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The breaks even out in the long run

Right....I've decided to give this internet logging thing another shot with a new, fresh and hopefully fluff free log. I've got over all of my injuries and started to get some consistent training in if you can count consistency in weeks:pac: but it's a start and the best II've put together in a few months. Motivation is burning high at the minute so I'm going to strike while the iron is hot and try and keep it simple and hopefully progress on that methodology.

I've dropped all thoughts of running an Autumn marathon against my worst judgement and focus on the short long stuff, a contradiction to start off the log off on a trend that is sure to follow but hopefully, anybody who reads this will call me out on those contradictions where they can a reign me in. Honestly, any and all input is welcome and I won't take it personally, there's always room for improvement and that's what I'm looking for from this log.

The Gameplan going forward for this year is to focus on track for the next month in a buildup to Munster Outdoor 3000m steeplechase on the 28th June and then to start giving my full focus on the roads over 5/10k until XC season kicks off where I hope to run a full season for the first time. The plan training wise is to considerbly raise my mileage over the rest of the year and set me up to make a big attack on 2016, I know......a long time away yet but I refer you to the title of this log and see if it holds true:). The goal being to prove myself wrong and my coach right but we'll take that step by step and under wraps for the time being.

PB's

3k: 10:45(2014)
5k: 18:34(2013)
10k: 39:46(2014)
HM: 1.26:26(2013)
M: 3.15:29 (2013)

Will update my log tomorrow with what I have being doing for the last couple of weeks but the leaba is calling now.

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Ya big feckin wuss. Gloves, compression top and hat. WTF!😀

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Looks like you need a good meal, a shave and tie your feckin laces

TbL

You're only jealous!:p

Believe it or not, I'm actually as pudgy as I've ever been right now, Dug up this shot taken about 2 months before the DCM 14, now that's scrawny, great shape though;)

Wild Garlic wrote: »

Ya big feckin wuss. Gloves, compression top and hat. WTF!ðŸ˜€

Yeah yeah yeah, I'd rather be a warm wuss than a cold hard man and you forgot the beard:cool::)

El Caballo wrote: »

You're only jealous!:p

Believe it or not, I'm actually as pudgy as I've ever been right now, Dug up this shot taken about 2 months before the DCM 14, now that's scrawny, great shape though;)

I reckon there's a rude word shaved in the back of your head. Guy behind you looks very curious...

... and slightly disgusted

KielyUnusual wrote: »

I reckon there's a rude word shaved in the back of your head. Guy behind you looks very curious... ... and slightly disgusted

And were you only fannying about rather than running at any decent clip coz there isn't a hair outta place (kinda like Tangs

)

TbL

Tuesday 12th April- 3 Mile Recovery

My calf was acting up a bit again last night so took a really hot bath in Epsom salts which took some of the strain off. Seemed better this morning and I decided to go for a recovery jog to free out the legs and test it out, felt absolutely fine during the run but seems to have tightened up again since I stopped so it looks like a tough session on the roller is on the cards.

Club workout is on tonight and I'm unsure whether I'll do it, I've gone 8, 9 or 10 days straight I think without a rest and while the mileage was pretty low, it's been session heavy with races and runs and I'm coming from a base of nothing so it's probably better if I avoid it, might go back for a few easy miles on grass instead.

Tuesday 12th April- PM: 7 Miles Easy Grass

Headed back to the club session tonight to meet up with coach and see what the plan is and was told not to run the workout and top around with a few easy miles for the evening so I just done a few loops of the boggy XC course while everyone done the session. Legs felt pretty good during the run, really nice to get out on the grass again on an absolutely cracking evening, pure bliss and it felt easier on the calf.

I've got a pretty solid idea of the plan going forward as well now. He basically said we're going back to scratch with me and going to build up slowly from the ground on everything with a view to getting me ready for high mileage and tough sessions down the road. This will involve long single runs with a lot of focus on shorter fast sprints of 100's and 200's starting off and progressing slowly upwards as he says I'm not strong enough to get all the benefit of longer sessions yet and working on my basic speed and endurance will do wonders for when I am ready. My mileage is been limited for as well as I've came back from nothing a little on the steep side so I'll only be running 5 days a week for the next few weeks with relatively low mileage of 35-40 for me where he said I can't rush back in and need to be patient just like Myles said above. Results probably won't come quick but if I can keep it going, they'll come.

