After the disappointment of Athlone my main focus was to get back running and gauging how I felt as it went along without doing anything stupid.
Tuesday 17th September - Session
This was my first attempt at running since Saturday. Was feeling a tightness in my chest during the warm up of a mile but decided to give the session a go and see how it was. The session was 2x12 mins @ 10K pace followed by 3x400m.
I started off ok but after a few minutes I was struggling with my breathing although the pace not being too hot. I eventually stopped after 9.5 minutes. Had a chat with Gary and he told me just to join in for the 2nd 12 minutes and to do it at an easier pace to get something from the session. That I did and finished up after that with 3.81 miles for the night.
Wednesday 18th September - Easy Run
3.97 miles @ 9:02 pace
Just got out for a few easy miles again to monitor how I felt. Legs still feeling pretty wrecked for some reason but apart from that seemed ok.
Thursday 19th September - Tempo Run
Thursday night is tempo run but I wasn't expecting to be able for it. The plan was for 10 miles @ 5-10 secs quicker than MP. I met up with Ken for whom this would be an easy pace who had a good 10 mile route in mind. We set out with the aim to hold MP for me and to be honest I would have been happy to get 6 miles done and take it easy from there. I felt like stopping every mile and while it felt I was slowing the pace was hovering where it should. When we got up the nasty hill at Stevenstown I felt happy that I would make it home.
That I did with 10 miles completed @ 8 min pace. For the day that was in it RESULT.
Saturday 21st September - Long Run
17.5 miles @ 8:43 pace
I had picked up a number for the Dublin 1/2 with the aim just to run it as part of my long run. Little did I know that ladies numbers were pink and men's white. I got a few looks before the race (or at least it seemed that way, maybe I was being paranoid).
I got to the park shortly after 9 and set off around the back of the park. Made my way back to the start and bumped into Niall, John, Olwyn & Matt at various stages before the start.
Lined up a bit back from the 1:50 pacers and set off shortly afterwards. Was keeping an eye on the pace early on to make sure not get caught up in the race. The miles ticked off pretty ok even though the legs felt tired. A lot of people seemed to have gone off too quickly and by maintaining my pace I was passing plenty of people after 6/7 miles. It did feel pretty warm though. As I came back into the park after 10.5 miles or so I knew a few hills awaited but that would be no harm. As we headed up military hill everyone was being ushered over to the side of the road to allow an ambulance down the road. We were subsequently to hear that a runner had collapsed and sadly passed away R.I.P. I kept the effort steady to the finish but I did notice a couple more people receiving treatment at the side of the road and were passed by another ambulance. It was all a bit scary to be honest.
Eventually crossed the line, picked up my tee-shirt and walked back to the car. It definitely helped being able to clock up the miles during the race and the legs were suitably tired.
Tuesday 24th September - Session
Having not run Sunday or Monday (feck you Dublin) I wasn't sure how this would go. Got there early and did a 2 mile warm up.
The session turned out to be (1x14min & 2x12min w/3 min recovery). The pace was to be 20-30 seconds quicker than MP. This went well and the paces were (7:30, 7:25, 7:12). Was glad to be able to pick up the pace for the last 2 mins or so of the last rep and test how I felt or otherwise.
Finished off with a short cool down. 7.95 miles in total for the day. Also signed up for DCM today.
Wednesday 25th September - Easy Run
9.18 miles @ 9:03 pace
This is normally a rest day but after speaking with Gary I switched Friday's run to today as I will be doing a Kilomarathon on Saturday so would take Friday as a rest day instead. Was talking to Rosemary and she was also planning to do the 9 miles this evening. We set off and took in a few hills through Stamullen as we headed for Julianstown. Eased the pace up a bit for the last few miles to try and leave a bit of life in the legs for the next day. Got very dark towards the end. The nights really are gone to pot.
Thursday 26th September - Tempo Run
Just myself and Rosemary again as Susan had to get her run in early although we did meet Alan on his run as we were warming up and Brian as well on his run.
Following a mile warm up we set off with the target being 10 miles. The official target was 5-10 secs quicker than MP but that would be having a rest day before this run. We were always slightly outside this target but we had said from the outset we would be happy if we could keep it at MP. I don't know what was up but running just felt very awkward and my legs seemed to be all over the place. The road also felt gradually uphill all the way. Felt like easing up after 5 miles. After 6.5 miles when we turned around Rosemary told me to go on ahead if I felt like it. I had been hanging on to her tail for the last mile there was no way I would be kicking on anywhere. Slowly but surely the miles ticked off with the last couple of miles difficult in the dark. Eventually the watch beeped for 10 miles and we had kept the pace at 8 min miles.
