Confessions of a never has been.....

ThebitterLemon · 12-11-2020 8:35pm

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Lads practice hollow rocks and basically use that upside-down position for your plank. You will engage your core and protect your back

What the fcuk is hollow rocks, a posh estate in Limerick

TbL

Duanington · 13-11-2020 10:07am

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Lads practice hollow rocks and basically use that upside-down position for your plank. You will engage your core and protect your back

Had a quick look and this looks familiar, pretty sure its part of the Pilates routine I do

Duanington · 15-11-2020 3:47pm

15.11.2020

Thursday

Had agreed to meet a work pal for a few miles in St Anne's, what a strange feeling meeting a work colleague face to face after so many months working from home. Good chatter around the trails.

7 miles at just over 9 min miles

Core work after

PM - 3.2 miles with a few strides thrown in, I was tired heading out for this to be honest, late enough in the day for me but as always, the strides waken things up nicely

Friday

Working out west again today so headed to Corkagh Park for an hour or so nice and easy. Ground was fairly $hite underfoot so lots of slip sliding around the place

PM - another 3 miles nice and easy with some core work after

Saturday

Up and at it for this mornings session, which was essentially an hour's progression down to 160 BPM which is just over marathon effort in theory.

The wind was blowing hard on the coast and St Anne's was busy so I was torn between running this in the park or out on the coast and more exposed to the wind. In the end, I started in the park then headed out onto the coast, got blown around a bit, looped around Fairview for some shelter then got blasted again over the last mile.

Spotting a trend with the increased focus on HR. Morning steady runs are always slower, the HR is always higher so I get less pace return than I do on the evening steady runs.

The weather wouldn't have helped of course but I'm pretty sure the same would be true even if it was a calm morning.

Anyway, bit of a blowy session, pace went from 7.30 or so down to 6.55 and then slipped back to above 7 min pace when the wind picked up again.

154 - 160 BPM, sneaking into 161 a little over the last mile ( I was really up against a good gale here to be fair)

11.5 miles for the day (with warm up\down)

Sunday

Out and at it for 10 this morning, feeling a little groggy after a late enough night (for me).

Headed out to the causeway, then along the coast and up the kilbarrack road, down to Raheny and into St Anne's ...then on home

Felt awful starting off but felt much better and stronger as the run went on, finishing feeling like I could have gone on for a good bit more. Over the years, these long runs have always held a bit of a fear factor for me so finishing feeling good is a positive sign.

Just shy of 15 miles in 2 hours

A really good week in the bag, lots of core work, strength work, pilates, 2 good solid sessions, a solid long run and just over 80 miles which is the highest I've managed for quite a while.

Onwards !

AuldManKing · 15-11-2020 10:44pm

fair play on the mileage DD.

Is this (additional mileage) something that you are influenced by in that book you're reading? or just enjoying the running? (or both)

Duanington · 16-11-2020 10:01am

AuldManKing wrote: »

fair play on the mileage DD.

Is this (additional mileage) something that you are influenced by in that book you're reading? or just enjoying the running? (or both)

The book and some additional Lydiard resources I've come across, A. I'm not really aiming for miles in as much as 10-11 hours running per week during this phase, with an increasing amount at the higher aerobic end.
There were definitely one or two times when I didn't feel like heading out the door but overall, I'm enjoying it and the body is responding well so far.
In an ideal world, there'd be less doubles and I'd have the time to get a couple more 10-12 mile runs in over one go but like most of us, life happens and we have to adjust.

I suppose the real test comes after 6\7 weeks with no "real speedwork" and how motivated I can stay to churn out 10-11 hours work every week

Duanington · 19-11-2020 11:00pm

19.11.2020

Monday

Out at lunch for a sloppy run around the sloppy trails in sloppy St Anne's

A sloppy hour

S+C after

PM - Met FBOT for a few miles along the coast, all nice and easy, good chatter as always

45 mins or so

Tuesday

Back to St Anne's for 70 minutes on the grass, very easy but with some "light fartlek" thrown in

This is one of those vague terms you come across in Lydiard land, my take is that its something that should be a regular feature within the base phase and the "on" bits should be steady as opposed to hard...or at least should be short enough that you avoid any acid territory.