Looking forward to it now.

Thursday 14th April- 5 Miles Easy

Hhhmm, strange feeling to say the least! After a big enough start to the week, I suddenly feel like I'm holding myself back knowing I have only 5 runs and 35 miles on the cards for this week. it was hard not to head out on the longer route today and to hold myself to 5 miles as I felt like doing more which is a different kettle of fish to how I looked at a single 5 mile run with dread a little over a month ago. Yesterday was a rest day as well and with Tuesday's run on grass, I wasn't really beat up so that makes a difference too. Body was feeling fresh this evening so this was nice and enjoyable, calves behaved themselves too which was a bonus.

Time to move on from Rotterdam so as good a time as any to change the log title. In true fashion of being a walking contradiction, I've moved on by going back to the past and picking my old log title:) which is my favourite running quote "They say the breaks even out in the long run, The trick is to be a long distance runner" but that doesn't fit so here we are. I was going to go with "Oprah ran a marathon, she ain't running no damn steeple" but I'd have to change that again in three months which goes against my new motto of consistency. So there you go, fluff out of the way and onto my training.

Friday 15th April- 5 Miles Easy

Tight hamstrings for some reason, a lot of kinks still to iron out as my body is still getting used to running again.

Saturday 16th April- 10 Miles Long

It's been a while! Dreading this to be honest, although I've done more miles on days of races in some days in the last few weeks, they were broken up by the races so it never felt like I was doing as many as I was. It's been a while since I did an actual long run and they are always the runs I struggle to get into the rhythm of when getting back into training and today was no different. First few miles went by with no real problem, so much so that I cant remember most of them but I started to struggle around 8 Miles in, just started to go a bit flat, nothing horrendous but I was working a bit harder to move the legs. To be expected I suppose, endurance needs work.

Sunday 17th April- 143km Cycle w/110km Sportif @ 29.6kph Avg

Not running but obviously will have an effect on training and what else would you do when you are supposed to be resting but go out on a balls to the wall effort into terrority of unknown distances by a long way on a bike when you have absolutely no recent training under your belt and are not bike fit, clock up just short of 100 miles with a 110km Sportif in the middle with climbs that average 7-8% with stretches falling just short of 20% in places in a few hours and bonk because I've no idea how to pace it.

Great craic all the same but the distance hit me like a ton of bricks and the only running comparison I can make is that right now, I feel like I ran a marathon, quads are shot and my back is a write-off and I'm extremely tired. Off for pints now but I might write a report tomorrow because it was a big learning experience for me.

Wednesday 20th April- 3 Miles Easy

Rarely ever get sick but I woke up Monday as sick as a dog, my legs weren't sore from the bike at all really but I felt really run down Sunday evening and obviously picked something up. Felt like crap all this week so didn't run until today while still feeling terrible. Decided to go for a loop around town but my HR went up like a shot when I started out and I've no energy. Got the loop done but it wasn't pretty. Will see how the body is tomorrow and play it by ear for the rest of the week, hopefully it passes quickly.

Friday 22nd April- AM: 6 Miles Easy PM: 58km Cross train

Back on track:) A few days under the weather but felt ready to go this morning. Got cracking before dawn and knocked out 6 handy miles to get the day started, the body tipped away nicely and I got an urge at lunchtime to get out on the bike, savage day and it'd be a shame to waste it, ride felt like a piece of cake mentally after Sunday's exploits so I'm happy out. One of the most productive days I've put down in a while with a few other things done as well so through to style, I've to balance the books and go on the lash tonight.

Saturday 23rd April- 5 Miles Easy

Ugh! Never again.

Serves you right

Sunday 24th April- 6ish Miles Fastish

Still a little ropey, the legs were a little like planks, Coach wants me to vary the effort of my runs so I was down for a swift enough few miles today all things considered. Legs are a little one paced at the minute so the sensation and coordination was more than a little strange when pushing on.

Monday 25th April- 5 Miles Around GAA Pitch

Alright.

