The last couple of weeks have been hectic with lots going on so I better try and update now while I have any hope of remembering what training I have done (which has not been a whole lot).
Monday 8th July
19.3K
Avg Pace: 5:33
Avg HR: 131
I think this coincided with the start of the hot weather. Did a couple of my 8K loops with a bit added on. Broke in the new Saucony Guide properly during this run. Legs were a bit tired but I had to get runs out of the way this week when I could.
Tuesday 9th July
This was our usual speed training night. After the usual warm up it was across to the field for a 20 minute tempo run. Although it was warm making it harder than normal this was a disaster for me. What was meant to be 10K pace turned out to be much slower and I finished with an average pace of 4:54 which is around 20 seconds slower than it should have been. I guess you get nights like that where you just feel completely flat. It was then across to the track for 4x200m which were not to be flat out and were completed in 42/43 secs.
Finished off with a nice slow cool down for 9.42K in total.
Wednesday 10th July
Was feeling pretty tired today both in body and mind. Could have done a recovery run but didn't see any benefit at all. Instead headed down to the beach and spent about 20 minutes walking around in the sea to just knee height which was lovely for a change. Had an early night then and set the alarm for 5am.
Thursday 11th July
28.26K
Avg Pace: 5:41
Avg HR: 128??
I knew I was travelling after work for a wedding the next day so it was probably best to do this run before travelling which meant before work. Up at 5am and out the door before 5:30 for this one. The first hour or so was really peaceful with hardly anything on the roads. 6K brought me to the start of my 8K loop which I set out on gradually feeling weary as I came towards the end of it. Even at this hour of the morning it was still quite warm. Took a drink on and set off on the loop again in the opposite direction. The part along the main road was now busy with traffic and I was glad to turn off it. Felt like I was wilting all the time but as it turned out the pace was remaining pretty even. When I got the loop finished I set out on the 6K for home and despite being mainly uphill I felt better along this stretch. I think I just really hate loops and it is also a long time to be out running with no company. Was thrilled to have it done but spent most of the afternoon in work yawning.
Friday 12th July - Monday 15th July
Rest days. Well if you can call them that. Had the wedding of good friends Triona & Eugene and the afters the following day followed by Mumford & Sons on Sunday night in the Phoenix park. Still managed to feel guilty about not running.
Tuesday 16th July
Back into it with another speed session. The focus seems to have switched now to Marathon training and tonight's session was 6x800m @5K pace. These were completed in (3:16, 3:20, 3:21, 3:19, 3:20, 3:20). First one was a bit quick but managed to keep the pace consistent after that hitting most 400's in around 99/100 seconds and maintaining the pace on the second lap. finished up with a slow cool down to bring up to 11.25K for the session.
Gary had a good chat with us as well about the type of training we should be doing for a Marathon and recommended we should be doing a tempo run on Thursday as well as the speed session on Tuesday night. Wednesday should be a rest day with a long run on Sunday. The other days should be filled with easy running.
Looking at how my own training has been going with 10 weeks to go I think I will start to replace the midweek long run with a tempo session which might result in slightly less mileage that day but will get me more used to running for longer at a faster pace.
Thursday 18th July
20K
Avg Pace: 5:25
I was entered for the Fingal 10K on Sunday so while wanting to be fresh enough for that if possible I also needed to get some sort of longish run in this week. Met up with Maurice and did the Balscadden loop at a quick enough pace, did a loop of the college then before meeting up with the rest of the usual crew for the club run. Headed down to the beach to try and escape the worst of the heat. Was tired enough by the finish but no real problems.
Friday 19th - Saturday 20th July
Rest & Golf. Was resting up for the race the weekend which included 9 holes golf on Friday evening. This was my first game since the Captains prize in preperation for a competition on Saturday. Played in the Balbriggan Junior Scratch cup on Saturday shooting 79. Didn't play too well but scored ok and finished tied 7th out of 80 or 90.
Sunday 21st July - Fingal 10K
10K in 45:12
Avg Pace: 4:31
Reports were that this was a fairly flat course and the first 3/4K of the route was fairly familiar to me as most of it ran along the dual carriageway. Although it was a bit cloudy it was still quite warm so didn't do a whole lot regarding a warm up. I had set myself a target of sub 45 with a fallback of getting a PB which meant under 45:26.
