Trim 10 Mile Race

The last week in January started with a long run with a couple of tempo portions resulting in 17.5 miles being covered in around 2 hours 25 mins. The tempo pieces especially the second one coming after 2 hours of running was really tough but I got it done in the end. The rest of the week was a bit of a step back with the Trim race coming up on the Sunday but it still came in as 45 miles.

January was a very good month training wise running approx 210 miles for the month and running 28 days out of 31. This brought me up to the Trim 10 mile race last Sunday 1st Feb. I wasn't really sure how this was going to go but the weather was fine for the time of year when we got there, the plan was to start out conservatively as it was my first proper race since last September and see how it went from there.

Miles 1-4 (7:13, 7:18, 7:11, 7:18)

The aim was to go out around 7:30 pace for the first few miles. The first mile or so seemed to have the wind helping and a bit of downhill so the effort seemed a lot slowed that the pace suggests. I was conscious of not blowing up but at the same time the effort level was feeling about right so I just went with it. As we came into Dunderry we turned left and soon after passed the 4 mile marker.

Miles 5-8 (7:39, 7:18, 7:17, 7:13)

Between miles 4-5 I felt like I went to pieces and that my race was run, that feeling you get when you just want to stop. Runners around me were pulling away gradually and I felt like my race was run when the mile registered at 7:39. It turns out this mile was pretty much a gradual uphill and into the wind. When we turned out of it between 5&6 miles my legs seemed to come back to me and I got a bit of a second wind. At this point I was trying to take it mile by mile and tick off each mile as best could. Although the field was well spread out by now I was starting to pick people off and go away from them. I like to try and trick myself that there is a mile less to go than there actually is as you will always find someway of getting through the last mile. I was working very hard though now with 2 miles to go and happy to see the paces dropping gradually.

Miles 9-10 (7:03, 7:01)

There was one of the Balbriggan Roadrunners ahead of me by a few metres for most of the race and as my pace was improving his seemed to be as well. While I was pushing it as best I could he also seemed to be doing a good job of dragging me along with him (thanks Brian). I was surprised do be able to drop in a 7:03 mile after 8 miles of racing and now the main focus was on getting to the finish. At this stage it was just a case of putting one foot in front of another, not before a final hurdle. When we turned with around 400m to go to the finish we were greeted with a nice wind tunnel to run into. While trying to pick it up mentally it felt like everything was slowing and going in slow motion. Eventually got to the line glad to be finished. 

Chip time was recorded as 1:13:00 which is a 4 min 17 sec PB from my last 10 mile race in 2012. More importantly I was happy with how I ran the race, especially the second half of the race finishing strong in the last couple of miles.

Now it is time to get back training.

Training Update

Here we go again as we set off on another journey to try and make the start line of the London Marathon in one piece. It feels like the last 3 months of 2014 have left me in a good starting place but anyone who has undertaken Marathon training will know it is generally a road with a lot of twists and turns along the way. The only hope is that we don't reach a dead end :-)

Training hasn't changed a huge amount other than it is now a weekly plan with the long run on Sunday and a session on the Wednesday. The day after these sessions become recovery runs, run at a very easy pace to allow the body to recover. The other days are maintenance runs anywhere between 35 mins & 1 hour at the moment depending on how I feel or time available. Typically these will be 5/6 miles again at an easy pace. Easy days easy, hard days hard is the motto.

What has changed though is the make up of the long runs. Typically these would have been long easy runs as well but now they include an easy portion at the start, them maybe some strides and a couple of segments at tempo pace  broken up by easy running or as was the case last week an easy portion followed by a 50 minute progression run and a cool down. These have been a shock to the system and a different way of clocking up 15/16 miles which will increase obviously as the weeks go on.

The Wednesday session when the warm up and cool down are factored in are also a long session of 13/14 miles. These have been strides + tempo portion or like last night 6x1 mile reps with .5 mile recovery in between, but the recovery to be run around 8:30 pace. I'm not sure if I've ever done a harder session but the last mile was the quickest so not a bad sign.

Mileage was around 55 miles last week and should be 50 this week as I have a rest day (2nd this year) on the plan tomorrow. It will probably remain around this level for the next couple of weeks as I ease up a bit towards the end of next week for the Trim 10 mile race and recover a bit the week after.

I nearly forgot to mention the weather. There has been everything the last few weeks with wind, rain and ice. I really hate running in icy conditions but have managed to avoid it mostly. While the weather is bad it can be easy to put the feet up and do nothing, but it helps to have various groups or people to call on especially for easy or recovery runs to make it less of a chore. It rarely is as bad as it seems once your out the door.

Talk to you again in a couple of weeks. Happy running.

A New Year

Happy New Year everyone. Hope you had a great Christmas and are ready to go again. From my point of view training eased off slightly but I still managed to run 24 days in December clocking up around 150 miles in total.