Tuesday 26th April- 7ish Inc. (1x12min w/2min Rec)(3x6min w/90s Rec)@6:38avg On Grass

Headed back to the club session tonight expecting to knock out an easy run but got thrown a curveball in joining in with the lads, haven't done anything remotely close to speedwork in months so I was bricking it when I heard the session, really tough one for me even when I'm in really good shape and have progressed to it so I wasn't expecting much especially considering my quads felt dead this morning and I was a bit one paced on Sunday's run but alas, some cracks appeared in my weakness and I actually felt strong for the first time in an age, my form felt good and there was at least a little speed there. Came as a shock to be honest when the lads gave the splits and although I probably overcooked it a bit, there was no catastrophic implosion and I'm not quite sure where this little breakthrough came from. Upper hamstrings and lower quads were the only real issue with lactate and to be fair to them, they're not used to running at that speed lately:D

Good to see some light at the end of the tunnel again.:)

Thursday 28th April- 4 Miles Easy w/strides

Easing down for the weekend, got the go ahead to race the half at the weekend if I feel good but to take the foot off the gas if I'm not feeling it early on. Quick little jog out to keep the body ticking over, fair windy out but the legs felt good, surprisingly wasn't sore yesterday either so I'll take that as a good sign that I'm recovering better than I was. My chest/shoulder is a bit of a write off after all the push-ups after Tuesdays session with DOMS as the left side is always tight anyway since I broke my collarbone, really need to work on upper body strength and flexibility.

Best of luck Sunday, don't do anything to crazy, run well.

Best of luck tomorrow, enjoy it!

All the best, horse.

Very best of luck. Rooting for you.

Give her stick boss

Have a good one and enjoy youself

Sandbagging again today I see, nice running all considered, well done.

Cheers for all the well wishes folks:)

tang1 wrote: »

Sandbagging again today I see, nice running all considered, well done.

Thanks B! Haha, First time I've ever been called a sandbagger. Just decided this morning that I'd have a crack off it and whatever would be, would be. Not too far off the pace I was running for 4 miles a couple of weeks so all good.

Saturday 30th April- 4 Mile Easy

Sunday 1st March- Great Limerick Run Half Marathon(1:33:03)

Bit of catchup before it all goes a little hazy. The Great Limerick Run was up on the cards today, I entered the half on the fly last weekend just because of it is my hometown race and the Munster Championships as well. The original plan was just to treat it as glorified long run but I got the all clear during the week to give it a go if I felt up to it, it would be a good training session at least. I was still really unsure about what kind of pace I'd go with all week as my fitness is still a bit up in the air and only made my mind up on the trip into town that I would go out at a quick pace and risk a blowup, had nothing to lose really.

Arrived in about 10:30, dropped off my bag and met up with a few of the lads for a quick chat before heading down to the finish line to see a Limerick man take the win in the marathon, supposed to be a sworn enemy but great to see:pac:. I was a little late because of that so had to make a quick enough dash to the start to be on time and not get stuck at the back. Went straight to the front row just to make sure that I would get the best gun position possible for the championship on the miraculous off chance that I would run an absolute blinder and make the team for the Munster Champs.

Race:

Got pushed to a quick enough start by the crowd and about a half mile in, I could hear someone in the group saying 6:30 pace so I gently took the foot off the pedal and waited for the 1:30 group to gradually reel me in before tucking in behind. Met an old mate from school here and had a quick chat before he moved on up in front of the group. I could feel it already that I wasn't going to last the distance with the group but just decided to see how far I could go, got that answer pretty quickly as they dropped me like a stone only 2 miles in and started to shove on pretty quickly.

As we came into Raheen, I caught up to a woman wouldn't let me pass her out and was intent on going stride for stride with me everything I tried to push on. That was just what I needed because as we passed 3 miles, I was feeling a lot rougher than I should with 10 miles still to go and at the toughest part of the course. We started to reel in a few fellow early stragglers of the 1:30 group before I finally pulled away at the turn on to the new section of the course which was a complete slogfest of a drag through the heart of Raheen. It was starting to get a bit clammy as well and my head was coming to boil as I finally crested the hill onto a nice a long awaited fast downhill section which I put the foot down on. Big mistake, I felt completely flat in my quads as we came out of Raheen and my calves were starting to cease with lactate, felt like I was barely moving as I came down off the flyover and onto Ballinacurra road at 5 miles and 3 of my toes had started to blister.

