The main thing is keeping the main thing, the main thing

Friday 30th: Session 3m Progression + 5x1min

With a storm brewing I wanted to get ahead of it and do the session on Friday - not ideal as I done one on Wednesday - but hey ho.

3m Warm up and set off on the progression.
The main reason for doing this as a progression is that it would be a downhill'ish run - I knew I'd be out of daylight soon, so wanted to finish up on the Chapelizod Road for the 1min reps.
The Tempo took me down the North Road - turn left at the Triangle and then down Chesterfield Ave.
Splits were: 6.18 / 6.05 / 5.49

2 or 3 min light jog and onto the 5x1min - again - I wanted to do these progressive - but the 1st one was too fast at 5.06 pace.
Next 4 went - 5.17 / 5.13 / 5.08 / 4.57

4mile uphill jog home.

Despite the tired legs - I felt very strong today - I even said to my wife afterwards, that I finally felt fit.

I could hear her eyes rolling.

11.6miles total

Sat: Short recovery run - it would have been too easy to take a rest day - a short run was needed to ensure the legs were ok for Sun long run.

3.2miles at 8.58 pace.

Sunday 1st November: Long run.

After last weeks long run failure - I was very conscious to get this one right.
Loaded the podcasts and ran on a route that I know to be 14 miles from previous.

Just ran and listened to the chats - relaxed run - windy in a lot of places.

14 miles at 7.47 pace.

Happy enough with that week.
53 miles in total (1 rest day) but 3 runs over 11 miles (2 of these were sessions) - not intentional - just how it worked out.

October finished with 232 miles - happy with that as Sept was only 112miles due to that niggle.

I'm kinda enjoying making it up as I go along - I'm doing decent sessions and I know I'm getting into decent shape, but without a race or goal on the horizon - it could be very easy to be too unstructured and end up either with fatigue or not the right balance of energy systems being tested.
I fall back into my default - longer runs - somewhat like Marathon training - its what I like doing.
Maybe I should mix in some 'structure' into this to account for what I avoid by default (faster reps / hills).

Was onto Johnny during the week - and we were sparking some thoughts off each other regarding the next 7 weeks - I might look at some structure for this and see about a TT in December.

Monday: A few miles with a running buddy - helps pass the time.

7.3 miles @ 8.03

Tuesday: Pilates at lunch then another 7 mile recovery afterwards.

7.3m @ 8.27

Wednesday: Session: 2mTempo / 2x1km / 2x1m at 10km

I wasn't 100% sure what session I was going to do today - I had 3x10 mins in my mind - but would see how the legs were on the warm up and the 1st rep.
I really need to be firmer in my plans and commit to a session at the start!!

Mile 1 of my warm up was 7.39 (that jus never happens) - I dont know if this was due to me feeling quite good or the fact I was wearing the 4% for the 1st time since God was a boy - By christ - they felt fantastic!!

So at this stage of the warm up I'm thinking of making the session a bit harder - throw in some faster reps. Lets see how the daylight is I said to myself.

So - I set off to do a 2m tempo as the 1st part and finished it in what I thought was 11.59.
I was convinced that I had ran a 2m tempo. 100% convinced.

Until I seen a couple of days later that it was 10 mins. Not 100% what way my brain was working but hey ho.

With the 1st bit out of the way - and daylight fading - After a 2min recovery - I decided to do 2x1km on the Furze Road - the intention being that it would get me back on Chesterfield for the last part of the session.
Felt very strong on these - 5.35 pace for both 1km reps.

Another 2min recovery and then done 2x1m at 5.50 pace (2 min rec).

So - overall - 5 miles of hard work under 6 min miles.

really enjoyed that session.

10.9miles total.

Thursday: 4mile recovery - up to Porterstown park - lap and a bit - and back.
Really needed that.

4m at 8,38

Friday: Easy run + some strides.
I need to get back to including strides in my plan.

6.15 miles

Saturday:
Thinking of what I was avoiding and not including in my plan - I decided to do some hill work.
I went back to one of Lukes tried & trusted 14x45 secs on the Khyber.