This was very unstructured, running steady\MP effort for 45 secs\1 minute with loads of recovery between ( sometimes up to 3\4 minutes)
Really enjoyed this one actually

Pilates after and then Physio in the evening

Wednesday

80 minutes steady - 149-154 BPM

"Windy Wednesday" was back, it was really blowing a gale outside when I started this, the route I picked would take me along the coast (with the wind) for 1.5 miles before heading up the drags into the wind and Raheny, back down to the coast, with the wind again for a bit and then up a long, drag with the wind in my face for most of it to the Malahide road.

Down the Malahide road, into the wind before turning onto the coast and finishing with the wind at my back.

This was not easy but it was enjoyable, found a very good stride pretty soon into the run and just got it done really, the drag from the coast up to the Malahide road was long and tough at times but the HR monitor keeps things honest and stops you turning it into a race, if the HR goes above 155, its moving towards marathon effort really.

The breeze over the last mile was crazy, I had to back off the pace a little to stop pounding the legs a bit too much. The one issue I have with this run is that its mostly on concrete.

Its a good honest route though

80 mins @ 7.04 min\miles

Duanington · 26-11-2020 12:47pm

26.11.2020

Thursday

8 lunchtime miles, St Annes on the grass to aid recovery, all easy

PM - S+C and then 3 very easy miles, using the floodlit pitches in St Anne's for a fair bit, this was a bit of a tired slog but I felt refreshed after

Friday

Met AMK for a few miles in the PP, he acted as tour guide for me again, I'd never run down along the liffey just outside the park before, good chatter, nice run.

7.4 miles

PM - pilates and then just over 3 miles with some very short hill sprints ( with my youngest). This was fun, nice to have her to chase for the 10 seconds or whatever

Saturday

4x15 mins progression - working from 150 or so up to 160 BPM each time

Nice run, HR a little elevated as I've come to expect in the morning, ran this in St Anne's for the first bit then moved out onto the coast for the rest.

160 BPM was getting me 6.30 pace for the first section but then just under 7 minutes when coming back along the coast into the wind.

It really does take discipline not to try to hit a pace when the effort creeps up on a drag or into the wind, but then sometimes its also nice to relax and just focus on the effort.

Just over 12.5 miles for the lot

Sunday

Bit of a wooly head on me if I'm honest, a few drinks were had the night before, trudged around St Anne's and the coast for 70 minutes to close out the week.

Just over 10 hours for the week and around 75 miles. Body feeling good

Monday

Headed down to the trails on Bull Island for a bit before heading into the park for a but more, nice and easy all the way

8.6 miles

PM - met FBOT for some very easy miles along the coast, good chats as always. Just over 4.5 miles

Tuesday

Into St Anne's, started off very easy and gradually picked up the pace to somewhere in the higher aerobic range (purely by feel). Loved this run

7.1 miles

PM

Did a loop around Clontarf\Raheny (sadly on the concrete), 4.5 rainy miles

Wednesday

(AM Pilates)

That time of the week again, Wednesdays are becoming the focal point of my week, it is just steady running but in the absence of any real sessions, its the main event really.

Lovely evening for running, took in more or less the same route as the last two weeks but minus the wind. A couple of stops for traffic and bikes along the way aside, this was a very good run. I never really pushed the effort and felt strong heading up drags.

Finishing along the coast is always nice too

11.5 miles @ 6.58 pace, jogged home for the extra .75 miles

Kemboi · 26-11-2020 4:56pm

Hey, hope you don't mind me asking a question here. Just wondering about the pilates, do you follow a youtube video for this or something online?. I could do with introducing pilates a couple of times a week. Thanks.