Race started pretty much on time and we were off up Swords main st towards the little chef roundabout. This was a slight incline and I was just making sure to get through the first K in around 4:30 i.e. not too fast. Watch beeped at 4:33 which was perfect and we were now out on the Swords dual carriageway. This was gradually downhill for a couple of K so I just tried to maintain the same effort and expected to pick up a bit of time here. The 2nd & 3rd K passed in 4:23 & 4:19 as we passed by Fingallians GAA and breached a slight incline before turning off to the back roads and the first water station. Took on some water and passed the 4k marker in 4:35. A bit of a drop in time but offset by the water stop and slight incline I hoped.
Not sure what happened then but I hit a very bad flat spot where the wheels seemed to come off completely. Felt like I was slowing all the time, and I was. Legs didn't just seem to have anything in them and I seriously considered stopping. I no longer wanted anything to do with the race or running again. The 5th & 6th K were both covered in 4:46. I think I actually started to pick up a little bit towards the end of the 6th K meaning I had been going slower at some point. At this point I think the average pace had slipped outside what was a possible PB and I decided to try and make a long run for home and see what happened. Worst case the wheels would come off completely. Started to feel a bit better then and got a nice hosing from the civil defence to cool off. Managed to piece together a 4:30 & 4:23 for K's 7&8 and we were now almost back in Swords itself. Had by-passed the 2nd water station as there was no point with 2K to go. The only display visible on my watch was the average pace which was now showing 4:32. I knew sub 45 was probably out of range but I had something to try and hold onto. From 8K until 9.5K was slightly uphill or at least it felt it with a couple of nasty inclines. Was trying to pick it up in the last K as best I could and we were greeted with a nice downhill section with about 400m to go. There wasn't too many within reach in front of me but I still managed to pass 2 or 3 people with a sprint for the line. The last 2K were covered in 4:35 & 4:25 for a finish time of 45:12. Mixed emotions with the result. A PB is a PB I suppose and it could have been a lot worse believe me.
So onwards and upwards. Need to get a solid week of training in this week and will give the tempo run a go as well on Thursday. Meant to be doing a 20 miler for the long run but will speak to Gary and see what he thinks as he was suggesting not going over 16 miles as part of Marathon training. Am doing the Rock & Roll 1/2 marathon week after next. Not sure whether I will be racing this or doing it as part of a Marathon pace long run.
Until next time. Happy training everyone.
Monday, 22 July 2013
Monday, 8 July 2013
13 Weeks to Berlin & Captain's Prize winner
This week was to have been a recovery week but there wasn't too much time for recovering or resting as you will see below:
Monday 1st July - Week 6 Day 1
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
Had a golf match this evening with Padraig and despite playing ok we got our ass kicked by a couple of guys from Edmondstown one of whom was off scratch and had 7 birdies to beat us on the 16th hole. Not much you can do about that and sadly brought our involvement in the McGinley trophy to an end. This is an inter club competition for winners of the fourball matchplay in a club from the previous year.
Tuesday 2nd July - Week 6 Day 2
Plan: 13K w/10x100m strides
Actual: Club session
Not having run since Friday I was still tired when we turned up for this. Although Golf is not as taxing you are using different muscles so legs were definitely tired as a result. After the warm up I wasn't really looking forward to exerting myself but just got on with it. Session was 2 sets of (800,800,400) w/75 second recovery between each and a 5 minute break between both sets.
Splits were (3:09, 3:08, 1:24, 3:06, 3:07, 1:25)
These were to be run at 3K pace and despite legs feeling tired before, during and after these I seemed to be able to hold a pretty decent effort for me anyway so was happy with that. Gary told me though that I was dropping a few seconds on the 2nd lap of the 800's and should be trying to run them even paced for both laps so will bear that in mind for the future.
Followed up with a slow cool down to bring it up to 11K in total.
Wednesday 3rd July - Week 6 Day 3
Plan: 8K Recovery
Actual: 7.45K
Avg Pace: 5:58
Avg HR: 125
Not much to report from this. Did a couple of slow loops of the ring road in Balbriggan out of reach of the seagulls. Was around 9:45pm starting out but still very warm and humid.
