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Run run run run run run run....

jebuz

Yep that is the best title I could come up with. Time to start my first log here after following others for so long, I think it's a great resource and I've learned a lot from boardies round here. I have been blogging my recent marathon journey but I think it's nice to interact with folk similar to you and bounce ideas off each other so here I am.

The primary goal this year will be the Dublin Marathon in October which is signed, sealed but yet to be delivered. I had a disappointing result at the Rotterdam marathon where a failed 2:50 attempt can only benefit me for the next one.

Background
31 years young, running just over 3 years with a 9 month break in Asia thrown in. I feel my strengths lie in the endurance arena but have yet to really push myself at speedier stuff, the next few months are a chance to test that. When I came back to Ireland in December gone, I had a strong appetite to bring on my running to the next level and jumped straight back into marathon training, slightly overzealous maybe and took me a while to adapt to the distances again. Having run a 2:59 in Dublin '12 and 2:54 in Barcelona '13 previously, a sub 2:50 was the next natural progression but I missed out on it in spectacular fashion. I'll probably look back on Rotterdam and realise it was a good thing, nothing is ever that simple, I made a few mistakes and it was a wake up call but I'm hungrier than ever for Dublin.

Targets for this year
I've already ticked off my sub 60 10 mile target (58:46) last month and over the next few months my goal is to target 5k and 10k PBs along with a half (my hometown strawberry half) before diving back into marathon training for Dublin. The target for Dublin? I'm reluctant to put a number on it now, I think to go sub 2:50 should be well within my capabilities, whatever I go beyond that I'll be happy with, targets will be decided closer to the time.

Goals:
10k: 35:xx
10m: 57:xx
5k: 16:xx
1/2: 77m
Marathon: < 2:50 and beyond ???

I'm a member of Donore Harriers in Dublin, I only got to spend a few months training with them before going travelling and since I came home I've moved to Cork on a 6 month contract. I've just joined up with Leevale AC and did my first session with them last night which was enjoyable. The plan is to work in with them for the summer working on my shorter distances before hitting the marathon plan again in August under the guidance of my Donore coach Jim.

I think this will be a little easier than updating my blog regularly with long winded posts and will hopefully come across likeminded individuals to share ideas and advice with, It might even prove useful to others :pac: on we go!!!

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ThebitterLemon

jebuz wrote: »

Well, what a year. To say I exceeded expectations is an understatement. I had put my running on hold for most of 2013 to go travelling but I came back with my hunger intact and without really thinking I jumped right into a marathon plan which set the ball rolling for 2014. Here's my summary...

January saw me just gradually build milage back up and I surprisingly adapted quite quickly. I ran a 5k to see where I was at, 18:44 at the Westport parkrun (and my only win to date). I'd obviously lot some sharpness as expected but it was a starting point. I was working off a custom plan from my Donore coach which was fairly gruelling in hindsight given my lack of fitness. A couple of niggles here and there but I managed the miles quite well and up to 18 miles long run by the end of the month.

February saw no racing but just consistent training with a couple of 20+ milers and clocking about 65 miles a week and getting stronger week by week. Going a little insane living at home with the parents so the job hunt intensifies.

March saw me move to Cork to live and work. It also saw me run my first proper race of the year and I was delighted with a 1:21:40 in the Bohermeen 1/2 which was a 3 minute PB and I felt the training was really working. Ran my highest volume week ever (80 miles) and followed that with probably my favourite race of the year at the Mallow 10. My first 10 miler and not sure what to aim for but completely surprised myself and my coach with a 58:43, a huge improvement on the 1/2 marathon and feeling in great shape for the marathon.

April arrives and it's marathon time. I picked up an achilles injury in late March which mean the taper weeks saw no sessions and only easy running. Still I went into the race confident but it all went wrong on the day and I limped home in 2:59:09, a long way off the sub 2:50 target. I made a few mistakes during the race in terms of strategy and hydration but looking back it was a poor decision to train for a marathon so soon without any sort of aerobic base to work off. I raced a good 10 miler but the endurance was simply not there for a marathon. Positives were still taken, good training bagged, injury free, pride intact and lessons learned. Decided to join local club Leevale having had a chat with the coach and ran my first session with them 2 weeks after the marathon.

In May I trained well with the club for a few weeks before running my first 4 miler in Fota Island coming home 8th in 22:40 and confidence coming back. Milage was low enough but speed was the focus as I targeted a 5k PB over the summer months. I ran a 5k in the last week of May to see where I was at. 16:54 was the result and overwhelmed with the improvement in such a short time. I now knew joining the club was a very important decision.

I continued the good form in June running 1:18:40 in the Cork 1/2 Marathon on the 2nd. I had full confidence in the coach, was flying in sessions and I seemed to thrive on the energy from other runners around the club, there's an incredible breadth of talent and the motivation to improve was high. 2 more 5k's followed, a 17:02 in blistering heat (6th place) followed by a 16:44 good enough for 3rd place. Weekly milage up to 65 but still the focus was mainly on speed and getting that 5k time down.