Duanington · 26-11-2020 5:58pm

Kemboi wrote: »

Hey, hope you don't mind me asking a question here. Just wondering about the pilates, do you follow a youtube video for this or something online?. I could do with introducing pilates a couple of times a week. Thanks.

Not at all. One of the reasons I started logging again was to share what I've learned ( and am learning) about this kind of thing.

I have a video my physio (who also teaches pilates) did for me which I try to get done once per week and then I have a second routine which I found that works well on days when I'm short on time (physio also approves)

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pilats+for+runners

Kemboi · 26-11-2020 9:39pm

Duanington wrote: »

Not at all. One of the reasons I started logging again was to share what I've learned ( and am learning) about this kind of thing.

I have a video my physio (who also teaches pilates) did for me which I try to get done once per week and then I have a second routine which I found that works well on days when I'm short on time (physio also approves)

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pilats+for+runners

Perfect, thanks for that.

Duanington · 30-11-2020 4:24pm

30.11.2020

another week down, 5 weeks in now and while the body is holding up well, no real niggles to speak of, I am tired - there I've said it, I'm tired as a write this. I shouldn't be surprised really, 80 odd miles a week is no joke, throw in the increased focus on S+C and that, nutrition slipped a little towards the tail end of last week (not really worried about what I eat, more about getting enough food into me).

I've noticed that I tend to be very lethargic at the start of most easy runs and finish feeling a lot stronger and more energised in general, bouncing along as opposed to trudging along in the early part of the run.

I had to drag myself out the door a couple of times this week, but glad I did within 10 minutes or so, Lydiard's base building is basically marathon training and that's how it feels alright.

Thursday

70 odd minutes around St Anne's - as above, trudging around to start with but moving quite well by the end

8.6 miles

S+C after

Friday

Working out west again this Friday so headed to Corkagh park at lunch for an hour or so, sloppy enough underfoot in places but picked the pace up about halfway through this and turned it into a bit of a steady effort run from there on, not quite pushing the pace, just relaxing into it and enjoying the run really

7.6 miles or so

PM - Pilates and then 3.2 very easy miles

Saturday

I was a little stuck for time today so had to sacrifice a couple of easy miles at the start of my planned 60 minutes progression.

The idea today was to gradually work down to around 6.40 pace and just hold that around the grass loops in St Anne's. Effort wise, it's probably a little hotter than most stuff I've done lately but a) the grass loops will do that and b) its still well within Aerobic range so fits in with the overall idea anyway.

Really enjoyed this one, a mile to start with along the coast, then into St Anne's, using the grass loop to avoid walkers, it was soft and heavy going underfoot at times but it had that XC feel to it which I always enjoy.

This was all about gradually winding the effort up to a level that I felt I was working but still with some degree of comfort, good workout

8.5 miles in 1 hour

2 miles easy to finish

Sunday

I was tired for this, no doubt about it - but headed out the door to run along the trails on Bull Island, had the place almost to myself which was lovely. Ran along the beach then for a couple of miles before heading back to land to finish up

Wrecked at the start, enjoying it by the end but kept the pace very easy all the way

14.5 miles in 2 hours

82 miles for another very good week

healy1835 · 30-11-2020 9:03pm

Just read back over your log for Seville there DD. (That's what I've been reduced to now; reading other runners' marathon training build-ups!). That was some block of training you put in. I know you had some underlying things going on that reared their heads towards the end of the block and in the race itself, but have you given much thought to how you'll approach a block for London?Chicago? next year?

Duanington · 01-12-2020 10:19am

healy1835 wrote: »

Just read back over your log for Seville there DD. (That's what I've been reduced to now; reading other runners' marathon training build-ups!). That was some block of training you put in. I know you had some underlying things going on that reared their heads towards the end of the block and in the race itself, but have you given much thought to how you'll approach a block for London?Chicago? next year?