I did what is now an annual race on St Stephens day in Tinryland, Carlow. This is an annual 4 mile race that I did last year and headed along again at it's close enough to my in-laws. It was a cold, wet & windy morning and it didn't look too appealing when I got there but sure when your there you might as well get on with it. I ran this on effort and didn't look at the watch during the race. It was pretty strung out after the start but I did manage to pass a few people along the way. Obviously with the previous few days you wouldn't be at your fittest but I was happy to finish in 16th place in 28:44 which is around 10 seconds off a PB for the same distance. It felt good to be back racing and hurting again. Really happy with the effort after the few days that went before it, not ideal preparation to say the least.

I am just about finished my latest cycle of training and my long run is now up to 2 hours, with a few strides thrown in for good measure ;-) Most of these have been done over hilly terrain with a few other sadists, making them tougher on the legs. I've gone from running 35 mins a day getting back into things to the point where this weeks mileage will be over 40.

With that in mind Marathon training begins on Sunday and things move back to weekly training plans. Long run on a Sunday and speed session on Wednesday with easy or recovery days in between. Looks to be a challenging run straight away this Sunday, not helped by being in college for the weekend so it will be done on Sunday evening. I'll let you know how it goes.

I just signed up for the Trim 10 mile race on February 1st as well so hopefully make it to that fresh and well.So that's all for now folks. Back to the wind and the rain. The joys of winter running.

Winter miles bring Summer smiles

I can't remember exactly where I saw the above quote recently but when I did it certainly resonated with me and stuck in my head. I'm hoping it will bear fruit for me and you over the coming months.

The festive season is now in full swing and this time next week it will all be over as our thoughts turn to the New Year and I'm sure for a lot of us it will be a time of resolutions to stop doing something, or to take up something new, a new challenge or a new goal for the year ahead.

It doesn't mean we should do nothing until then and for me training has been continuing pretty well for the last couple of weeks. Fitting in the key sessions, a couple of decent long runs with friends. Just trotting along worrying more about dogs than paces, embracing the hills and recovering on the downhills. Being lucky enough with the mild weather we have been having mostly, the rain only serving to dampen the brow and not the spirits.

December has brought about 19 days training out of 22 so far. 6 days a week has become a ritual at this stage, some days are easier than others. Planning around other things, moving days around but generally there is always room at least somewhere for a short run. It's all adding up to the point where I'm now at just over 40 miles a week. For me this is a good place to be as I look towards starting Marathon training in early January.

I have taken the time for the last 3 months to first getting back into running regularly, then slowly building the mileage and re-introducing some sessions to the point where the body and mind hopefully will be able to handle the further demands of marathon training. Marathon training through the winter at that. All of this is aimed to lining up at the start line in London on April 26th 2015. I won't win that race, the time I hopefully run won't be impressive to a lot of people. That doesn't matter to me, I'm not running to impress anyone else, just to do the best that I can on that day. If I do that I will be more than happy.

To everyone that reads my ramblings thank you very much. I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and look forward to running with some of you during the holidays and a lot of you in 2015. 

Juggling Everything

December is a busy month isn't it, a lot going on, catching up with people, preparing for Christmas, extra nights out and all that that brings with it. It's a time where normal routine stuff can fall by the wayside if you let it.

With me it takes a lot of planning to keep everything on track and having to be flexible with others time as well. Training has been continuing as planned with just one missed day this month caused by a stomach bug. We had our work Xmas night out last Thursday which led to a very early morning run. The hardest part is getting out the door but it can be done. I had planned the same this morning for a short run, but when I saw the frost I decided otherwise. As Emma has her work night out tonight I got into work early so hopefully I will get the run done on my lunch break. All about planning, preparing and adapting if needs be.

It feels like so long since I had a race and it has been but I hope to sort this out over Xmas with either a Parkrun or one of the other options available. Will be interested to see how the legs get on.

Last weekend was the last weekend for my Nutrition course before Xmas as well but there are a couple of assignments due early in January so it's not time to down tools just yet. Below are some pointers which may help you. They do not require massive effort or changes, which most people are not going to make at this time of year anyway.

