running up that hill

Sun 15/03
MSB 5K in 17:45. Well-organised race and a nice route. My first time this year and it's definitely one I'll do again. Watch malfunctioned which meant no splits data. Good to meet davemacmahon for a chat & RedRunner beforehand & AuldManKing.

Tues 17/03
9.04 miles in 1:07:17. At home for this. Steady for 7 miles at about 8m/m. Finishing off at about 5 mile pace. Average pace 7:29m/m.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6558715

AuldManKing wrote: »

Think I met you briefly with Dave after the race - I thought he was actually introducing you as Vanderlyle - I was thinking 'what a strange name'..................never copped it was a boardsie handle








I hope your name is not Vanderlyle

Nope! Although Vanderlei could be a possibility.

Might catch you at the Dunboyne 4 mile - half thinking of doing it next. I've never ran a 4-miler before either.

AuldManKing wrote: »

then I thought it was a reference to a song by The National??

Yes that's where I got the name from. It was only afterwards that I remembered it sounded a bit like Vanderlei.

The band were a slow burner at first, but I've grown to really like them. Saw them in the Iveagh gardens on a beautiful Friday night last summer, they were excellent.

Wed 25/03
6.7 miles in 54:06 = 8.04m/m
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6564961
Started adding strides at the end of these runs. The last couple of hundred metres to home are up a hill which seems ideal for strides.

Thurs 26/03
7.0 miles in 53:40 = 7.40m/m including strides at the end.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6566093

Sat 28/03
4.7 miles in 35:21 = 7.31 m/m incl strides
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6567102
Just a short run to keep things ticking over ahead of Dunboyne tomorrow.

---

Plan for the rest of the year is beginning to come together. We just booked our holidays for mid-late May, so I want to make the most of the races on offer between now and then. After holidays then the marathon training will begin. Provisional list:

March/April
29/03 Dunboyne 4m
06/04 Raheny/Battle of Clontarf 10m
11/04 K Club Straffen 10K
25/04 BHAA 5m RTE

May - bank holiday weekend away for a stag weekend for a close friend and 2.5 weeks holidays.

June
20/06 - Dunshaughlin 10km

July
19/06 - Mullingar 10m

August
29/08 - Tullamore half

Sept
19/09 - Race series half

Oct
04/10 - Athlone 3/4 marathon TBC
26/10 - Dublin marathon

Niggle didn't go away. Kept the mileage very low this week with a couple of short recoveries all on grass. Still not feeling right this morning, so BHAA 10k got the chop. Headed up to the park instead to watch the great ireland. Hopefully next week will see an improvement.

Thurs 23/04
8.1 miles incl strides at the end. 7:48m/m


Friday
Rest


Sat 25/04 - BHAA RTE 5 mile
29:08 average pace 5:50m/m

This was my first BHAA race on a cloudy, cold & wet but thankfully relatively windless day. Parked early and registration went smoothly. Surprised to see squash courts and what I assumed from a distance to be a sauna in the RTE social centre - nice facilities!

After an aborted start, we were away, and I quickly settled into a rhythm of just under 6 minutes/mile. The route consisted of 4 laps, on more-or-less flat roads. Maybe it was the cloud-cover, or the sharp turns at the end of the straights, or the trees on Ailesbury rd, but something played havoc with my watch's signal. The pace reading varied from 5:35 to 6:20 at times, so I ended up not paying too much attention to pace, just focusing on the elapsed time as I passed the mile markers. Happily, each mile marker was showing me on-target for sub 30.

At the finish, I didn't know that they would want the race number back. It must have taken me 5 minutes to unclasp the safety pins with my numb fingers. Then there were a few murmurings that the route was short. My own watch read 4.95, and I heard someone say 7.9km... for the reasons mentioned above, I chose to ignore those voices


Sunday
6.1 miles @ 8.02 m/m

Saturday 09/05
Waterstown parkrun - 18:50 avg pace 6.04m/m
6.4 miles total
Its a nice park by the Liffey with what seemed like as many volunteers as runners. The route is tricky with a couple of sharp turns, a long & steep descent in the first mile, and a climb to the finish. Plan was to keep it steady around 6m/m pace (aim for a finishing time of 18:36), but that fell away in the third mile.