Glad it was of some use to you...

I think about it all the time, J.:pac:

I'll definitely change things next time around. I was putting in good strong marathon sessions on a Saturday (running 15,16,17 miles or whatever) or racing hard XC races, running for 18\20 miles+ on a Monday after work and running a hard speed session on a Wednesday (with a good group too).

Next time around:
- I won't stick to speed sessions each and every week and when I do run them, I won't run them at paces that I can't sustain during a race. I'm convinced now that I put my old bones under a lot of pressure in these sessions, flooding the system with lactic etc and struggling to recover.

- I won't hold myself to having to run 2 big runs each week, I think there is definitely room for it but not week after week with a speed session put in there too.

- I didn't really structure the block in any traditional sense, I just knew what I needed to run to get marathon fit and probably just did too much of that...while racing a fair bit of xc along the way.

- I dropped any real S+C sessions which could well have saved my bacon in the end

I actually really enjoyed the whole thing though and landed myself at a place where I was very fit....my body just couldn't handle the load in the end so I'd be a fool to do the same thing again.

In short:
- I plan to go into the next marathon block with a huge aerobic base and a much stronger frame (through S+C)
- I won't run any real speedwork from 6-8 weeks out but will put in a solid long hill phase just before that
- Long slow runs will still feature but only where they work
- Very similar longer sessions but starting these a little earlier in the plan and building them in MP specific duration along the way
- Less racing

- I would hope to spend a good few weeks running a similiar structure to the one I have right now (except the longer runs would need to be getting longer)

As you can see, I've given it some thought !

Duanington · 08-12-2020 11:04pm

08.12.2020

A busy week has flown by yet again.

Last week was a bit of a struggle time-wise, I knew by Wednesday I wouldn't quite get the same mileage in as the previous week but it would still be pretty good.
No niggles, a little tired which is understandable.

Monday

AM - A very easy hour around St Anne's, slopping around the trails.

Just under 7.5 miles

PM - S+C and then 4 very easy miles with FBOT along the coast, always enjoyable.

Tuesday

The now usual light fartlek run around St Anne's, never pushing too hard on the "ons" and making sure there is lots and lots of recovery on the offs.

I really enjoy this run, the first couple of surges are always a bit of a shock to the system but once you get into the flow, its enjoyable. The on sections aren't long enough or fast enough to go lactic so while they can get fast, they aren't hard.

7.5 miles for the lot

PM - S+C and then 4.4 easy miles .

I'm finding it hard enough to get out the door for the second run midweek, the cold, dark evenings scream "stay on the sofa" but sure once I'm out I'm grand of course.

Wednesday

12 steady, same route as last week but maybe a little more wind this week. These runs are turning into a kind of progression run which is probably no harm, I do like to keep the HR in the low 150s which is very safely aerobic but also like to take a few miles to get there.

On this run though, the HR shot right up into 162\3 for the first mile or so, which was odd, it didn't feel anything like that - maybe a contact issue on the strap?

Anyway, it settled then and hovered around the 149-151 range. The drags are draggy and into the wind but once you hit the coast for the last few miles, the temptation is really there to put a squeeze on.

12 miles at 6.59 min\miles (150 BPM average)

+ an easy .5 mile to finish

(Pilates in the AM)

Thursday - 70 odd minutes very easy around St Anne's

S+C in the PM

No time to get out in the evening

Friday

Last minute decision to head to the PP, in the lashing rain, horrible, freezing first couple of miles but of course, it turned into one of the nicest runs of the week

7.4 miles

no time for a run in the PM

Saturday

Easy 70 minutes around St Anne's, stuck for time today so rather than compromise the session, I pushed it till Sunday.

No time to get out in the PM, got some core work done though

Sunday

Good session lined up for today.

2 miles ON, 1 mile OFF - ON being marathon effort, off being an honest easy pace (not trudging along) for 9 miles

No heart strap for this, just learning to run by feel again really.