July would see me start the transition to marathon training as DCM in October crept onto my radar. Still plenty of time for racing and I ran my final and best 5k of the year, an extremely satisfying 16:27 and I was happy to part with that particular distance for the remainder of the year. Next it was off to Killarney where I came 2nd in the 1/2 marathon in 1:16:17, another very enjoyable race and a big confident booster before jumping into some marathon specific sessions while upping the milage.

I look back over the year and see August and September as my strongest months. I started working up to 35 mins tempo efforts on the track, coupled with a 2 long runs and a hard Saturday session. Milage was up to around 80 and the month culminated with a good run at the Frank Duffy 10 miler clocking 56:57.

September was my highest month in terms of volume and probably the performance of the year too with the Charleville half marathon running another PB of 1:15:40, a long way from the 1:21 I ran back in March. I spent the first week warm weather training in Portugal and maybe the best session of the year, a 10/9/8/7/6 min track effort in heat, on my own. Highest milage week of the year too clocking an 89, bloody hell isn't September just wonderful.

I started October in great spirit but picked up an achilles injury 3 weeks out (only dawned on my now,very same as Rotterdam hmm) so I missed a couple of days and then spent a week running no sessions. This didn't dramatically affect me, I recovered and ran the county intermediates XC race coming 8th and winning the team gold a week before the main event. I went into the Dublin marathon feeling confident and capable of running in the low 2:40's. The race went very well, despite extremely windy and humid weather conditions out of my control, I came home in 2:46:59 and 66th overall. Very satisfying outcome to a brilliant training block and really at that stage I had achieved everything I wanted for the year.

November was all about recovery. I gradually built back up the miles and restricted myself to 1 tempo session a week but getting good volume in. The focus is now on Rotterdam in April 2015 and building a solid foundation for that is what I planned for the next 10-12 weeks.

I ran my last race of the year in early December, my 5th half marathon of the year in Waterford. I was well recovered from Dublin but didn't PB, I ran a 1:16:40 which was ok but mentally I didn't really believe I would PB. I continued the rest of December working up the milage again focussing on a good aerobic base for when I hit the marathon specific sessions in early 2015. Solid month and finished the year feeling strong and hunger for more improvements in 2015.

Training Summary:

Month|Miles|Avg/Day|Ran|Rest Days|Injury Days|5k's|4m's|10m's|1/2 Mar's|Marathons|XC|Notes/Highlights
Jan|251|8.09|27/31|4|0|2|0|0|0|0|0|Home from Asia, straight back into it :pac:
Feb|282|10.07|26/28|1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|Getting the miles in
March|281|9.06|28/31|1|2|0|0|1|1|0|0|Looking on track with a 58:46 in mallow
April|169|5.63|22/30|8|0|0|0|0|0|1|0|Not a good day in Rotterdam :mad:
May|237|7.9|29/31|1|1|1|1|0|0|0|0|Joined club, started focus on track & speed
June|250|8.06|28/30|2|0|2|0|0|1|0|0|Good 5k results
July|297|9.58|30/31|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|0|2nd at Killarney 1/2 Marathon
Aug|318|10.25|28/31|3|0|0|0|1|0|0|0|Starting to build milage for DCM
Sept|336|11.2|39/30|1|0|0|0|0|1|0|0|Delighted with a 75:40 @ Charleville 1/2
Oct|206|7.37|24/31|5|2|0|0|0|0|1|1|2:46:59 and 66th in DCM - I'll take it
Nov|226|7.8|25/30|5|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|Recover and build
Dec|316|9.57|30/31|1|0|0|0|0|1|0|0|I'm all about the base
Total|3173|7.74|327/365|33|6|6|1|2|5|2|1|

What went well?
- PB's all over the shop
- Only 6 days out due to injury
- Consistency, and more consistency
- Joined a great club with a great coach
- Enjoying my running more than ever
- Nutrition was overhauled, fuelling smartly after sessions

What can be improved?
- More variety of races, no 5 milers, 10ks or track of any sort
- Core/Strength work wasn't consistent enough though I'm back to 3 times a week for Nov/Dec
- Stop scribbling splits and target times during meetings in work
- Less sitting with the pack in sessions, don't be afraid to take it on
- Be less concerned with stats, run more without the watch and focus on feel
- Stop making milage a distinctive metric of my progress. Recovery weeks and backing off is ok.

Racing Summary:

Goals for 2015

As posted in the 2015 goals thread...

5k: 15:45
10k: 32:30
5m: 26:00
10m: 54:30
1/2: 72:30
Marathon: 2:35:00

They're lofty no doubt about it but goals shouldn't be easy. Looking at last year, I had most of my goals achieved before 6 months so while I want to keep them somewhat realistic, I want them to be well outside my current abilities. This way I will have to work even harder to achieve them and I really have to believe I can.