• Water: This makes up around 70% of the human body. Even while you are sleeping your kidneys are still working away so you will most likely wake up with some type of dehydration. If you drink a pint of water first thing in the morning this will re-hydrate your kidneys and also signal the body to kick-off the digestive processes again. Again this can be repeated with a glass of water 15-20 mins before each meal to trigger the body to release the digestive juices needed to handle the food it is about to receive.
• Chewing: This really is a common problem, but a simple one to fix. Your teeth are very important in the digestive process to break food down to it's smallest form before swallowing. It takes a lot of pressure off the rest of your digestive system. Remember your stomach doesn't have teeth, so you need to help it. So slow down, enjoy your food and at the same time you will probably feel less bloated after a big meal.
• Vitamins & Minerals: There are a lot of essential vitamins & minerals that the body needs to function at an optimum level and all of these can be found in a range of whole foods. A lot of health problems can be down to a deficiency in some these so it is important to try and get them from your food. This is why you will always hear people telling you to eat plenty of fruit & veg etc. You are really not getting a whole lot from processed foods other than empty calories but that's for another day. At this time of year if I was recommending to take one Vitamin that we do not get enough of it would be Vitamin C. This is a great way of keeping colds and Flu's at bay. Personally I dissolve a capsule in a pint of water each morning and take it that way. If you are feeling a bit run down or something coming on then double the dose. 

Nothing too ground breaking in the above but just a few simple pointers that might help. I'm still looking for a couple of volunteers for the new year so if your interested give me a shout for more information.

Do you have Nutrition problems? Can I help?

November was a good month for me with just under 150 miles clocked up, good consistent training with only one planned days training missed. Hopefully December can go as well with all the distractions it can bring ;-)
I have just finished my current block of training and started again at the weekend on the next block of training, this 10 day cycle repeats itself 4 times over the next 40 days with the 3 sessions in each cycle becoming more progressive. An example of this is the long run which yesterday was 90 minutes. This will be 120 minutes by the end of this block of training. The long run has now been adapted to include a few strides (6x45 seconds) in the 2nd half of the run to get the legs turning over and working the muscles differently.

For the end of November we had a lovely morning yesterday to run in shorts and tee-shirts, taking in all the challenging hills around the back of Stamullen & Balscadden.

The 10 day cycle works well for me at the moment as well because I am in college some weekends. I started a course in Nutrition & Health Coaching a few months back and am really enjoying it so far. It has given me an eye opener as if we didn't know already how important what we put into our body is to our overall health, and how it can lead to lots of digestive problems and diseases.

Maybe in future blogs I can put in some advice or relevant information if people are interested in that.

As part of the course we have to work on some case studies in the New Year. That's maybe where maybe some of you can help me to help you. I'm looking for 4-5 volunteers to begin working with in the middle of January.

I know most people that read this are probably healthy & fit individuals but if you suffer from any digestive or food related problems, or general health problems that you think can be improved by better Nutrition then maybe I can help you. Please send me a PM on Facebook or e-mail to pete.slevin@gmail.com if you are interested in discussing further.

Here we go again

It's been a while hasn't it? Mid June to be precise. I had kind of given up on the blog but a few people have mentioned it to me recently so I decided to start posting again.

The summer months didn't go to well and all the time it seemed like 1 step forward 2 steps back. I was training away for the marathon, but finding the training a lot harder than previously. I had my first ever DNF in the Dublin Marathon where it was remarked that I looked terrible before the race. I pulled in after 8 miles or so with no energy. Around this time I was also dropping off the pace in our weekly tempo runs, unable to hold a pace after a couple of miles that should be no problem normally. To cut a long story short I had a blood test and it came back with low Iron, common enough for runners and fitting the symptoms I was having. I also discovered my immune system was pretty low so have been on a course of Iron and a B complex Vitamin for the last while building back up.

Once the closing date for Marathon entries came and went I took some advice on board and went back to basics, building up a base again by just running easy and shorter to begin with. I started running 6 days a week, which I have never really done before, but just 35 mins a day to begin with and a longer run of 45 minutes.

The body seemed to be able to handle this as there wasn't too much stress being put on it to recover from. At the end of the 2nd week I did a Parkrun in Malahide just to get an idea where I was. I finished in 21:43 which is around 30 seconds off my best time on that course. Not bad all things considered. The initial cycle consisted of 5 weeks where I ran 6 days a week, with the longer run increasing by 5 mins a week and one of the midweek runs getting longer as well and incorporating a few strides.

Again I took some guidance on what to do next and step things up a bit again. I'm now working off a 10 day cycle which includes 3 sessions with 2 easy days between the sessions and then a rest day after 9 days. I completed the first cycle ok with the sessions being a long run, a short interval session (18x30 seconds) and a short tempo run (15 mins). I'm starting to feel strong again and recovering properly between sessions again.

All of this is aimed towards getting ready to tackle Marathon training full on in the New Year. Yes we are London bound again and this time it's all about getting to the start line first and foremost. The mind is willing and I'm trying to do things right so the body will be as well.

It was strange watching the marathon this year for the first time rather than running it, but being positioned about 500 metres from the finish gave me a new found respect for the event when you say how people were finishing the race. It was great to see see so many friends and clubmates in action and special mention must go to my training buddies Rosemary & Susan showing that hard work and dedication to training gets you the results you deserve. They have certainly put it up to me for London but at the same time shown me what is possible.

Anyway that's enough rambling for the moment. I'll catch up again in a few weeks.