2 miles easy to St Anne's and then I got started, looping around the park before heading out onto the coast towards Howth.
Found myself really settling into a good stride on the faster sections and naturally speeding up towards the end of the off sections.

On miles were anywhere from 6.33 - 6.52 ( need to work on that consistency). Off was in and around 7.40 ( I will increase this over the next few weeks).
ran an extra steady mile at the end just because I could really and I was enjoying the run.

A good session, the kind of run that will replace the slower 2 hour run in 6-8 weeks for a period of time

1.5 miles easy to finish with 13.5 miles for the lot and 74 miles for the week

Swashbuckler · 09-12-2020 12:09am

That Sunday session is a "lovely" one. Luke had those mixed in every second week in place of my long run. 10 miles alternating (1.5 @ 6.40/1 @7.10) . Really found a huge benefit from them. With WU and CD it was 14M all in. Found them tough though.

Duanington · 09-12-2020 10:13am

Swashbuckler wrote: »

That Sunday session is a "lovely" one. Luke had those mixed in every second week in place of my long run. 10 miles alternating (1.5 @ 6.40/1 @7.10) . Really found a huge benefit from them. With WU and CD it was 14M all in. Found them tough though.

They're straight out of the Luke book alright, he had me run quite a few of those kinds of alternating tempos before I ran Berlin and like you, I really found them beneficial

Duanington · 10-12-2020 4:16pm

10.12.2020

A good start to this week, aiming for a step up in terms of mileage on last week and potentially the toughest week I've had in a while.

Something I am noticing is that while the body is generally tired (although nothing major), there are no aches or pains - no hobbling down the stairs first thing most mornings. Why? I would say strength work but then there is no real speedwork happening right now and I am leaning towards that being the major contributing factor.

Appetite is through the roof and for a skinny lad like me, I have to make sure I have food with me wherever I'm going, 2 breakfasts, dinner at lunch, chocolate spread sambos, smoothie in the afternoon, dinner in the evening and usually a bit of cereal before bed. Which is fine, but it does take a bit of planning and trying to get the balance right between getting enough food in and avoiding running steady runs with smoothies sloshing around in there is not easy.

Anyway, the week so far

Monday

AM - Just under 8 miles all easy around the trails in St Anne's, 65 mins or so

S+C after

PM - 4.5 or so miles around the coast loop

Tuesday

"light fartlek" day

This is a workout\session that isn't really a workout\session

Plenty of faster running but also lots of recovery and nothing fast enough or long enough to produce lactic

Quickly becoming my favourite run of the week.

I was a little stuck for time on this so it was just over 5 miles in total

PM - Core work then 6.5 miles around Raheny\Clontarf

Wednesday

weekly steady MLR

Horrible, horrible evening out and for a few minutes I tried to give myself an excuse (or two) to skip this one. The wind was up and the rain was coming down sideways.
In the end, I didn't really give myself too long to think about it, I just got changed once I finished work and headed straight out the door.

The coast was awful, I added a couple of extra drags into the route this week, ignored the HR for the first mile or two and got on with it.

Worked a little harder up the drags off the coast this week, taking in Raheny, Kilbarrack, Coolock, coming back down the malahide road was dicey enough with the wind blowing across my face but when I turned onto the coast road again for the last 2 miles, it was rough going, straight into the wind.

The last few times I've run this route, the wind was at my back for the last 2 miles and the momentum is there, this week, I had to back off the effort to keep the HR in the right zone.

A really good run in the end. 12 miles at 7.03 pace.

Duanington · 14-12-2020 12:14pm

14.12.2020

Thursday

Just over an hour around St Anne's at lunch, feeling sluggish at the start and picking up a bit by the end.

S+C later

Friday

Met AMK for a few miles in the PP, good chatter all the way around, solved society's problems between the two of us and finished up with 9.6 miles

Pilates in the PM and then out for just over 3 miles with strides, the strides were very much controlled and form focused.