Ok that's a good short and concise summary, we'll leave it there

Farewell 2014, you've been great. Now 2015, let me have it!!

I'm not a big fan of running motivation images but I feel compelled to put something here (sorry)

Seriously impressive targets to match seriously impressive improvement. Best of luck with them

TbL

skeleton_boy

Cracking improvement in 2014, especially over the half marathon distance. To continued success in '15.

ECOLII

Goals looking very similar to mine especially over 5k/10k. I imagine I will be spending quite some time in here given the improvement last year you are definitely doing things right

yaboya1

Toblerone should be using this log in it's next marketing campaign

jebuz

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Seriously impressive targets to match seriously impressive improvement. Best of luck with them

Same to you lemon face, expecting some cracking runs out of you

skeleton_boy wrote: »

Cracking improvement in 2014, especially over the half marathon distance. To continued success in '15.

Cheers and same to you in 2015, you had a great year and a lot more to come I reckon. Yeah the half was the stand out distance for me last year. a 3 minute improvement doesn't sound like a lot but personally I think from 75 -> 72 is a big leap, I just hope I can leap far enough

ECOLII wrote: »

Goals looking very similar to mine especially over 5k/10k. I imagine I will be spending quite some time in here given the improvement last year you are definitely doing things right

Good to hear Luke, you're in good shape coming into the year so I'll be keeping an eye on you myself. I'm sure I'll finally bump into you at a race soon, after the race of course, I'd never trip you up intentionally.

yaboya1 wrote: »

Toblerone should be using this log in it's next marketing campaign

Its unbelievable that I haven't been contacted yet

jebuz

Thursday 08/01 - 9.9 miles @ 6:59 min/mile incl. 30 min track tempo

I think looking back this will be remembered as the week of the wind. Horrible sh!tty night and as I shuffled along for the gusty warmup, I knew what was ahead of me. The session was pretty terrible, worse than expected. I felt way off my game from the start and I know the wind was a factor but it just felt so hard, the legs were drained. I had a rest day beforehand but ended up doing a few bodyweight leg exercises, this didn't help either. I was in with a group of 7 or so which dwindled down to 4 by the end and we were holding 5:50-6 min/miles. I noticed my heart rate was way higher than it should have been but I didn't want to back off and risk running this on my own. Being in a group tonight made a big difference and I probably would have cut it short otherwise so I take some positives there. I got it done in the end, miserable but they're the ones that make you stronger mentally. Bad sessions happen, move on.

Friday 09/01 - 5.5 miles recovery @ 8:15 min/mile

Still quite tired today and I knew there was a monster weekend of running ahead of me. Our club heads down to Banna this time every year for a training weekend so a very light recovery was the only order of the day. Windy as usual, passed viperlogic on the straight road doing a session and suddenly felt a little better, the thoughts of doing repeats (1200's I think) in those conditions, ouch!

Arrived down to Banna strand that night and if I thought the wind was bad in Cork, this was wizard of oz sort of stuff. I am genuinely surprised our holiday home didn't get blown away that night. God knows what awaits us in the morning.

Saturday 10/01 - Banna Weekend - 15.4 miles mixed - AM easy + PM session

AM: Over 60 of us made the trip down and we heard the 10am whistle blowing as coach rounded the troops for a light morning run. Of course the wind hadn't died down, but at least no rain. I reckon we should have been tied together it was that bad. We went on a 40 minute jog around the dunes and grassy banks on the beach, body actually felt ok today. Headed back to base to relax and watch a bit of the Edinburgh XC.

PM: Time for the legendary Banna afternoon session. I had heard horror stories about it but yet to experience it. We gathered again at 3pm and jogged down to the strand getting a 20 min warmup done. The session would consist of alternating between the grassy XC style loop and a sand dune loop, only about 100 meters long with a gradual climb, rapid descent and then a steep climb. I jumped in with a group of lads also training for Rotterdam, I was told this session could be up to 50 min of hard running.

We started off on the grassy loop, nippy pace around 6 min miling on undulating and unsteady terrain but feeling manageable. After 10 minutes on that it was time for the first 10 minutes of dunes and hold sheet that was tough. My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest but I was feeling strong, climbing well but the sand was draining my calves.

After 10 torturous minutes of that I was longing to get back to the grassy loop and soon it was time. Pace wasn't quite as nippy this time as the wind had really picked up. As if the gale force wind wasn't enough a freak hailstorm decided to add to the fun. I was chasing a group just ahead of me, hailstones painfully battered the side of my face as I tried in vain to guard it with my hand. This was without doubt the harshest of conditions I've ever ran in. For some reason, in the midst of the madness, the thoughts of a cosy warm sitting room and log fire popped into my mind. Would I rather be there I thought? Honestly? Absolutely not. This is it right here, this is what it's all about. The rugged coastline of Kerry in all its beauty getting battered by a hailstorm, it's nature in its purest form and I'm right in the middle of it, running. I knew I would look back at this moment in a few months when I'm running in the summer sunshine, I'll smile and I'll be grateful.