Thursday 4th July - Week 6 Day 4
Plan: 13K General Aerobic
Actual: Rest
Despite not really playing golf anymore as we won the fourball matchplay last year we got automatic entry this year. Padraig has hurt his back the day before so wasn't expecting too much. He played ok though with the sore back and I played pretty well for me and this time we managed to win on the 16th hole to get into the semi-finals. One of out opponents thought I was playing well for my handicap and would do well in the Captain's prize. I questioned his sanity.
Friday 5th July - Week 6 Day 5
Plan: Rest
Actual: 12.03K
Avg Pace: 5:15
Avg HR: 143
Had a bit of free time this evening so headed over to see the new Amphibian King store in Ashtown owned by Kevin English that had only opened up in the past week. I was overdue a new pair of training shoes anyway was killing a couple of birds with one stone. As it was such a lovely evening as well I got changed into my gear to head into the Phoenix park for a run afterwards. Got the usual excellent service from Kevin who checked my gait again in about 5/6 different brands/type of runner. Ended up going with the Saucony Guide as a general training shoe and also picked up a pair of last years Saucony Fastwitch for sessions/races.
Everything was going grand then until Kevin suggested joining me for the run which filled me with fear :-( We headed over to the park from the shop which is less than a K away and ran a lovely route around the trails/grass areas at around my Marathon pace for most of it. Felt fine for most of it but it did get hot towards the end. Thanks again to Kevin for the company and hopefully I didn't hold him back too much.
Saturday 6th July - Week 6 Day 6
Plan: 19K
Actual: 25.32K
Avg Pace: 5:35
Avg HR: 133
Met up with Karen Clarke who I have known since training for my first marathon and is also doing Berlin this year. First time in a long time I had done a long run in the Phoenix Park. Earlier on in the week I had planned on doing 16K of this at Marathon pace but the previous nights efforts had put paid to that idea. Headed out of the park towards the war memorial gardens and up to Chapelizod before getting back to our cars for a drink after around 11K. Even though we were out early it was still very warm and I was glad at not having to increase the effort. We then headed around the trails and out the Castleknock gate eventually coming back in and doing a loop around Farmleigh before making our way back to the cars via the S bends side of the park.
Struggled a bit for the last 3K or so not so much with pace or anything but what I thought was a pain in my back. Looking back I think it was that I had let myself get too dehydrated with the heat and taking on very little fluids. Great to get the run out of the way though before playing the Captain's prize in the afternoon (I have written about that at the end in case anyone has any interest in it).
Sunday 7th July - Week 6 Day 7
Plan: 6K Recovery
Actual: 6K
Avg Pace: 6:18
Avg HR: 123
Slow recovery run around the playing fields of Gormanston. Legs very tired after the previous day and motivation was low but was a good chance to break in the Saucony Guide which felt fine.
So in summary despite everything going on this week I clocked up around 62K, slightly more than was planned but the long run was from the previous week to make up for missing that and not the shorter one as part of this week. This week is a big step up to 80K so need to be careful and also try to fit everything in around Triona & Eugene's wedding on Friday. It will be a challenge but at least there is no Golf this week ;-)
Captain's Prize 2013
So despite playing very little golf this year apart from a few matches I had been scoring ok but didn't really have any consistency to my game to even consider shooting a good score in a strokes competition off the medal tee's so with tired legs I set off with the intention just to enjoy the day and the weather.
For the first 3 holes I was in a bit of trouble on each hole but managed to make 2 pars and a bogey. Played the 4th hole well with a difficult pin which I didn't try to get close to. The 5th hole is the index 1 and is difficult at the best of times. My drive finished on the edge of more tree's but I was luck to have a swing and made a birdie to get me back to level par. This was a very good start as these holes ruin many a scorecard. At this stage I knew I had a chance of doing something but at the same time I was going to have to start playing better probably as well. I played a bad putt from the fringe on the 6th and had to chip out of more trees on the 8th which left me on 2 over par. We had been told when playing the 7th that there was a 67 in apparently which I didn't really want to know but at least I knew where I stood.