The recovery was set for 90 secs - but I ran them quicker - once I reached the bottom, I hit 'lap'.

1st 2 were a bit 'Oh My God' - these are tough.
Next few were like 'actually - these are grand, I've a good rhythm going here'
After 7 , I was thinking - just do 10 - 10 is a good number.
As I got to 9, my Heart was beating so hard - 1 more.

Right, after the 10th - jogged back down and seen some runners approaching, couldn't quit now - recovered quite quickly and went again. Just 2 more.

Then on the 12th I gave myself a stern talking too - 'what, you are quitting now - 2 more to go - 90secs of hard work??'.

I completed all 14

I did 'forget' how tough these are - I wont be doing very many of these, but will hope to throw in a few every now and then.
Also going to do 2x(30/60/90/120) hill reps on the Khyber in the coming weeks

8miles total.

Sunday: out by 9 on my ownsome.
just over 13 miles on a glorious day - down the Canal to Dalymount (cant spell phisboro ) and back up around the White Moose and into the Park.

Legs were tired, but I expected them to be worse.

13.4miles at 7.52

57 miles for the week.

This week will be a down week - I promised myself to take down weeks - but when training is going well, you tend to keep going.
Main aim this week will be: to keep the mileage light - about 50 miles - maybe take 1 day off.
2 Pilates classes
2 sets of strides.
Firm up on a plan for the coming weeks.

Just on a down week - my new Zoom Fly 3 arrived today - cant wait to do a session in them

Monday: More of the same - met a running buddy and done 8 miles - chatting. Miles fly by - I look forward to the Monday runs.

8.3m @ 7.58 pace (128 HR)

Tuesday: A tough Pilates class at lunch. Ran down to the PP and done some strides on the Furze - met another buddy (from Cru) and ran a couple of miles of her warm down.
6.5miles (120 HR)

Wednesday: My plan contained a 5m progression run (starting at MP + 20sec) that I was going to run on a 2mile loop (C'Field-North Road) - but the 'window of light' went against me as did the weather - so I needed to choose a different route as the wind was whipping up a storm.

I ended up doing a 2mile WU and then done the 5 miles down to the Park and along OS/Furze and Chesterfield.
I had 2 stretches of about half mile each into a head wind, but it was mostly a side on wind.

The 5m progression went 6.39/6.29/6.17/6.08/5.58 - quite happy with that. HR in the high 160's for the last 2 miles.
I hope to progress this in 2 weeks time - adding in an additional mile - depending on the wind, I'll do it on a different route. Chesterfield is far too busy with people walking in dark clothes - thank God I had my headlamp.

11 miles total (ave 7.11/mile)

Thursday: Went out for 3 mile recovery before Pilates and ended up doing near 7 as I was listening to 2 more episodes o the 'Where is George Gibney' podcast. An amazing production.

6.66 @ 8.25 pace (HR 114)

Monday November 23rd: T'was a long long time ago - in a land far far away...............

8miles with my Monday running buddy - good chats makes the time fly.

8m@8.06 pace

Tuesday: Out in the rain- ran around some housing estates and done 6x20sec progressive strides. 2m home.

Strava art was never my forte...........

5.8m

Wednesday: Set out for a 5m tempo run, but after a 5.53 1st mile (far too fast), I kinda knew that wasn't going to happen.

I managed 15 mins at sub 6 pace and then took a 2 min recovery before doing an additional 10 mins at a faster pace. The 10 mins was 1 mile at 5.48 and 4.12mins at 5.57.

So - not the session that I wanted but got 25 mins at a faster tempo than I would have done with the straight 5 miles.

9.5m total.

Thursday:
6m recovery down to the park and back.

8.20 pace.

Friday: Bonus run - My Monday run buddy texted asking about a run - went out at 3pm for 70 mins - down to the park and back.

8.9m at 7.43

Saturday: Not having done any speedwork for a while, I opted for some 200's and hill sprints today. Knowing that I was doing a steady run on Sunday.

5x40 secs on the Furze road / 5x10sec hills in the Glen / 5x40 secs on the Furze. Walk recoveries.
Really enjoyed that - short and sharp.