Of course the hail stopped when we turned and had the wind on our backs, brief but wow. Soon that 10 minutes was up, I'm tired but it's time for the dunes again. I just persevered this but gave it everything I could, I wasn't sure if we had another 10 minutes on the grass or if this was it. I didn't think too much about it, just focussed on the effort and I kept a pretty strong effort right until the end. After the 10 minutes, coach called time on the session, said it was enough and the weather was too bad for another 10 minutes...Thank fcuk. Killer session with 40 mins of continuous hard running but what a feeling afterwards. A blustery cooldown on the sand and back to the house for a well earned dinner.

Sunday 11/01 - Banna Weekend - 19.9 miles in 2:24 @ 7:15 min/mile

After a pretty tame night in the pub, woke up at 8am and got ready for the final chapter of the weekend, just a 20 mile long run. Well the plan was around 2:20 on my feet, whatever that amounted to in miles I wasn't too worried. There was a mix up with times, the lads weren't heading until 9am so I headed off at 8:30 on my own before joining up with them.

We headed out the main road and towards the headland. The wind was all over the place, it was hard to know which direction it was actually blowing. From miles 7-10 we really battled a headwind along with a difficult climb but I felt good today, despite the hammering the day before. We soon turned and headed for home and it was a joy with the powerful wind on our backs, felt like a jog but looked at the watch reading sub 7 minute pace. Unfortunately that didn't last the whole way home, the last 2 miles or so were getting difficult as we battled the wind but the thoughts of being nearly home after a gruelling weekend kept me going strong. Arrived back at 19.9 miles and my garmin OCD seeems to have dissipated as I had no desire to round that off to 20. I got in the door and straight into that hot shower, which was actually too hot because the cold tap didn't work, but still.

Weekly milage: 70.6

The plan for this week was to pull-back on the milage, I didn't plan on doing that much milage in the weekend but no harm done, got a rest day in too and the body is feeling good today.

I feel the time has now come to move on from the base building as I turn an eye to the Dungarvan 10 miler, 3 weeks away. While the base building was shorter (9 weeks) than recommended, I still think it was a successful exercise but the merits have yet to be justified, time will tell. Anyway it's time to rejoin the group on the Saturday sessions and working in the faster Tuesday track sessions also, on we go.

yaboya1

jebuz wrote: »

For some reason, the thoughts of a cosy warm sitting room and log fire popped into my mind. I thought, would I rather be there? Honestly? Absolutely not. This is it right here, this is what it's all about.

This is when you know you've crossed the line from normal person to committed runner

p.s Not surprised you were tired on Friday after that monster run on Thursday :pac:

viperlogic

jebuz wrote: »

Friday 09/01 - 5.5 miles recovery @ 8:15 min/mile

Still quite tired today and I knew there was a monster weekend of running ahead of me. Our club heads down to Banna this time every year for a training weekend so a very light recovery was the only order of the day. Windy as usual, passed viperlogic on the straight road doing a session and suddenly felt a little better, the thoughts of doing repeats (1200's I think) in those conditions, ouch!

Yup, 5x1200, of which 3 were into that dam wind! It, that being the wind, literally nearly killed me on Saturday then!

jebuz

yaboya1 wrote: »

This is when you know you've crossed the line from normal person to committed runner

p.s Not surprised you were tired on Friday after that monster run on Thursday :pac:

I dunno, I think that line might have been crossed when I ran loops around an airport

Bulmers74

yaboya1 wrote: »

p.s Not surprised you were tired on Friday after that monster run on Thursday :pac:

39.9 miles @ 6:5x pace - thought 'twas Ray Lanigans log for a second

jebuz

Ahhhh ahem, that was 9.9 miles, not 39.9. I was wondering what yaboya meant, I didn't think it was that monster

jebuz

Monday 12/01 - 10 miles @ 8:02 min/mile

Very easy run being careful not to push it too hard after a pretty intense weekend. Nice hilly route right around the northsoide. I relaxed and enjoyed this one and I think even if I tried to go faster I wouldn't have been able, auto-recovery mode was firmly switched on.

Tuesday 13/01 - 10.2 miles @ 6:50 min/mile

I was apprehensive about this as it would be my first speedy track session in a while, 5 x 1km would have probably been the session. (Un)fortunately the track was in no condition to train on with the ice/snow so the coach sent us all for an easy 70 mins. Well it started off easy but pace gradually picked up and the last couple of miles turned into essentially a race running close to 5:30 min/mile pace by the end, I guess we all wanted to feel like it was a bit of a session. I felt great though, particularly at the end and the aerobic strength from the base building was evident, a very enjoyable run. There were a few hairy moments with the black ice and disappointingly nobody fell on their arse.