The 9th is a par 5 over water which had the wind behind today. After a good drive I took it on in 2 but ran over the back of the green nearly out of bounds. I got up and down for a birdie and missed a good birdie chance on the 10th. The 11th is a tricky driving hole and I got away with a far from pure strike. A good iron shot led to another birdie after tricky putt. Another good putt followed on 12 to save par after being through the green in 2.
So level par with 6 holes to play you could not ask to be in a better position. I knew of the challenges ahead though and was still taking it one shot at a time and that if I avoided any disasters I would be well placed. The par 3 13th hole had a real sucker pin but I only had eyes for the centre of the green. I made horrible contact here and ended up in the water short right of the green. The angle from here to the flag was tough and after dropping out my pitch finished around 15ft away with the putt shaving the hole. Despite this I still remained calm but ran into more tree trouble on the 14th hole not once but twice and again shaved the hole for a bogey. So there is was 4 shots gone just like that.
Walking back to the 15th tee I suppose at that point it helped knowing what the score to match or beat was. It meant I needed to be -1 under to match the score or -2 under to beat it for the last 4 holes and I guess the chances were quite slim with what had gone on before. Again I hit a patchy enough drive on 15 and was left with 180 yards to the flag from the rough. I hit a 4 iron and in the context it was probably my best shot of the day as it came to rest pin high around 25/30 feet away. It was probably the shot that stopped the rot. I had been putting well all day and again hit a good putt that seemed to be tracking and bang it disappeared into the hole. The 16th was another sucker pin off the back tee and I hit 4 iron again very solid past the flag and safely 2 putted for par. I hit a good tee shot up 17 but was probably a club short with my second and finished inside the bunker on the right on the fringe. This left a difficult chip which I managed to get up to around 4 feet and thankfully hole the putt.
On the long walk to the 18th I had a decision to make. This is a tight driving hole and I had not been hitting the ball well off the tee apart from a couple of holes. I knew though to post 66 I probably needed to be able to reach the green in 2. In the end I suppose I knew I had a chance to possibly win the Captain's prize and I had to try and take it myself and not rely on a count back. I composed myself on the tee and probably hit my best drive of the day to the perfect position near the top of the hill. I was just trying to as the Pro's say stay in the moment and not get ahead of myself. I think I had around 235 yards to the flag. I elected to take my rescue club which meant I should be able to reach the green but more importantly I know I couldn't get into trouble over the back of the green. Unfortunately the shot leaked a bit to the right and seemed to bounce right when it landed. When I got up to where it finished al was not well. It was just maybe 6 inches past the last tree but I had a restricted backswing with branches in the way. I was just about pin high but there was a certain amount of hit and hope involved. I was just hoping to scuttle it onto the green which thankfully I did. It actually couldn't have worked out much better finishing around 12ft from the flag. So here we were with a birdie putt on the 18th to finish with a 66. No doubting I was now quite nervous and the putt slid past on the left finishing around 2ft away. I got that out of the way quite quickly without any problems and checked and double checked the card before returning a 75 gross/67 nett.
I had no idea if it would beat the earlier 67 on countback or even if a better score had come in. With the conditions I would have been surprised if a better score had come it to be honest and I knew I had got a few breaks early in the round that helped me. I had an inkling that I had the best score but wasn't sure heading up for the presentation with Emma shortly afterwards. Others seemed sure but I wasn't counting any chickens. Eventually the formalities started and when Liam Kidd was called out as runner up with nett 67 I knew I had won. I was called up to collect my prize of the Captain Paul Cox who also is a friend of mine.
The celebrations started then with some good friends which was great. I tried to take it all in as much as I could and savour the moment. It's not every day you have days like this. When they are completly unexpected it makes them all the sweeter.
Monday 1st July - Week 6 Day 1
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
Had a golf match this evening with Padraig and despite playing ok we got our ass kicked by a couple of guys from Edmondstown one of whom was off scratch and had 7 birdies to beat us on the 16th hole. Not much you can do about that and sadly brought our involvement in the McGinley trophy to an end. This is an inter club competition for winners of the fourball matchplay in a club from the previous year.