Sunday 10/05
Medium long run 13.5 miles @ 8.21m/m
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6606208
This route took in some of the 2nd half of DCM. Felt a bit wrecked by mile 10, but perked up and felt a bit more comfortable by the end. That said I was still glad of the lift home from the city. Another 4 miles would have seen me home (would have made a total of 17.5), but I'm keen not to go too far too soon.

HenryGreen wrote: »

Hey vanderlyle,

Looks like the training is going well.

Just a few questions for the strides session you mentioned. How do you work your strides into the run? Do you do them all together at the end of your run? How much 'recovery' do you do between each 100m stride? And, for each 100m stride, are you just going flat out? (Just wondering what the reasoning is behind it)

Cheers

The aim with the strides is to improve speed and running form. I generally get them in towards the end of an easy run. Say last Wednesday, I ran about 7 miles easy, then did the strides one after the other as one set. I then had a very easy 1 mile warm down jog home. Recovery between each was just walking back to the start, probably 60+ seconds. No I don't run them flat out, I try to gradually accelerate up to a fast speed over the first 2 thirds while maintaining good posture and technique, then decelerating over the last third.

There's a lot more to them and I'm no expert. There was a discussion on the random running questions thread recently (I think) and another thread on the main page. When I find it I'll link here.

Edit: here's one of the threads
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057240692

Getting back into the swing of things after a great holiday in the U.S. Me & mrs V took a trip to California, one of those trips that we have always talked and dreamed of doing. So many great moments but a particular highlight was Yosemite national park, make sure you get a few days there if you're ever planning a trip. Didn't do a whole lot on the running front, and I definitely over-indulged with food, wine, and beer. Time to rein in my fondness for desserts!

And what better way than to kick off training for the Dublin marathon. I'm going to follow a P&D plan with a few switches to allow for clashes with the "known knowns": work, a wedding, and the occasional race. The dream is sub 3 hours, and McMillan suggests that it should be possible. However, as a dweller of the real world, I don't think so. It's my first marathon, and I lack experience at the longer distances. As the weeks pass, I'll get a sense of a more realistic target. Feel free to comment, the more the merrier, I'm open to hearing (if not heeding, though I will try) your advice/ warnings/ tips/ criticism.

Week 1 of 21 - easing back in

Mon 1/6
Nothing. Jet lagged and stiff after 12 hours flying, I couldn't muster the energy. Instead I fell asleep on a chair at 4pm.

Tues 2/6
5.8 miles easy around the park. Up at 6:20am for this - a rarity for me. The body clock being out of sorts, I knew there was no point trying to get back to sleep.
47:11 avg 8:08 m/m

Wed 3/6
5.8 miles easy. Planned for more, but cut it short with dodgy bowels.
48:34 avg 8:22 m/m

Thurs 4/6
Nothing. Long day in work.

Fri 5/6
7.0 miles easy. Nice morning. Phoenix park, I have missed you.
57:47 avg 8:15

Sat 6/6
6.1 miles easy
51:14 avg 8:24

Sun 7/6
10.7 miles easy. Headed home to see the folks and did this on my usual loop in the countryside. Added on some extra bits to stretch it out as a rest day is planned for tomorrow (mon).
90 mins avg 8:25

Week total = 35.4 miles

20 weeks to go. 141 days...

Been a while since I updated this, the time has flown. Since the last post, I've made a few changes. Bought a new foam roller, upped the water intake, and I'm forcing myself to get away from the desk in work more often. I think a key change is that I'm now trying to run less on my forefoot. Got some advice on that being a likely cause of my sore calves. I've also adjusted my expectations about how much training I can do given my (relatively) limited background. It's not realistic for me to run 6 days out of 7 every week. Some might say I'm pussying out, but I need to give myself every chance to recover enough to get the required training done, and that's simply not been happening. So there will be a few chops and changes to the training plan I had devised. So far so good, after a few easy runs and days off, last night's long run couldn't have gone much better. But first,

Dunshaughlin 10K
38:46
average pace: 6.14 m/m
splits: 5:59/6:05/6:14/6:29/6:36/6:17/1:06 (5:30 pace)