Wednesday 14/01 - 12 miles mixed

AM: 5 miles @ 8:22 min/mile
Woke up at 7am to a blanket of white snow, well it was still dark but I knew it was there. I found it very hard to eject my arse from the bed, my first planned double day in a long while so I didn't want to back down. Well I knew it was going to be a ropey one from the first step, the crunchy snow gave me a bit of grip but I still had to be careful for icy patches. Headed into the city and back and found it quite enjoyable in the end, the road were deserted and I got to enjoy the beauty of it all before the world woke up. I was passing a school after about 2 miles and I heard a deep voice "now that's dedication". It was still pretty dark and I couldn't see anybody so I just laughed and continued on. On the way back it was a bit brighter and it turns out it was the school janitor now shovelling snow out of the school yard. I know, hilarious story but that's what you get with this log.

AM: 7 miles @ 7:43 min/mile
Well I was glad I got to enjoy the snow because it was extremely short lived. By lunch time the clouds had moved in, the wind was picking up and by 6pm it was pure hell out there, I have to draw a line somewhere. Lucky I had heard the weather reports this morning and I anticipated it might be a day for the threadmill so I brought my gear into work. As always, a very, very boring exercise but I just zoned out and got it done, 7 miles and possibly the longest I spent on a threadmill, more like a shítmill. Some core work afterwards and it's job done, I'm outta here. Absolutely destroyed on the way to the car, wetter than an otters pocket.

jebuz

Thursday 15/01 - 11.3 miles @ 6:52 min/mile (with 30 min track tempo @ 5:50 min/mile)

What a difference a week makes. This was a huge improvement from the tempo last week where conditions were not that different. Last week I was hanging on to the group, effort was forced, I was lethargic and it just wasn't enjoyable. I ran a 3 mile warmup down to the track but nothing seemed to be warming up. Conditions were pretty horrific, heavy rain and a nasty wind had me fearing the worst for this session. We gathered into our groups and then dove straight into the session - 30 mins @ 5:50 was the plan though I didn't expect we'd hit that pace with the conditions, it would be more about sustaining a decent effort. The rain was coming down hard but wind was dying a little and I seemed to slot right into the pace feeling comfortable. The rain gradually subsided and I started to enjoy it, a little. I didn't check the pace for the whole session and just focussed on the track ahead, my breathing and ensuring I was always relaxed. The 30 mins seemed to fly by and I was surprised to see the mile splits afterwards: 5:58, 5:50, 5:49, 5:48, 5:44. Pretty satisfied with that effort and nothing like completing a session like that when the elements are stacked against you. Ran pretty swiftly back up the hill as I had the dinner in the oven, perfectly cooked

Friday 16/01 - 5 miles recovery @ 7:55 min/mile

Up early for this one as I wanted to get it in early to allow myself a longer recover for the Saturday session. Still dark, still half asleep but just got it ticked off, nice run.

jebuz

Saturday 17/01 - 4 x 10 mins grass session (12 miles)

Twas a chilly morning in Cork, a blanket of ice shrouded the land at 9am but no time for a lie-in, straight to work. After spending 10 minutes trying to de-ice my car - the de-icer even started freezing - I was off to the UCC farm for my first session there in almost 3 months. These are the sessions I think were key to the buildup to DCM, I know how effective they are combined with the long run on tired legs so I'm keen to get straight back into them. The session was 4 x 10 mins hard off 2 minutes recovery and was I think the best session I've ran in a while. I didn't expect it to go so well, in fact I expected to be lagging behind my Rotterdam compatriots but I was right up there today and though it was quite tough at times, I kept focussed and got there in the end.

After a frosty 2 mile warmup, I threw on the spikes. The ground was still hard but beginning to thaw and I anticipated a bit of a muckfest by the end of the session, I was right. I was in with a group of 5 with a smaller group of 3 just ahead of us. We were straight into a 5:40 pace which took a few minutes for me to settle into but I relaxed and felt I was running well within myself. The spikes were a good call, I was getting good grip but feeling every single bump, I just hope it doesn't impact tomorrows long run. We kept the same effort and pace for the 2nd and 3rd reps, working hard but still manageable and I was surprised how well it was going. I seemed to recover very quickly between the reps.

By the 4th rep, we were all tiring a little but the pace was consistent though effort a little increased. I ended up closing in on and joining the top group of 3 lads which was a great feeling, I didn't expect to be anywhere near these guys yet. One of those guys in particular made a big jump last year and ran a lot of times that are my goals for this year. To be within touching distance in training means I am definitely going to hit my goals? Surely, it's basic science. Seriously though I won't lie, I was working extremely hard for the last few minutes and definitely in the red zone but stuck it out until the end and finishing right behind the lads.

Class session, high 5's all around and a lot of bending over with hands on knees. I think once again emphasises the benefits of working in a group, how hard that would have been on my own. We all pushed each other hard, kept the effort honest and that's what you get out of a club. 2 miles cooldown and we're done, how I missed the farm and that feeling of having a hard session done by 11am on a Saturday. Time for brekkie!