A really tough session mentally and physically but it is probably better to have a few of these to prepare you for what lies ahead.
11.63 miles in total for the day.
Summary: Feeling much more normal this week and have a lot more energy. Doing a Kilomarathon (26.2K) in Moone tomorrow which is close to my in-laws. The aim will be to do this race somewhere between tempo pace and long run pace. Basically not a flat out race but a good pace. In the words of Gary leave a little bit behind you. After last night and with 10 miles to do on Sunday hopefully I can do that.
In other news I had entered the ballot for the London Marathon never expecting to get a place with 125,000 entries in the ballot for roughly 15,000 places. I found out on Wednesday that I had been lucky enough to get a place. This is a race I have always looked at growing up long before I started running of any sort and probably the one race I would love to do. For the moment though all roads lead to Dublin....
Friday 27 September 2013
Tuesday 17 September 2013
Possibly my worst race ever :-(
This week was to be a mini taper week with the Athlone 1/2 marathon at the end of it. I was looking forward to the race and felt I was confident enough to run a PB based on recent improvements in training and the introduction of long tempo runs. Little did I know what lay ahead.
Monday 9th September - Easy Run
6.02 miles @ 9:22 pace
Just an easy run around Balbriggan. Always seem to struggle on these Monday runs a bit but another one clocked off.
Tuesday 10th September - Session
The usual club session with just under 2 miles warm up before getting down to business. The session was 4 sets of 1x800 @ 3K pace, 90 sec recovery, 1 x 400 @ mile pace, 3 mile jog recovery.
There was a lot of whinging about this one but everyone worked really well it seemed. Splits for me were (3:23, 1:34; 3:23, 1:37; 3:23, 1:34; 3:23, 1:27).
The 800's were very consistent and the 400's mainly except for the last one where I picked up the pace a bit. cool down brought the session to 6.29 miles
Thursday 12th September - Tempo
This weeks tempo was just 3 miles with the race on Saturday. Did a mile warm up towards the ring road in Balbriggan and the set about the 3 mile tempo. Was a windy evening so not ideal for a tempo run buy no problems for just 3 miles.
Completed the 3 miles in (7:45, 7:48, 7:40). some portions were easier depending on the wind. Jogged back home then for just over 5 miles for the day.
Saturday 14th September - Athlone 1/2 Marathon
The plan for this was to try and run just under 1:37 which would be less than a minute improvement on the rock & roll 1/2 marathon on a flatter course. I felt it should be possible with the way training had been going. The club were having a night out the night before and I popped along for a while for a few pints of water and was home in bed by 11. I had talked tactics with Rosemary and she gave me the re-assurances I needed I wasn't biting off more than I could chew.
Woke on Saturday morning with a sore throat but didn't put much pass on it. I also had the same the previous morning but it was a bit worse this morning. Generally I still felt ok though so I set off for Athlone. Met a few familiar faces at registration and got ready with a warm up of around a mile. The organisation was really good and the race started bang on time.
Miles 1-5 (7:23, 7:25, 7:26, 7:24, 7:35)
Started off well and settled into a nice rhythm. The roads were narrow enough but the crowd spread out pretty quickly. In the second mile I ticked in with a group from Mullingar and let them drag me along for a while. I think they might have slowed a bit as I remember pushing on from them a bit but maintaining the same pace. Mile 5 was a bit slower and it was here I started feeling some distress signals from what I remember with my legs feeling like they had run 22 miles already and not 4.
Miles 6 - 13 (7:41, 8:06, 9:16, 8:45, 9:06, 9:07, 10:00, 10:09)
The above doesn't need a lot of explaining. After 6 miles or so I felt like I had been hit by a bus. I tried slowing the pace just to get me to the finish but even running a very easy pace was a huge effort. I even tried taking the gel I had to get some energy but this didn't work. Looking at the garmin I reckon I had to stop around 15 times between then and the finish to walk for portions.
Mile 13 was the last and slowest of the race but around a minute of it was spent trying to get sick into a hedge. I did manage to run the last 800m or so and had someone alongside me trying to will me to push for a sub 1:50 finish. I told him that was 13 minutes outside my target but that didn't put him off. I finished in 1:50:14
Never was I so happy to finish a race but I just wanted to be out of there. Met Danny from the club who ran a great race. Had a quick cold shower and headed for home. The race itself was €20 to enter which included technical top, medal, water in bottles, fruit & water and a non-alcoholic beer at the finish. Exceptional value in this day and age.
