2012 4 Races for 4 PBs

Ran a little further than scheduled this morning, coming closer to 5 miles than to 4 miles. Legs felt mostly ok although right calf was a bit stiff and heavy.

Thinking about tomorrow's run. I will do a tempo as planned, 8 miles with miles 3, 4 and 5 run at 7:30 pace. But come the weekend I'll pay close attention to how I feel, in particular during Saturday's 8M PMP. If this feels like a lot more effort than last Friday's really good session over the same distance then I may make Wednesday's run a tempo run every second week rather than every week. So 7:30 tempo one week, then the next week maybe whatever pace feels comfortable between say 8:15 and 8:30.

M1 8:22
M2 8:32
M3 8:36
M4 8:41

Total 4.63M @ 8:33

Week 8 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
Easy 4M @ 8:35|4.63|8:33
Tempo 8M with 3M @ 7:30||
Easy 4M @ 8:35||
PMP 8M @ 7:45||
LSR 17M @ 8:45||

menoscemo wrote: »

Good running.
If your finding your tempo miles easy, you should probably bring your tempo pace down a bit. Your pace is obviously improving so keep the effort level rather than pace at a consistent level for these sessions.
Tempo miles are supposed to be hard!!

Thanks man. Today was the first day that I can honestly say that all 3 tempo miles felt 'easy', I actually enjoyed them and wasn't willing them to be over at all. I could probably bring it back to 7:15 pace alright, but my next tempo run I'll be trying for 4Ms at tempo, might see how that feels at 7:30 first.

Flew back from Milan last night with a full week's running overlooked by San Siro in my legs.

I was really curious to see how Saturday's PMP would go. Would my midweek tempo success be paid for on Saturday?

Well the first 4 miles did feel a bit like hard work. My right leg felt like a passenger. It wasn't sore, knee was grand, the leg just was refusing to wake-up and get involved.

It woke up for the second 4 miles and these 4 felt much better and were much more fun. Breathing was good and I finished feeling strong. I started running at 8:26am and by 9am it was already pretty warm, sweated a lot on this one. Not looking forward to Sunday's 17 miler if the weather is going to be like this.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/75181755

Warm-up 1.20M @ 9:15

M1 7:44
M2 7:47
M3 7:38
M4 7:45
M5 7:34
M6 7:42
M7 7:34
M8 7:38

Total 8.03M @ 7:40

Week 8 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
Easy 4M @ 8:35|4.63|8:33
Tempo 8M with 3M @ 7:30|8.01|7:57 with 3M @ 7:21
Easy 4M @ 8:35|4.40|8:32
PMP 8M @ 7:45|8.03|7:40
LSR 17M @ 8:45||

Garmin may have died a death last night .

The lap/reset button was becoming increasingly unresponsive over the last few weeks and last night it just gave up the ghost I think. Tried again this morning, still dead.

This is not good. I can still use it to pace while running, but I won't be able to save any runs. Guys at Runways said to pop-in and they'd have a look at it. Fingers-crossed they can work some magic.

First evening run of the year in Phoenix
First 7:0X miles of the year :eek:
And an unofficial 4M PB of 28:43

Took Menoscemo's comments to heart about my tempo runs. I ran the 4 planned tempo miles more on effort than on pace and while it was tough it wasn't as tough as I would have expected. I really really enjoyed the session. I ran the tempos on the cycle path that runs around the playing pitches by the Papal cross, that's so much better than running them around the hilly block. I memorized the 4 miles:

Tempo M1 7:06
Tempo M2 7:16
Tempo M3 7:14
Tempo M4 7:07

Tempo Average 7:11
Total 9.89M @ 7:52

Plus I just hooked up the Garmin to my PC and by doing that it automatically saves any unsaved activity. So I've downloaded a weird Frankenstein of a run featuring me fumbling with buttons in the living room, last night's run and tonights run. My unofficial PB is at least documented. Still going to get the Garmin replaced/repaired though.

Ran almost 10 miles tonight as I wanted to get home quickly. Probably will run my easy run on Friday instead of tomorrow. I'm going out tomorrow night and I'm predicting very low will power tomorrow morning.

Wednesday evening weigh-in 75kgs.

Week 9 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
Easy 4M @ 8:35|4.31|8:25
Tempo 9M with 4M @ 7:30|9.89|7:52 with 4M @ 7:11
Easy 4M @ 8:35||
PMP 9M @ 7:45||
LSR 12M @ 8:45||

Extravagant me . I'm a Garminolic. Old forerunner is gone back to Garmin for repair/replacement. I couldn't face 2 weeks of pace-guessing so I bought a 'back-up' 110. I reckon at one point I will have to replace my old 110 so I've just anticipated that moment a bit.