Splits (2 min recovery):
1.77 miles in 10 mins @ 5:39 min/mile
1.77 miles in 10 mins @ 5:40 min/mile
1.76 miles in 10 mins @ 5:41 min/mile
1.75 miles in 10 mins @ 5:43 min/mile

Oh my jesus, Aldi mustard sausages are pure disgusting! I just took a bite out of one and spit it back out, what am I going to do with them now. This is the worst day ever

pconn062

That's a savage session, makes my 1x10 mins hard on grass this morning look pathetic (Although I did do 6x1 min up hill as well!

). Great steady splits.

rom

pconn062 wrote: »

That's a savage session

Sure was. I actually got an email about it. "Uh oh! jebuz just stole your CR!" forgot I was even on strava.

jebuz

Sunday 18/01 - 25.2 miles mixed

AM: 20.1 miles in 2:22 @ 7:05 min/miles

Up at ridiculous o'clock for this one, some from the club were meeting at 8am and not wanting to trudge around on my own for 20 miles I reluctantly headed along, still dark for feck sake. The ice had declared war once again overnight so roads were pretty much ruled out unless we wanted to risk a few broken limbs. I held out hope that we'd hit the roads at some stage but no, somehow we did 20 miles around the pitches. It wasn't actually that bad, good company, the legs felt great and it just flew by as we ticked off the laps. The 7 min/mile pace felt very comfortable so a good sign. I was feeling every single bump though and a slight pain from the spikes the day before but overall really positive run considering the effort put in yesterday.

PM: 5.1 miles @ 8:02 min/miles

A Donie special, 5 extra miles thrown in the evening of a long run. Wrapped up warm and headed into the city not feeling any major tiredness from this morning so I knew this was within my limits. I enjoyed it though and a few lessons learned from last time I tried it:

1. Apply vaseline
2. Slow down

I put both into action and everything went to plan keeping the pace very relaxed. The legs still felt good and there was minimal issues with chafing. Collected a Thai takeaway, cracked open a cold ale and feet up for the evening - 'ave it!

So a great finish to a quality weekend of training and to be honest I feel I'm slightly ahead of where I expected to be at this stage and looking forward to the Dungarvan 10 miler coming up. The key is not to get complacent, as I introduce more quality I need to watch the volume and signs of niggles and generally be sensible when possible.

Weekly milage: 85.8

dublin runner

Great going.

There's looks to be a great group in Leevale at the moment. Is that the main group of is there a group a bit ahead to target? I know in my club there's quite a big jump up to the lads ahead (sub 71 half or thereabouts). The sessions they do are simply beyond me.

How's the racing schedule working out towards the cool windless day that will be Rotterdam??! The race is due a day like that!

jebuz

Cheers, you're to be flying yourself lately, putting some miles in those legs. Yeah there's a good group of 5/6 heading over to Rotterdam, most sub 2:40 runners already so working in with them and being able to match the sessions is a big confidence boost.

There's still a good gap to the top runners in the club though, we've one guy capable of a sub 65 half and then a few running 65-72 and like you, the sessions they do are beyond me, right now

It's great though to have these guys around in training to learn off (and to build your dreams off)

So far I've just the Dungarvan 10 miler and the Mallow 10. I will probably knock the Enniscorthy 10k on the head as it's a week after Dungarvan, I think it'll be counterproductive. It's the hometown race and I've been wanting to do it for some while but I think it would be a bad call. Other than that I'll try squeeze in a shorter race between the two 10-milers and that should do me.

What about you? Tralee coming up and then?

RacoonQueen

Serious work going on here jebuz...25 miles in one day...we'll get an ultra out of you yet

dublin runner

jebuz wrote: »

Cheers, you're to be flying yourself lately, putting some miles in those legs. Yeah there's a good group of 5/6 heading over to Rotterdam, most sub 2:40 runners already so working in with them and being able to match the sessions is a big confidence boost.

There's still a good gap to the top runners in the club though, we've one guy capable of a sub 65 half and then a few running 65-72 and like you, the sessions they do are beyond me, right now It's great though to have these guys around in training to learn off (and to build your dreams off)

So far I've just the Dungarvan 10 miler and the Mallow 10. I will probably knock the Enniscorthy 10k on the head as it's a week after Dungarvan, I think it'll be counterproductive. It's the hometown race and I've been wanting to do it for some while but I think it would be a bad call. Other than that I'll try squeeze in a shorter race between the two 10-milers and that should do me.

What about you? Tralee coming up and then?

Looks like a good solid approach. Fantastic to have such a good group down there.

My plan? Well it's really all about 5k training starting in March (most likely). Just trying to get a good solid base before attempting a plan like Magness. I'm going to shuffle/run the National 50km next month in Donadea. God help me! Really want to give a marathon a go in April but fighting the urge. Trying to look at the bigger picture and all that!

jebuz

Monday 19/01 - 10 miles @ 8:02 min/mile

Very light but enjoyable run with a clubmate after work. After a weekend which no doubt stressed the body there was only one gear this evening and we were perfectly happy with that. I've learned over the past year the importance of recovery days. Not long ago I'd have mindlessly run this at a pace far from recovery, wearing myself down and increasing my risk of injury for little gain. That said some people just don't need the recovery and get away with it, its finding the individual balance and I think this works well ofr me. I'm aiming for 3 sessions this week so the focus is heading into each of those feeling fresh.

