!
I was doing it in the group and mine were still all over the place

hillsiderunner

Great training those days. But what about James Dunne? ;-)

Dubgal72

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Wow, that's some session - impressive splits! All the more so when you're training solo. Enjoy your few days away

Thanks BG, my legs are feeling nicely dead tonight. See below for telling off from Emer911...

I will try...

Ososlo wrote: »

Great work Dubgal!
Does your da still run? Nice to have him to bounce ideas off. Was he a good runner in his youth?
Enjoy the break!

Thanks Os, he did until fybromyalgia got a hold

He is out every day for a 12k hike/trek at least...also climbed Lug "only" 7 times since August. It is good to have him, a mine of gold really. He was very good (I think!), 2:28 marathon PB if I remember right.

SamforMayo wrote: »

Alcohol she said, it's January!!!! Seriously I think it's a bad idea everyone giving up drink forJanuary as it may cause the economy to go back into recession so I have decided to help and buy a bottle of wine on the way home! Enjoy the break.

Good on ya woman! Totally agree. Tis athletic dipsos like us prop up the hiconomy

yaboya1 wrote: »

Using your Vdot to calcualte equivalent race times for 10k & 10m suggests that you were slightly too quick on all reps, but not by much at all on the final two sets. It's the 800's that are way too fast though. They should be around 3:33 I think? Anyway, it shouldn't do you any harm once you don't do anything stressful tomorrow and you're taking a break after that for a few days.

NB: Maybe the 800's weren't too fast and we're working off the wrong Vdot?
It's a possibility if you've been sandbagging......

I am hiring you as my official pace and jargon navigator

Well, I had planned a longish run (7-9 miles) at a very easy (non stressful) pace lateish tomorrow as I might not get out again til Tuesday. I really am struggling to get my head around the concept that you can do a session too fast....
And ouch to your last accusation....
:P

Emer911 wrote: »

Sandbagger - definitely!

Nope - should have been 5mile pace - bold!
R didn't want us training at 5k pace this early in the season and so soon after the christmas break.

Seems like you managed it pretty well though. I don't know how you kept the paces up doing that on your own! Fair feics to ya!
I was doing it in the group and mine were still all over the place

Double ouch...et tu Brute??!

That's what I get for not turning up to class...*slinks to back of the class*...

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Great training those days. But what about James Dunne? ;-)

Thanks Hilly

James Dunne? We're on a break

Bungy Girl

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Good on ya woman! Totally agree. Tis athletic dipsos like us prop up the hiconomy

True that. Local economy here in a slump thanks to my selfish abstention.

Dubgal72

And the forestalling of chocolate BG! Some willpower