Saturday

Another alternating effort lined up this week;

10 minutes on, 5 minutes off - on being in and around the 6.40 min\mile mark, off being anywhere around the 7.20\30 mark.

No HR strap for this, while its very helpful to monitor effort and progress, I don't want to obsess over it during these runs. I need to get better at judging real effort levels.

Similar route to last week, starting off in St Anne's, heading up the coast towards Howth then turning back into a nasty headwind.

All more or less on target, apart from the few miles on the way back, eased off slightly into the wind and let the pace slip back - to 6.50s for a bit.

A really good session all the same, almost 9 miles of working back and forth between efforts.

12.5 miles or so for the lot

Sunday

Tired heading out for my long run this morning, lashing rain and very windy too. I settled on heading across the east link towards Blackrock and back, by the time I got to the turnaround point, the rain was gone and the sun was out....and my jacket was a pain.

Pace started out very easy, picked up a little towards the end but stayed easy all the way - I hate these long easy runs, I always dread them but I also know that I need them

15.5 miles to bring the week to 85 miles in total

Duanington · 17-12-2020 10:07am

17.12.2020

After 6/7 weeks of lots of miles, some solid efforts on Wed\Sat runs and a good dose of S+C, the next 2 weeks will be a bit of a step back for me.

It coincides with the silly season of course, which wasn't really by design but it works out fine all the same. I sat down to look through the last 7 weeks worth of training and realised that I hadn't taken a day off since starting this up either, which is not an issue really when there is an absence of intense speedwork.
Feeling tired at the start of the week but no niggles and sleeping well which is a positive.

Monday

Lunchtime - 45 mins very easy, no watch....felt rough at the start and came around by the end. (5.35 miles, guessing this really)

S+C throughout the day (broken into 3 10 minute sections)

PM - 4.53 miles along the coast, felt a hell of a lot better than earlier

Tuesday

Took the day off, Physio visit on the cards so just did some stretching and a little S+C

Wednesday

70 minutes steady this evening.
A different route than normal, to break it up a bit and I allowed myself to let the HR drift closer to marathon effort than I normally do, particularly over the second half. I think I've enough fitness banked now to allow me to push a little harder on these, the Lydiard system allows for it, so long as it stays aerobic.

Another honest route with plenty of drags but plenty of opportunity to free wheel back down too.

10.24 miles @ 6.50 min\miles

Swashbuckler · 17-12-2020 5:39pm

Saw that ten miler on Steava and thought to myself there's no fear of you. I ran that a couple of months back and knew all about it.

Duanington · 18-12-2020 12:03pm

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Saw that ten miler on Steava and thought to myself there's no fear of you. I ran that a couple of months back and knew all about it.

ha ha - cheers P.

There actually was a little bit of fear beforehand, I tend to get a little anxious before the longer steady runs but I always know that once I'm 2\3 miles into them, I'm grand. enjoyed the run, I did feel it in the legs a little the next day though, maybe coming back down the hill to the coast did that.

I'll stretch it out to 12\13 miles before mid Feb hopefully.

Duanington · 04-01-2021 12:06pm

04.01.2020

Happy New year folks, here's to a brighter, race packed 2021. The thoughts of eating cakes, drinking tea and chatting to other runners post race is as big a motivator as the potential races themselves for me at the moment.

The last couple of weeks have really been a case of keeping things ticking over without sacrificing anything on the home front (I'll be doing plenty of that in 2021 I'm sure).

Runs of note:

22.12 - a decent light fartlek session around St Anne's, a very enjoyable run
23.12 - a very good steady to marathon effort run. Windy conditions, an honest route. The aim was to start out at an effort that kept me just below 155 bpm, so creeping towards marathon effort, then open up a bit more in the second half, allowing myself to sustain marathon effort for 30 minutes or so.