Ran too fast tonight, though it felt easy. Almost no stiffness or heaviness. Left knee feels ever so slighty swollen, on a scale of 1 to 10, it's at most 1. Will keep an eye on this. Looking forward to running back in Phoenix this weekend, missed it over the last 4 weeks.

Extra clean-eating started today. So far so good. Oh and March total mileage came in at 159.99 miles. That's 277.01 miles of running in the first two months of marathon program.

M1 8:26
M2 8:30
M3 8:30
M4 8:33

Total 4.33M @ 8:28

Week 9 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
Easy 4M @ 8:35|4.31|8:25
Tempo 9M with 4M @ 7:30|9.89|7:52 with 4M @ 7:11
Easy 4M @ 8:35|4.33|8:28
PMP 9M @ 7:45||
LSR 12M @ 8:45||

I was a little apprehensive about yesterday's run after Saturday's tougher than expected PMP. Set off determined to keep the pace very comfortable and mostly managed to do that. Slight twinge in right glute for first half-mile or so, passes. No unusual stiffness or tiredness today. Mostly cloudy in the morning, even caught some rain.

The next two weeks look tough on paper, with midweek runs of 9 and 10 miles. I'm going to play it by ear how I run the tempo part of these. And LSRs of 19 and 20 miles respectively. All the same I look forward to the LSRs more than I do to my PMPs. Tempted to run Wednesday's 9 miles as an easy run and then compare next Saturday's 9 mile PMP with last Saturday's one.

Oh and got a mail from Runways saying pop in to pick up my replacement Garmin!! Seems I was entitled to an immediate replacement. So they'll just refund the one I bought last week. Happy days .

Total miles for the week 41.35.

M01 9:02
M02 8:53
M03 8:48
M04 8:38
M05 8:46
M06 8:42
M07 9:02
M08 8:46
M09 8:36
M10 8:35
M11 8:46
M12 8:50

Total 12.60M @ 8:47

Week 9 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
Easy 4M @ 8:35|4.31|8:25
Tempo 9M with 4M @ 7:30|9.89|7:52 with 4M @ 7:11
Easy 4M @ 8:35|4.33|8:28
PMP 9M @ 7:45|9.01|7:47
LSR 12M @ 8:45|12.60|8:47

Week 10 has not been a good week . I couldn't get out to run Wednesday evening (although I was happy with the rest). Then Thursday morning I sleep-in and miss my morning run, I'd plans for Thursday evening so Thursday's easy 4 miles was also missed.

Then today. Warm-up jog over to the Park. Warm this morning.
Set off on a 9 mile PMP. I'm anxious about this run after last weekend's same session, I don't want to fade again. Miles 1 and 2 are uphill and both logged at 7:46. Down Ordnance and I try not to speed up too much, mile 3 is 7:43. Then at the start of mile 4 I feel sharpish twinges in my right glute (at least I think it's my glute). On a scale of sore from 1 to 10, it was probably a 3.5. I drop the pace a little and hope it goes away. After about a mile or so it goes away but not completely and for the rest of the run it's at 0.5 on the sore scale. So mile 4 is 7:58. On a positive note today I don't fade. And the remaining miles aren't a struggle to complete like last week. I manage to hit my target pace spot-on.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/78173339

By the time I've stretched and walked home my glute is pretty sore. Feels like I've tweaked something. For a couple of hours it's sore whenever I reach down. After a couple of hours it improves a fair bit. Right now I can feel it just a little sore. I'm in two minds about tomorrow's 19 miler. If it's improved a little more come the morning I'll probably set out on the run alright but if I feel any further significant twinges I'll pull up. Week 10 has been mostly a write-off already so I don't mind so much if I have to cancel tomorrow's run.

Warm-up 1.19M @ 9:25

M1 7:46
M2 7:46
M3 7:43
M4 7:58
M5 7:45
M6 7:41
M7 7:33
M8 7:45
M9 7:51

Total 9.01M @ 7:45

Week 10 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
Easy 4M @ 8:35|4.32|8:37
Tempo 9M with 4M @ 7:30|Didn't Run|Didn't Run
Easy 4M @ 8:35|Didn't Run|Didn't Run
PMP 9M @ 7:45|9.01|7:45
LSR 19M @ 8:45||

Into my first of three peak training weeks. Went out for this easy 5 miler after work yesterday evening. Nice mild evening. Knees felt a bit 'heavy' and 'dull' for the first mile or so. I think this must be from the weekend's mileage. One positive thing I'm noticing in the last few weeks is that I have far less soreness and stiffness at the start of my runs. Calves feel ok pretty much from the start of every run.

Once again I didn't pace very well, with 37" difference between my fastest and slowest laps.