I did a lot of thinking on the way home as to how the race had went and what went wrong. The only logical thing I could come up with was that I had picked up some sort of sickness or virus that I didn't know about the full extent of. When I got home I had to lie down and was absolutely wrecked. Even the next day I was not right. You would not get this feeling from going out too fast in a race if you know what I mean.
I was meant to do a long run on Sunday but I was in no condition to even attempt that.
Summary: So a disappointing week which culminated in a disappointing training week overall. I will try to get back to it this evening (Tuesday) and see how I feel. I guess I just have to try and forget about it and get back on the horse. Can't really afford any more weeks like that though if I want to be able to get around Dublin on Marathon day. I still haven't entered Dublin but I do plan to do it. If I get 2 weeks decent training in the next 2 weeks I enter then just before the deadline.
6.02 miles @ 9:22 pace
Just an easy run around Balbriggan. Always seem to struggle on these Monday runs a bit but another one clocked off.
Tuesday 10th September - Session
The usual club session with just under 2 miles warm up before getting down to business. The session was 4 sets of 1x800 @ 3K pace, 90 sec recovery, 1 x 400 @ mile pace, 3 mile jog recovery.
There was a lot of whinging about this one but everyone worked really well it seemed. Splits for me were (3:23, 1:34; 3:23, 1:37; 3:23, 1:34; 3:23, 1:27).
The 800's were very consistent and the 400's mainly except for the last one where I picked up the pace a bit. cool down brought the session to 6.29 miles
Thursday 12th September - Tempo
This weeks tempo was just 3 miles with the race on Saturday. Did a mile warm up towards the ring road in Balbriggan and the set about the 3 mile tempo. Was a windy evening so not ideal for a tempo run buy no problems for just 3 miles.
Completed the 3 miles in (7:45, 7:48, 7:40). some portions were easier depending on the wind. Jogged back home then for just over 5 miles for the day.
Saturday 14th September - Athlone 1/2 Marathon
The plan for this was to try and run just under 1:37 which would be less than a minute improvement on the rock & roll 1/2 marathon on a flatter course. I felt it should be possible with the way training had been going. The club were having a night out the night before and I popped along for a while for a few pints of water and was home in bed by 11. I had talked tactics with Rosemary and she gave me the re-assurances I needed I wasn't biting off more than I could chew.
Woke on Saturday morning with a sore throat but didn't put much pass on it. I also had the same the previous morning but it was a bit worse this morning. Generally I still felt ok though so I set off for Athlone. Met a few familiar faces at registration and got ready with a warm up of around a mile. The organisation was really good and the race started bang on time.
Miles 1-5 (7:23, 7:25, 7:26, 7:24, 7:35)
Started off well and settled into a nice rhythm. The roads were narrow enough but the crowd spread out pretty quickly. In the second mile I ticked in with a group from Mullingar and let them drag me along for a while. I think they might have slowed a bit as I remember pushing on from them a bit but maintaining the same pace. Mile 5 was a bit slower and it was here I started feeling some distress signals from what I remember with my legs feeling like they had run 22 miles already and not 4.
Miles 6 - 13 (7:41, 8:06, 9:16, 8:45, 9:06, 9:07, 10:00, 10:09)
The above doesn't need a lot of explaining. After 6 miles or so I felt like I had been hit by a bus. I tried slowing the pace just to get me to the finish but even running a very easy pace was a huge effort. I even tried taking the gel I had to get some energy but this didn't work. Looking at the garmin I reckon I had to stop around 15 times between then and the finish to walk for portions.
Mile 13 was the last and slowest of the race but around a minute of it was spent trying to get sick into a hedge. I did manage to run the last 800m or so and had someone alongside me trying to will me to push for a sub 1:50 finish. I told him that was 13 minutes outside my target but that didn't put him off. I finished in 1:50:14
Never was I so happy to finish a race but I just wanted to be out of there. Met Danny from the club who ran a great race. Had a quick cold shower and headed for home. The race itself was €20 to enter which included technical top, medal, water in bottles, fruit & water and a non-alcoholic beer at the finish. Exceptional value in this day and age.
I did a lot of thinking on the way home as to how the race had went and what went wrong. The only logical thing I could come up with was that I had picked up some sort of sickness or virus that I didn't know about the full extent of. When I got home I had to lie down and was absolutely wrecked. Even the next day I was not right. You would not get this feeling from going out too fast in a race if you know what I mean.
I was meant to do a long run on Sunday but I was in no condition to even attempt that.