Thoughts had turned to a DNF so I had to have a little chat with myself coming along here and was just saying to myself "get back to the city, break the back of the hill at punches and you'll be fine, no repeat of last year". Slogged along until I got to the bottom of the hill at Punches cross and got a nice boost as coach had set up camp there so tried to push it up to the top and grabbed a bottle of lucozade sport, I must be allergic to the stuff because as soon as it hit my tongue, my stomach started to turn and had a feeling of impending doom that I was going to throw up. Managed to hold it off and start to pick up the pace down through the city centre with the help of a lot of familiar faces in the crowd.

Started to get a bit more positive as well as I was sure now that I'd finish the race so it was just a case of how quick I could get there. Rounded the corner at 8 miles and my form had turned to a shuffle as my legs seized up on the hill and I was back to the feeling of barely moving again. I kind of zoned out for the next few miles before catching a glimpse of my old mate about 200m down the road at 10 miles so this got the competitive juices flowing again and helped me lift it a bit. He hadn't completely blown up so I was just closing the gap very gradually over the next mile or two until I passed him right as we hit the mile to go marker, had a high pitched giggle with each other and I pulled away. Saw the clock on the bridge read 1:30:51 as I rounded the corner across the Shannon which I wasn't expecting, I was sure for the last few miles that the 1:35 group was going to blitz past me at any second. Spotted my nieces with 300m to go and got a few high 5's from them before picking it up when I saw the clock still barely under 1:33. Thought I nipped under but just missed out with a 1:33:03 finish

Thoughts:

It's hard to find faults with the performance, believe me, I've tried:D. I felt awful for the whole thing from first step to the last but still managed to surprise myself with the result and grinded it out. As I said above, it's very close to the pace I was running for 4 miles only a month ago which is a huge step in the right direction. I was far from half marathon ready as well training wise so I think it also bodes well for the shorter distances. I was school class of 2001 champion on the day too which was a nice accolade to have:D. I was a bit flabbergasted to see my splits on the tracker yesterday too, I wasn't wearing a watch so hadn't a clue of my splits but it turns out, I negative split the race which is a rare occurrence for me and it didn't feel like I did on the day, it felt like I was crawling during the second half when in fact, I was actually running faster.

Happy out all things considered and can hopefully shove on from here into the track season and get back into the shape I know I can be in.

Lucozade Sport is bleugh....... haven't had a drop since DCM '13! Ugh... shudder...

Well done El C. Great racing and all going in the right direction! Sounds like a very positive racing experience!

Ososlo wrote: »

Lucozade Sport is bleugh....... haven't had a drop since DCM '13! Ugh... shudder...

Well done El C. Great racing and all going in the right direction! Sounds like a very positive racing experience!

Thanks A! Stuff is like acid.

Forgot to mention in the report as well. Some of the lads ran an absolute blinder on Sunday. The results of the Munster Championships aren't out yet but I think we might of picked up a Munster silver in the team. I wasn't on the team, was 5th man home but top running from the lads.

More than two months gone past and still not hazy! Impressive

Very nice result after all the interruptions, take it easy for a week now.

Super : ) another example of how the head needs to be fitter than the legs - how's the body feeling after that now given the lack of specific training? Nice to be able to pull that out of the bag

hillsiderunner wrote: »

More than two months gone past and still not hazy! Impressive

Very nice result after all the interruptions, take it easy for a week now.

Haha, thanks M. Will do, don't think the body is giving me a choice.

Firedance wrote: »

Super : ) another example of how the head needs to be fitter than the legs - how's the body feeling after that now given the lack of specific training? Nice to be able to pull that out of the bag

Thanks AM. completely wrecked yesterday, couldn't manage the stairs so the lack of training hit me hard. A little better today but still really sore in my quads and calves.

Tuesday 3rd May- 5 Miles Recovery (10:16)

Fairly rough case of DOMS today. Headed back to the club session this evening and done a gentle but still tough recovery run on grass. Really tough to get going and my calves were like two concrete blocks for the first few laps before I finally started to loosen out after 3 miles. Kept the pace slow even when the legs were starting to freshen up just not to overdo it for no reason. Some evening for it and definitely felt all the better for struggling to even move starting off. Body seems to be getting better so I'll probably be able to get into easy running again tomorrow.