M1 8:14
M2 8:21
M3 8:47
M4 8:36
M5 8:51

Total 5.12M @ 8:34

Week 11 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
Easy 5M @ 8:35|5.12|8:34
Regular 10M @ 8:20||
Easy 5M @ 8:35||
PMP 10M @ 7:45||
LSR 20M @ 8:45||

Haven't worn my knee-support all week. Seems fine without it. Set out on tonight's 5 miler as soon as I got home from work. No stiff calves, the odd muffled comment from my knees, slightly sore right foot, feels like a little bruise. First mile is too fast. Tell myself to slow down, that there are a lot of miles yet to run this week. Pace the remaining 4 miles quite well. Finish feeling grand.

Next run is a biggie, PMP 10M @ 7:45. Bit nervous about this.

M1 8:19
M2 8:37
M3 8:38
M4 8:36
M5 8:40

Total 5.11M @ 8:34

Week 11 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
Easy 5M @ 8:35|5.12|8:34
Regular 10M @ 8:20|10.35|8:14
Easy 5M @ 8:35|5.11|8:34
PMP 10M @ 7:45||
LSR 20M @ 8:45||

Banana, glass of orange juice and out the door at 8:30. Going to try run these 20 milers at 8:30 in the morning, same time that the marathon starts in June. Decided to leave my knee support off today. Forgot to pick up some jellies. Legs felt ok after yesterday's 10 miler. Felt very comfortable over the 20 miles. Thought for while that I was tiring on mile 18 but then miles 19 and 20 I was fine again. Legs held up well, not to stiff for the rest of the day. Only casualty was a bloody toe which I didn't notice until I was stretching at the end and spotted a red stain on the outside of my runners :eek:.

Very pleased with how week 11 went, especially after a best forgotten about week 10. I'm looking forward now to a step back week.

Can't believe I've put over 200 miles onto my 'new' Nimbus already.

Week 11 Total Miles 51.97.

M01 8:42
M02 8:37
M03 8:39
M04 8:43
M05 8:52
M06 8:46
M07 8:53
M08 8:47
M09 8:34
M10 8:44
M11 8:45
M12 8:36
M13 8:43
M14 8:39
M15 8:40
M16 9:04
M17 8:47
M18 8:43
M19 8:56
M20 8:39

Total 20.13M @ 8:44

Week 11 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
Easy 5M @ 8:35|5.12|8:34
Regular 10M @ 8:20|10.35|8:14
Easy 5M @ 8:35|5.11|8:34
PMP 10M @ 7:45|10.01|7:40
LSR 20M @ 8:45|20.13|8:44

Back to morning runs for the next two weeks. Little bit of frost on the roof opposite when I was heading out. Nice and handy 5 miles to start this step-back week. A little protest from right knee for maybe 30" over first half mile or so. Calves were fine right from he first step. This pace is feeling easier now and I spend most of the run trying to slow down.

M1 8:41
M2 8:21
M3 8:30
M4 8:26
M5 8:37

Total 5.10M @ 8:31

Week 12 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
Easy 5M @ 8:35|5.10|8:31
Tempo 6M with 2M @ 7:30||
Easy 5M @ 8:35||
PMP 6M @ 7:45||
LSR 12M @ 8:45||

menoscemo wrote: »

That's some great training recently and definately put's you in great stead for Cork.
You have been very disciplined about pace and that will stand you in good stead, especially the PMP and Tempo runs.

I still think you need to take the easy,recovery runs and to an cerain extent LSR's by feel rather than pace.
Definately on recoveries it wouldn't hurt to go a bit slower, they are not the kind of runs where you need to have a 'goal' pace. the only goal you need on the easy runs is not to go faster than 'x'.

Check out mcmillan and plug in 3:30 for a marathon and it gives you an idea of paces ranges (bear in mind these are ranges, not fixed numbers)

Thanks Menoscemo.

Yeah I know I risk running my easy runs a bit too fast. I often do run on feel but then sometimes (often enough) that feel is faster than the pace I’ve set as target. I’m tipping along, daydreaming away, all feels grand, feels genuinely easy. Then I glance at the Garmin and I see an 8:17. Slow down. It happens the other way as well, feels easy and I glance at the Garmin and I see an 8:53. I’m happy now though that if I see 8:53 I won’t deliberately speed up, last year I would have. I find that continuing on easy-feel the pace smoothly picks up over the entire run. I allow myself a 1% tolerance on the fast side of my 8:35 target, which means I can run as fast as 8:30 but no faster than 8:30.

If my easy Tuesday and Thursday runs ever stop feeling easy then I will revise this strategy for sure. Right now when I finish a 5M easy, my brow might be a little sweaty, my legs feel good, my breathing is not in the slightest bit laboured, I could easily hold a conversation. Meanwhile I think deciding to run tempos only every second week at this point in my program has been a very wise move.

menoscemo wrote: »

Anyways, any plans for any races soon? I'll be pacing in Cork, so most likely see you down there.

Nope, no plans for any races before Cork. You're pacing the 4:00 hour runners right? I'll pop over to say hello.