Summary: So a disappointing week which culminated in a disappointing training week overall. I will try to get back to it this evening (Tuesday) and see how I feel. I guess I just have to try and forget about it and get back on the horse. Can't really afford any more weeks like that though if I want to be able to get around Dublin on Marathon day. I still haven't entered Dublin but I do plan to do it. If I get 2 weeks decent training in the next 2 weeks I enter then just before the deadline.
Wednesday 11 September 2013
A week with no Long Run :-(
The plan for this week was another 5 days of good training with Sunday off as it was my birthday and there was a big night out planned on Saturday night.
Monday 2nd September - Easy Run
6 miles @ 8:55 pace
Did a loop around Balbriggan with Ken at a nice easy pace. Legs were tired enough from the long run the day before but we ticked off the miles and chatted the whole way round.
Tuesday 3rd September - Session
After around a 1.5 mile warm up we were into a ladder session which started with a mile and progressed downwards (1600, 1200, 800, 600, 400, 200). The first 2 were to be done at 5K pace, the next 2 at 3K pace and the last 2 at mile pace. The recovery started at 2 minutes but reduced as we went on as well.
Splits were (6:44, 5:02, 3:18, 2:26, 1:28, 38)
Was a tough session but managed to maintain the pace required consistently. Finished off with a cool down loop to bring up to 6.22 miles for the session.
Thursday 5th September - Tempo Thursday
There was a lot of fear around this run when we got our plan for the week. It was for 9 miles @ 10-15 seconds quicker than Marathon pace. The usual suspects met at 7pm and did a warm up mile before deciding on an out and back route for the 9 miles.
Headed off with Rosemary & Susan and our mail emphasis was to keep it steady at the start which we did. We were also into a bit of a headwind as well on the main road for the first mile before turning off onto the country roads. The 3 of us were spread across the road chatting a little bit and everyone seemed relaxed (compared to last week). We reached the turnaround point and the average pace was around 7:45. We were aiming for 7:45-7:50. We all seemed to be feeling strong and the pace seemed to pick up with about 3 miles to go. Back to the main road with a mile to go and in contrast to last week we chatted most of the last mile which was probably our quickest of the run.
So 9 miles with average pace of 7:42 and more importantly a good confidence boost for us all. Met up with Ken, Stuey & Brian and they all seemed to have a good run as well.
Finished off with a short cool down in the college to bring up 11 miles in total for the day.
Friday 6th September - Easy Run
7.09 miles @ 9:05 pace
I had noticed on Thursday night that my left Achilles seemed very tight after the tempo run. I was lucky enough to have gotten a ticket for the Ireland match on Friday night which meant I had to get an early run before work on Friday. I wasn't too optimistic setting out but it was fine although the legs were tired so was happy to keep it very easy.
Summary: Sadly my running for the week finished on Friday. I was due to do my long run on Saturday morning but found out on Friday evening I might be needed for work on Saturday. This turned into around 5 hours in work so my time for running had well and truly evaporated. Sunday was already a planned non running day anyway.
A bit disappointed not to get the long run done but not much I can do about it now. The rest of the weeks training went well though. I did manage to do some work on the Achilles on Saturday and it feels fine now and no pain at all so at least that is something.
Athlone 1/2 Marathon this Saturday coming. Looking forward to this race. Will train as planned but take it easy enough Thursday/Friday compared to normal.
Monday 2nd September - Easy Run
6 miles @ 8:55 pace
Did a loop around Balbriggan with Ken at a nice easy pace. Legs were tired enough from the long run the day before but we ticked off the miles and chatted the whole way round.
Tuesday 3rd September - Session
After around a 1.5 mile warm up we were into a ladder session which started with a mile and progressed downwards (1600, 1200, 800, 600, 400, 200). The first 2 were to be done at 5K pace, the next 2 at 3K pace and the last 2 at mile pace. The recovery started at 2 minutes but reduced as we went on as well.
Splits were (6:44, 5:02, 3:18, 2:26, 1:28, 38)
Was a tough session but managed to maintain the pace required consistently. Finished off with a cool down loop to bring up to 6.22 miles for the session.
Thursday 5th September - Tempo Thursday
There was a lot of fear around this run when we got our plan for the week. It was for 9 miles @ 10-15 seconds quicker than Marathon pace. The usual suspects met at 7pm and did a warm up mile before deciding on an out and back route for the 9 miles.
Headed off with Rosemary & Susan and our mail emphasis was to keep it steady at the start which we did. We were also into a bit of a headwind as well on the main road for the first mile before turning off onto the country roads. The 3 of us were spread across the road chatting a little bit and everyone seemed relaxed (compared to last week). We reached the turnaround point and the average pace was around 7:45. We were aiming for 7:45-7:50. We all seemed to be feeling strong and the pace seemed to pick up with about 3 miles to go. Back to the main road with a mile to go and in contrast to last week we chatted most of the last mile which was probably our quickest of the run.