Tuesday 20/01 - 11.5 miles w/ 5 x 1km on track

So I managed to escape this one last week with the frost but no sir, not today. The time had come for my first real speed session since around September of last year. By speed session I mean running quicker than my 10 mile pace so I was intrigued to see how the base building had, if at all, affected my speed.

I jogged a nice 3 mile warmup down to the track, chilly evening but nice and calm, good conditions. The planned session was 5 x 1km and I said I'd see how I fared in the 3:20 min group, 80 second laps.

1. 3:17 - In with a group of 6/7 and relaxed right into the pace, working hard but well within my limits.
2. 3:20 - I took this one on and paced it pretty much bang on, probably because my head was fixated on my watch for most of it. I hate that pressure!
3. 3:19 - Fully relaxed into the session now and just a matter of clocking off the remaining reps. Any pre-session tension I had faded, I knew now I was well able to finish this one out.
4. 3:16 - Someone decided to inject a little pace into this rep, the group divided a little but I felt strong and went with it.
5. 3:16 - Last one and still felt strong, last rep is always that little bit easier when you know you're nearly home. There was a spurt at the end by a few guys, I saw no point of racing the last 100 meters though I swear I could have gone with them, train don't strain.

Good session and very pleased to find it so manageable coming off base training. I finished feeling not completely wrecked so good signs overall. Off I ran the 3 miles back up the hill and home.

jebuz

Wednesday 21/01 - 12.3 miles mixed

AM: 5.2 miles @ 8:16 min/mile

Can't really remember this so I actually had to check the route just now. Ah yes, still dark, legs pretty tired from the session so took it very easy and was a fairly bumpy route, just got it done.

PM: 7.1 miles @ 7:43 min/mile

Bit more awake so headed straight from after work with a clubmate. Nice jog into the city and picked the pace up in the middle before tackling the hill home. Felt great and really surprised by the low 117bpm heart rate on a hilly route but double checked my monitor when I got home and its working fine, can't explain it but I think it's good. For one particular patch along the river, it was only about 200 meters long and just before I started climbing home, I just felt completely in the zone like everything just clicked. I was tipping along at about 6:30-6:45 pace and it felt completely effortless like I could go forever, love those moments. Bit of core work afterwards and then headed for my bi-weekly rub down with a clubmate, usual torture.

Thursday 22/01 - 15.9 miles mixed

Lunch: 3.9 miles easy @ 7:47

Had a lunchtime gym session planned but I looked out the window at the blue sky, the sun was shining and I couldn't resist a 30 min jog, very enjoyable. Still managed to slip into the gym for 30 mins for some resistance work.

PM: 11.9 miles w/ 30 mins track tempo @ 5:41 min/mile

Jogged my usual 3 miles down to the club, was feeling a little tired so wondered how this would go. I jumped in with the 5:50 min/mile group which was fairly packed today. Eased right into the pace feeling very comfortable and ticked off the first mile at 5:53. The pace then gradually picked up to 5:40ish, some starting to drop off the back but I was feeling strong so went with it. This suited me well, I wanted to get a good hard tempo in before the 10 miler next week to get that feeling in the legs. Next 4 miles were 5:44, 5:43, 5:34 and 5:41. The effort was hard but controlled, always breathing well and the body felt it was moving very well. I kept an eye on the HR during the session and it too was controlled throughout, pretty much around the HR I'd expect for a half marathon. Once again the session flew by, just 4 of us by the end, 5.25 miles covered, all working well together and delighted to see the splits afterwards. Exactly the session I needed before Dungarvan. Somewhere in there I ran a 17:30 5k and once again beat my 5 mile PB, hint hint run a 5 miler. A nice cooldown jog back up the hill and got home feeling pretty satisfied with a great days training. Feet up with dinner and a cold brew swiftly followed.

Friday 23/01 - 5.1 miles @ 7:55 min/mile

Drove down into the city for this one, parked up at the Mardyke and took a nice relaxed loop around the city before running a few laps on the track. Legs a little tired as expected but I think these recoveries do more for me than actually not running. That's it for today, letting the batteries recharge for another Saturday special coming up.

jebuz

Saturday 24/01 (AM) - 2 x 10 mins & 2 x 5 mins on grass (10 miles)

With Dungarvan in mind, the coach pulled back todays session to 2 x 10 mins and 2 x 5 mins. Though it wouldn't be as tough as last week, it's still 30 mins of hard running on an energy sapping surface and I really felt the cumulative fatigue of the 3 sessions today. The pitches were fairly muddy in places and pretty cut up by the end of the session, give me frost any day. First 10 minutes were manageable but the legs were tired, backed off a little for the 2nd and then the 2 x 5 mins were just a case of getting them done. Good session overall, wasn't quite hitting the heights of last week but did fit in the 3 sessions this week so I'll take the positives.