I was pleasantly surprised to find myself cruising along the coast ( the faster stretch of this route) with the pace hovering around 6.15\6.20 pace for 157 bpm after 50 minutes of running. I was tempted to kick on and see what I could muster for the last few miles but reminded myself that just because I felt I could run faster, it doesn't mean I should.

70 minutes @ 6.35 min miles (10.64 miles, the furthest I've gotten in the 70 minute sessions yet)

30.12 Just over 60 minutes steady out to Howth and back, a different run than the previous week in that I was staying away from MHR, a more relaxed effort. Didn't feel great on this one though, too much sitting and drinking no doubt. Just shy of 9 miles at 6.55 pace.

The thing about running these by HR is that it really keeps you honest, if you're slacking, the HR is too low, if you're pushing harder than genuine steady aerobic pace, the HR reflects that. There's no room for egos on these ones

This week will be a case of getting out late at night when its quiet, we've a COVID case at home which we're managing and running will be on the backburner until we're out of the woods there - which should be the end of this week.

Beyond that, it'll be a case of more of the same as the 8 weeks or so leading up to Christmas, gradually starting to push the pace again on the Wednesday session. That should take me up to the start of March where I'll look to time trial over either 10 miles or a half.

I am taking a lot of confidence from both how I felt on a couple of the recent Wednesday sessions and the return I got for the same effort so I'm sticking with building this base until I can see no more improvement there

Annie get your Run · 04-01-2021 3:38pm

Sorry to hear about the COVID case D, I guess as the numbers rocket more and more of us will either have it or have a family member with it. Hopefully not serious and they have a speedy recovery.

Duanington · 04-01-2021 5:23pm

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Sorry to hear about the COVID case D, I guess as the numbers rocket more and more of us will either have it or have a family member with it. Hopefully not serious and they have a speedy recovery.

Thanks AM - not serious thankfully, just trying to break the chain of infections really

Duanington · 14-01-2021 10:56pm

14.01.2021

Last week was basically a case of laying low and tipping around for 30 mins at night when the roads were quiet. All good on the COVID front, a phone call from the GP confirmed that we were good to let the prisoner out by Saturday but to restrict our movements for another day or so.

So this week is about building some miles back up, working out the tightness in my hip flexors and throwing in a couple of light sessions.

Lots of S+C this week
Easy miles with 1 x fartlek (light) and a steady run of some description this weekend.

MOnday

45mins easy, St Anne's - place was destroyed with muck and slop but didn't wear the trail shoes as they're a little heavy on the legs right now.

PM - 35 mins along the coast, very tight across both hip flexors

Tuesday

Just over 50 mins including some light fartlek around St Anne's, enjoyed this and felt things loosen up with each passing "on' section

Wednesday

30 odd minutes at lunchtime around St Anne's

PM - repeat of lunchtime except on the coast

Thursday

Just over 40 mins around St Anne's - chanced the grass, slip sliding around for a bit, bumped into a young buck from the club and ran with him for a bit.

Amazing how when running solo, I can be focusing totally on how everything is so tight this week, hip flexors are still giving be grief (albeit improving) and this is a bit of a slog, fast forward 10 minutes, a bit of company and chatter and its an enjoyable run.

Target is to hit around 50 miles this week, bump it a bit next week then get back into higher miles for 8-10 weeks

Duanington · 03-01-2024 12:33pm

There's something about keeping a written journal of your training that brings a level of accountability (especially when self coached) and that can work for you or against you really. Numbers on Garmin or Strava don't really tell the full story a lot of the time, but words on paper (or a screen) can do just that.

As 2024 rolls in, I'm hoping to keep a semi regular log of training here. For a few reasons really - 1, it might help with the community element here (I may be wrong, but it seems to be flagging a little) and 2, I'm at a stage where I'm really enjoying training, really embracing the process for what it is and maybe sharing some of that process may help others pick up bits and pieces of info along their journey (I've made just about all the mistakes, folks) and lastly, I've tried writing a journal on my training (pen and paper) but I just keep losing notepads !