So 9 miles with average pace of 7:42 and more importantly a good confidence boost for us all. Met up with Ken, Stuey & Brian and they all seemed to have a good run as well.
Finished off with a short cool down in the college to bring up 11 miles in total for the day.
Friday 6th September - Easy Run
7.09 miles @ 9:05 pace
I had noticed on Thursday night that my left Achilles seemed very tight after the tempo run. I was lucky enough to have gotten a ticket for the Ireland match on Friday night which meant I had to get an early run before work on Friday. I wasn't too optimistic setting out but it was fine although the legs were tired so was happy to keep it very easy.
Summary: Sadly my running for the week finished on Friday. I was due to do my long run on Saturday morning but found out on Friday evening I might be needed for work on Saturday. This turned into around 5 hours in work so my time for running had well and truly evaporated. Sunday was already a planned non running day anyway.
A bit disappointed not to get the long run done but not much I can do about it now. The rest of the weeks training went well though. I did manage to do some work on the Achilles on Saturday and it feels fine now and no pain at all so at least that is something.
Athlone 1/2 Marathon this Saturday coming. Looking forward to this race. Will train as planned but take it easy enough Thursday/Friday compared to normal.
Monday 2 September 2013
Another decent week I hope
Monday 26th August
6.14 miles @ 9:04 pace
Easy paced run, some on grass around the pitches in Gormanston but there is only so many laps I can do so I headed in the direction of the beach and along the beach and back to the car. Not much else to report about this apart from general tiredness in body, mind and legs.
Tuesday 27th August - Session
We were unable to use the college grounds after the death of one of the college staff so this weeks session took place on the beach. After a warm up we kicked off with 20 seconds hard, 35 seconds recovery with the hard part going up by 20 seconds each time as far as 2 minutes and then back down. Managed to keep the hard bits at a good effort but wasn't really feeling the love for running on the beach. Finished off with a cool down to bring it up to 4.69 miles for the night. Not as much as normal, maybe no harm.
Thursday 29th August - Tempo Thursday
10.92 miles @ 8:16 pace
Tempo run this week was upped to 9 miles and was to be run at 5-10 secs quicker than marathon pace. Who knew 5-10 seconds could make such a difference? After a warm up of just under a mile with Stuart, Rosemary & Susan we set off into the wind from Gormanston heading towards Stamullen. Stuart set off into the distance at his pace and the rest of us all settled in around the same pace. As we turned past the school in Stamullen some nasty hills greeted us, especially at the pace we were running. I was digging in keeping effort consistent and Susan talked to us all the way up the hills (no bother to her). Bit of a recovery down into Julianstown about 1/2 way and our pace had evened out. The only thing I cared about was getting through the last 3/4 miles and keeping the pace consistent. The miles ticked off and Susan was chatting away to us. This really was easy for her. She pushed on a bit for the last couple of miles and eventually we made it back to the Huntsman and the 9 miles were done. This was difficult but not impossible. Pace for the 9 miles was 7:53 for me which I was happy with.
Finished off with about a mile slow cool down.
Saturday 31st August
6 miles @ 8:43 pace
First time running around Balbriggan for a while. First mile was a bit mssed up on the Garmin so the overall pace would have been slightly slower. Still found myself having to hold back a bit to keep to the required pace. A good sign.
Sunday 1st September - Long Run
15.5 miles @ 8:38 pace
It takes a certain amount of madness to get out for your long run at 6:30am on a Sunday morning, but if there is 4 of you does that mean we're all mad? We must be in some way.
This run followed the same route as last week as far as around 10/11 miles and then a different route back to Stamullen via Gormanston to add on a bit extra. There was plenty of chat as we ticked off the miles at the required pace with the pace even picking up towards the end. Started to feel very hungry towards the end of the run as with the early start there was no time for breakfast. Could feel my left foot at me a bit as well. This started off with a blister during tempo run last week on the sole of my foot and now I have a blood blister on the top of my big toe as well. Was quite painful after the run. Need to try and get them cleared up as soon as possible. Seems strage to only be happening on one foot?
Summary: With the session on Teusday being a bit shorter the mileage was slightly down on last week but still managed 43.25 miles and 6.25 hours training. The 3 sessions were done but missed out on an easy run. To be honest I have never run 6 days a week normally and I think I can only commit to 5 with other stuff so I am happy enough with that. Hopefully another solid week this week with Long run on Saturday before easing off a bit before the Athlone 1/2 next week.
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