8.7miles

Sunday: Steady'ish run

The main intention of this run was to do some work close to MP 'effort', without over straining too much.

The body knew it had done some speedwork on the Saturday - it was a bit creaky before setting out.
Done a short routine prior to running to get the body right and was out the door.
1st couple of miles were good - 7.49/7.40 - I knew it would be a good day!!

Next few miles were also good (Sub 7's - touching 6.30's) before I took about 0.5m recovery going up Manor Street.
Picked it up again entering the Park on ParkGate street - doing the next 3 miles progressively faster to 6.19, taking me to St Marys.

took the next few miles a bit handy but was still pushing a bit (7.20's) and finished on 14miles at 7.07 average.

Definitely felt tougher than last weeks 15 miles through town (7.15 ave) - so while not marathon training, I still want to be in a position to be able to run upto 10 miles at MP effort in a normal training week - so I'm on the right track here.

My youngest daughters 18th B'Day today - how time flys. Certainly earning the Auldman tag now.

14m@7.07

Monday 30th
8m around Ongar - good chats.

8m@8.10 pace.

Tuesday 1st: Easy + strides - I like this route (same as last weeks Strava Art route) - let it be called the 'Willy' route forever more.

6x20secs progressive strides.

5.5m total.

Wednesday: 6m progression:
After doing a 5m progression 2 weeks back - this was the progression of the progression. 6m.
2 weeks back I chose an easy route, given the weather conditions.

Today was a much fairer route around the Furze/OS roads.

2m warm up then into it as I entered Whites Gate.
Next 6 miles;

6.40
6.29
6.19
6.12
6.06
5.57

Really enjoyed this run - love these progressions. Ave was about 6.17 for the 6.
4 miles home.

11.7m

Thursday 3rd Dec: Short recovery during lunch - bitter cold out.

4.7m @ 8.21

Monday: Out for a few miles with my Monday running date - threw in 6 strides at the end.

8.9miles@8.21

Tuesday This week will be a challenging week to run - might not get a chance to run the weekend either. Coupled with work being mental.
So I wanted a longer effort of sustained miles (i.e. not broken up intervals) to mimic a long run with some effort.

I started off in my Hoka Rincon - which I unretired from the attic - done a 2mile warm up, came home, changed into the Zoom Fly 2's and made a mental note never to wear the Rincons again.
Difference in the Zoom Flys was amazing.

I went down through castleknock & the PP at a steady pace - probably averaged 6.40's for the 6 miles and felt ok with it.
Ran 10 mins easy up Manor Street and back into the park before starting off again.
2 more steady miles at ave 6.50's upto CK Gate and then an easy 2m home.

Both my headlamp and my chest light lost battery at various times on this run - so coming up the North road in the dark was a bit hairy!

I was listening to Liam Naughtons podcast - More Than a Runner - with Feidhlim Kelly as guest - 1 hr 34mins of a rant by FK.
I enjoyed the 1st hour, then found it mildly irritating.

Some good guests on his podcast - its much more serious than Runnerbeans (still never got my free hat) - so I'll keep it on rotation.

13.8 miles at 7.18 pace.

Not logged on in a while - but still here. Still committed.

Week 14th Dec-20th Dec: Ran 5 days - 2 days off

43 Miles total - went away to GlenLo Abbey in Glway for a couple of nights - Dinner on a carraige from the Orient Express. Fancy Livin'

Runs of note:
(1) Steady run as described in my last post.
(2) A re-introduction to faster intervals. 2x(5x400)

Probably should have done a bit more planning for the 400's - As I set off, I realised I had no target pace/time - so just said I'd do them hard.
1st set of 5 were ave 75 secs with 1 min recovery.
400m Jog.
2nd set of 5 were ave 76 secs with 1 min recovery

Went home and discovered that Daniels recommends those paces with all being off 400m jog. Lesson learned - but I was sore for days afterwards.
Lesson learned.

Week Dec21st - Dec 27th 41 miles - 5 days running 2 days off
5 easy paced runs, thanks to a niggle in the upper right quad/hip area.