Splits (2 min recovery)
1.75 miles in 10 mins @ 5:44 min/mile
1.66 miles in 10 mins 5:53 min/mile
0.85 miles in 5 mins @ 5:55 min/mile
0.86 miles in 5 mins @ 5:44 min/mile

Saturday 24/01 (PM) - 5 miles @ 8:09 min/mile

I was inside all day working on music and wanted to get outside for a walk or something. Of course I wasn't going to walk so I decided to take a little recovery jog since I knew the long run was being cut back to 10 miles tomorrow. Drove into the city and headed for a nice recovery from the session this morning. I turned off all the data on the watch and just ran as I felt, nice run.

jebuz

Sunday 25/01 - 10.8 miles @ 7:04 min/mile

Rounding off the week by pulling back the long run to just 75 mins. Down to the marina with a few clubmates on a nice calm and mild morning and ticked off 10+ comfortable miles, legs felt good. I've been so used to the 2+ hour long runs that I actually felt lazy after this one.

Weekly milage: 80.6

Monday 26/01 - 8.9 miles @ 7:53 min/mile

I had felt there was a cold on the horizon over the weekend but the lemon and ginger drinks couldn't fend it off and it hit me today. Stuffed up, snotty, headache, drowsy, you know the deal. Think the sessions have possibly caught up on me and I'm just glad this is an easy week. I felt better in the evening so I went out for a light trot, nothing to write home about really just a relaxed recovery pace. I found my old iPod shuffle and so I listened to music while running for the first time in maybe 2 years, was weird but kinda nice, no promises but I might do it again sometime.

Tuesday 27/01 - Rest

Not feeling recovered today and still blocked up so not wanting to risk getting worse before the race on Sunday I took today off and settled down with Netflix for the evening. Maybe I shouldn't have ran yesterday, maybe.

jebuz

Wednesday 28/01 - 10.1 treadmill miles @ 7:37 min/mile

Today I smashed a world record of longest time spent on a treadmill, 77 mins. I was feeling pretty shítty still in the morning but gradually throughout the day the water dripping from my nose subsided. The plan was to just get a few miles ticked off on the treadmill and I wasn't going to risk going out to mix it up with the elements. I felt pretty good once I got going and ended up ticking off handy 10 miles. It wasn't too bad today, I had Frank Underwood and the lads to keep me company on Netflix, Frank what will you ever get up to next. Happy to be recovering and back on track for super Sunday. I still hate the treadmill though.

jebuz

Thursday 29/01 - 9.3 miles w/15 mins tempo @ 5:39 min/mile

Well on the mend so was up for a short tempo tonight despite that snappy weather. Usual 3 miles jog down to the club but as I got to the track saw a mass exodus of runners. Apparently the track was a little frozen so the coach threw us out on the road. The plan was just 15 mins for the Dunvgarvan bunch, easy right. I jumped into the quicker group tonight hoping for a decent pace and assurance for Sunday, good intentions but in hindsight not the smartest. Effort felt harder than it should have but still stayed with the group. We turned after about 7/8 mins and it was just myself and another lad and pace picked up to about 5:25-30 min/mile which we kept going to the end. Was pretty fecked afterward to be honest but the sickness is probably still lingering so I shouldn't read into it, but I will.

This was in essence a sharpener for Sunday and I wish I was coming away a little more confident but a combination of the lousy cold, the effort tonight and an achilles that flared up this evening, I'm not incredibly excited - right now. I think I need to remind myself of the good injury-free couple of months training I've just had, the comfortable return to sessions recently and the fact this isn't exactly a goal race. I think I'll take the next 2 days off running and hopefully that'll have me fully rested and recovered for Sunday, to hell with weekly milage *nervous laughter, fetal position*.

yaboya1

Best of luck tomorrow.
Do you fancy a pb?

jebuz

Cheers man but not entirely sure if I'll run, achilles is still not 100% though I've not run since Thursday and I can still feel it niggling me slightly. I'll know for sure in the warmup tomorrow and not taking any risks if I feel pain during.

Had I have had a better week without sickness or injury I would have been fairly confident of a sub 56 which would be a generous PB but not a disaster by any means if I don't hit that as the training is still bagged. Still, I'll take a PB if I can nab one

yaboya1

jebuz wrote: »

Cheers man but not entirely sure if I'll run, achilles is still not 100% though I've not run since Thursday and I can still feel it niggling me slightly. I'll know for sure in the warmup tomorrow and not taking any risks if I feel pain during.

Had I have had a better week without sickness or injury I would have been fairly confident of a sub 56 which would be a generous PB but not a disaster by any means if I don't hit that as the training is still bagged. Still, I'll take a PB if I can nab one

Ok, but if you don't you don't get any TC