Of the last two weeks up to yesterday, I had a few easy runs of 6 or 7 miles. The only significant outing was the Dunshaughlin 10km. I have raced very few 10Ks (compared to 5Ks, 5 miles, and 10 miles), and I have never enjoyed them, for various reasons. I have struggled with pacing in the past, e.g. gone out at 5 mile pace, and died a death. This particular 10K was unenjoyable for another reason: a bad stitch came on midway though which knocked me back. I watched as the pace displayed on the watch dropped from 6:05 to 6:55. At one stage, I felt like pulling over and dropping out. I was bent over and grimacing as people sped by. I didn't know how to react, as I had never experienced that in a race before.

So where did the stitch come from? I'm still mystified. Heat? It was warm, but no warmer than I'm used to as of late. Time of day? I don't run many races in the evenings, but I have done some before with no side-effects. Food? I do get stitches very easily if I eat too soon before a run, so I made sure to leave plenty time. I can't point to any stand-out difference from normal race preparation.

The stitch did leave eventually, and I picked up the pace. Finished strongly, but left wondering what might have been. A sub 38 should have been within my abilities.


Bulgaria
An old friend got married in Bulgaria last weekend. Brought my runners and got out for two early-morning easy runs on trails near the hotel with a friend. Mostly rest and relaxation, with a few dips in the black sea. Sunny Beach is not for everyone, but it is the main hub of activity around there. We stayed in a quieter resort a few miles away with its own beach and waterpark.


A mini-breakthrough?
Tues 30/06
18.2 miles @ 8.39 m/m
2 hours 37 mins

With my training plan in tatters, I resolved to get out on Tuesday and get in a long run. Set off around 8.10pm slowly towards the Chapelizod gate of the park, with the plan being to do 2x 5.6-mile laps of my favourite route around the park. Coupled with the 2x 0.7-mile trip from my house & back, this would make approx 12.6 miles.

As I was coming towards the start of the second lap, about 50 minutes in, I began to hit my stride. I felt like I was in a real sweet spot, everything felt smooth & natural. The feeling lasted & lasted. As I ran on, I thought more about it, and I realised that I hadn't felt this comfortable running since early May, before I went on holiday.

Near the end of the second lap, the tiredness & calf soreness I expected were not there. I felt strong, comfortable, & confident of being able to complete a third lap, so I carried on. Towards the end of lap 3, by about 10.30pm, with the darkness fully closing in, it did feel harder, and my legs felt tired. But I forced myself to get up the hill and home.

By the end, I probably could not have gone much farther. I know I was only jogging around 8:15 to 8:45-minute miles, but I will take a huge amount of confidence from this. It's easily the longest distance & time I have ever run. My original plan did not have me covering 18 miles for a few more weeks. Almost 24 hours later, happy to report no niggles, calves are good, just general tiredness. I may get out tomorrow (Thurs) evening for a short recovery, but most likely will give it until Friday morning to get out again.

One lingering unresolved concern is nutrition. I need to test out the belly over the next few weeks, I've been putting it off for a long time.

Tues 14/07
40 mins easy. 4.9 miles avg 8.10 m/m


Wed 15/07
68 mins easy. 8.3 miles avg 8.14 m/m


Sat 18/07
Headed up to the paced mile in the park. I had never run 1 mile, and not having done any speed work lately I was not expecting much. Jogged up from the house and did a few stretches with the group as part of the warm up. The total group was quite small, maybe 50-60 by my guess. I joined the 5:30 pace group with 6 others.

The route took us down Chesterfield avenue towards the city at first. We turned at halfway just before the Phoenix monument, then back, into the wind, although almost perfectly flat. The pacer pushed on a little harder than 5:30 pace with 2 lads which suited me fine as it gave me something to chase. Crossed the line breathless but pleased with a time of 5:16.

Jogged home afterwards to make a total of 5.5 miles.


Sun 19/07
16 miles in 2:22, avg roughly 8.54 m/m. Legs felt good throughout and I could have pushed a little further but for some stomach cramps, so called it quits.

100 days to go...