Longest run was 13.4m with the MSB group - good to catch up.

Week Dec 28th - Jan 3rd: 54miles off 7 days running.

Runs of note.
Mon-Thurs: 4 easy paced runs - plenty of foam rolling and stretching. Hip is better - but Quad still present at times.

Friday 1st: 11miles - WU-Lap of the park - cool down.
I spent part of the morning foam rolling, stretching and doing activations. What an exciting New Years Day

Went out in my new Endorphin Speeds - turned around after half a mile as I was slipping all over the place on them. The grip is useless in wet/icy conditions.
Changed into the Zoom Fly and they felt much better in the damp/icy conditions - it was 11am so the ice was thawing.

Done a steady run that turned out to be a progressive run - unbeknownst to me at the time - but happy none the less.
Not a peep out of the quad/hip. Fastest mile was only a 6.40 - so not even MP.

Sat: 5 miles easy - plenty of foam rolling.

Sunday: Didn't go out til 12'ish - given the ice a chance to thaw out. Done no activation or foam rolling prior.
Had to stop and stretch a couple of times in the 1st 5 miles - but the latter miles I could run without stopping.

I need to better manage the quad this week - the hip seems to be clear - just a quad niggle.

12m at 7.41

54 miles for the week.


December finished on 213 miles.
2020 finished on 2771 miles. (4459km)

Plans for 2021??

(1) Sub 2.50 Marathon
Berlin in September.
Might also throw an entry into Manchester as security (+ maybe 1 more)

(2) Sub 36m 10k (PB is 36.09)
Hopefully we see some 10k's in early summer. Clonee / Dunshaughlin in June 2021 - hopeful?

(3) a 5k PB - but this is a lessor goal as I know I'd need 4-5 attempts close together to learn the pain of 5ks again. Jingle bells 2021??

(4) Reduce alcohol intake - I don't drink much, but I enjoy it more when I drink less. Maybe its a 'wine at home' reduction I need?

(5) Log more and improve the quality of my logging. This place could be a gold mine - we need to keep it going and commit to it.


I was going to start a JD plan next week - but will hold on that for now until the Quad is better.

Happy New Year All.

Laineyfrecks wrote: »

Starting now for logger or log of the year 2021

I will win everything.

I've got a great post lined up for next November '21 - just before the awards, that includes kids crying, dogs, pussycats, me saving people from a burning house etc.

Post of the year 2021 written all over it.

My Berlin 2021 report is basically written. (I'll run 2.50.01 - but will have performed a resuscitation along the way).

Duanington wrote: »

Your niggle on the hip flexor\quad\glute\abdomen\chest\hip\back sounds similar to something I've been managing the last few days, I'm convinced its from too much sitting around during the xmas break.

Nothing your ST won't be able to release I'm sure

I blame the lack of drinking.
Since I cut back after christmas/NY, my running has been $hite.

MrMacPhisto wrote: »

Best of luck with the niggle recovery.

That looks like a very intensive plan. Some very big sessions in there. Is it similar to the JD stuff? The 5-6x800 at 10k pace three days before RACE DAY looks a bit crazy to me. Is this RACE DAY the target race or is the idea to prepare you for a series of races?

For clarity - I'm not actually following the plan to the letter - Its moreso the structure that I like - its a little bit different to JD.

on the race week workouts..............

The week I set my 5k PB - I was given a workout on a Tuesday (Race was Friday) 3x1k+4x800. I thought Luke (coach at the time) was mad.

I've never attempted that since & only got close to my PB once. (even in the cheat shoes - my PB was in flats).

There could be something in those pre-race workouts.

Worth an update.

Monday 11th: 7miles at 8min/mile.

Virtually niggle free.
Enjoyed it - listened to John Travers on RBeans - never heard him being interviewed before. Very interesting guy.
Came to the sport late (as part of his Gaisce in 5th year).

And another thing..............

You used to be able to log on after 2 weeks and catch up in 5 mins.
Now its like 2014 all over again! - all we need is Krusty & Dublin Runner to remake their logs, throw in a bit of TRR & DrQ and its the good old days again.