2023 was one of my more enjoyable years, running wise - lots of racing, in fact I probably just overdid things on that front at the expense of some much needed aerobic development.

I came out of the XC season pretty strong, with a solid base and that mental toughness that only XC brings, had some very strong runs in the spring and early summer, the much spoken about GIR would have provided a good PB if the course had been right and a 17.01 at Bob Heffernan was a surprise to me but maybe shouldn't have been.

Mistake number one last year was not running more 5ks actually, I've always said it "takes a few to get the hang of them" and yet, I left it at the one 5k race last year....I still don't know why, there was surely more to be gained with a bit more suffering over that particular distance.

An ill fated attempt at a PB in Dunshaughlin was enough to tell me that I needed to regroup and focus on training for a bit again, racing anything over 5k in the summer time can be a struggle for me, I do feel the heat but I also felt heavy legged and tired that evening, symptoms of too much faster work maybe, that dreaded acidosis that you hear about in podcasts, read about in books etc...

Achill 10k in July was great fun, a tough but beautiful course with a very fast finish, Fingal 10k was a bit of a box ticking excercise, I'd always wanted to run it, didn't enjoy the course though (too much twisting and turning over the last 2 miles).

August was more about holidays than training but by September I was dusting down the spikes again and making my way over to the PP most Saturday mornings to start to build for a winter of XC

A forced break from running in October meant that I arrived at the first couple of XC races very much underprepared, the Dublin Snrs was tough, Santry was swampy and heavy...I'd never seen it like that and the lack of recent training was found out. The nationals in Gowran was even worse, glue like, deep mud awaited just about every step for maybe 80% of the course. I don't think I've ever seen so many people drop out of a snr XC race.

What doesn't kill us makes us stronger though and by the time the Dublin Intermediates came around, I was approaching half decent shape again....hardened by the traumatic experience in Gowran maybe.

More sessions on the muck each Saturday since then, relying on the rolling hills of the famous Munich Loop in the PP to harden the mind and body without overcooking things while keeping in touch with trackwork each Wednesday ( I tend to run very controlled reps this time of year though, no crazy fast stuff).

Tom Brennan on New Year's Day was an effort to keep in touch with the roads over the winter and maybe a signal of intent for the year, run more 5ks - although it wasn't quite 5k on the day. The result? 17.38 on the clock but closer to 18 in reality, which is pretty solid for this time of the year for me. I made the very deliberate decision to run in an older pair of racing flats (no carbon stuff going on) which I really enjoyed actually.

I'm probably a little behind where I had hoped to be coming into the New Year but there are not quick fixes for that, its just a case of tweaking things here and there session and mileage wise and transitioning back to the roads in 6\7 weeks time.

For the year ahead, its a case of carrying on from last year, enjoying training, embracing the process, racing as much as I can and will hopefully pick up a PB or two along the way.

healy1835 · 03-01-2024 6:10pm

Great to see you back logging pal. Best of luck with the year ahead

AuldManKing · 05-01-2024 10:56am

Just when I thought I was out - I get sucked back in.

Fwiw - the Digital Diary aspect is huge - I find myself referencing Boards more than Strava/Garmin to see past training / how I felt / What was going on around me.

overpronator · 06-01-2024 1:39pm

Great to see this and I hadn't realised that you were self coached D.

Would be keen to know what aspects of your training you see as the fundamentals/non-negotiables that help to make it sustainable and progressive? Is that threshold, or easy days or S&C or all of it! or something else?

One thing I notice is that you do a lot of what I assume is very deliberate very easy running for your level, are you running in Zone 2 HR how do you govern that?

Duanington · 08-01-2024 9:52am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121573852#Comment_121573852

That's the hope A - I had started a written journal, lost it, started another, lost it....and so on! There is something about the process of writing things that brings an accountability and a perspective that the data just doesn't give.

Confessions of a never has been.....

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