Tuesday 2nd July - Week 6 Day 2
Plan: 13K w/10x100m strides
Actual: Club session
Not having run since Friday I was still tired when we turned up for this. Although Golf is not as taxing you are using different muscles so legs were definitely tired as a result. After the warm up I wasn't really looking forward to exerting myself but just got on with it. Session was 2 sets of (800,800,400) w/75 second recovery between each and a 5 minute break between both sets.
Splits were (3:09, 3:08, 1:24, 3:06, 3:07, 1:25)
These were to be run at 3K pace and despite legs feeling tired before, during and after these I seemed to be able to hold a pretty decent effort for me anyway so was happy with that. Gary told me though that I was dropping a few seconds on the 2nd lap of the 800's and should be trying to run them even paced for both laps so will bear that in mind for the future.
Followed up with a slow cool down to bring it up to 11K in total.
Wednesday 3rd July - Week 6 Day 3
Plan: 8K Recovery
Actual: 7.45K
Avg Pace: 5:58
Avg HR: 125
Not much to report from this. Did a couple of slow loops of the ring road in Balbriggan out of reach of the seagulls. Was around 9:45pm starting out but still very warm and humid.
Thursday 4th July - Week 6 Day 4
Plan: 13K General Aerobic
Actual: Rest
Despite not really playing golf anymore as we won the fourball matchplay last year we got automatic entry this year. Padraig has hurt his back the day before so wasn't expecting too much. He played ok though with the sore back and I played pretty well for me and this time we managed to win on the 16th hole to get into the semi-finals. One of out opponents thought I was playing well for my handicap and would do well in the Captain's prize. I questioned his sanity.
Friday 5th July - Week 6 Day 5
Plan: Rest
Actual: 12.03K
Avg Pace: 5:15
Avg HR: 143
Had a bit of free time this evening so headed over to see the new Amphibian King store in Ashtown owned by Kevin English that had only opened up in the past week. I was overdue a new pair of training shoes anyway was killing a couple of birds with one stone. As it was such a lovely evening as well I got changed into my gear to head into the Phoenix park for a run afterwards. Got the usual excellent service from Kevin who checked my gait again in about 5/6 different brands/type of runner. Ended up going with the Saucony Guide as a general training shoe and also picked up a pair of last years Saucony Fastwitch for sessions/races.
Everything was going grand then until Kevin suggested joining me for the run which filled me with fear :-( We headed over to the park from the shop which is less than a K away and ran a lovely route around the trails/grass areas at around my Marathon pace for most of it. Felt fine for most of it but it did get hot towards the end. Thanks again to Kevin for the company and hopefully I didn't hold him back too much.
Saturday 6th July - Week 6 Day 6
Plan: 19K
Actual: 25.32K
Avg Pace: 5:35
Avg HR: 133
Met up with Karen Clarke who I have known since training for my first marathon and is also doing Berlin this year. First time in a long time I had done a long run in the Phoenix Park. Earlier on in the week I had planned on doing 16K of this at Marathon pace but the previous nights efforts had put paid to that idea. Headed out of the park towards the war memorial gardens and up to Chapelizod before getting back to our cars for a drink after around 11K. Even though we were out early it was still very warm and I was glad at not having to increase the effort. We then headed around the trails and out the Castleknock gate eventually coming back in and doing a loop around Farmleigh before making our way back to the cars via the S bends side of the park.
Struggled a bit for the last 3K or so not so much with pace or anything but what I thought was a pain in my back. Looking back I think it was that I had let myself get too dehydrated with the heat and taking on very little fluids. Great to get the run out of the way though before playing the Captain's prize in the afternoon (I have written about that at the end in case anyone has any interest in it).
Sunday 7th July - Week 6 Day 7
Plan: 6K Recovery
Actual: 6K
Avg Pace: 6:18
Avg HR: 123
Slow recovery run around the playing fields of Gormanston. Legs very tired after the previous day and motivation was low but was a good chance to break in the Saucony Guide which felt fine.
So in summary despite everything going on this week I clocked up around 62K, slightly more than was planned but the long run was from the previous week to make up for missing that and not the shorter one as part of this week. This week is a big step up to 80K so need to be careful and also try to fit everything in around Triona & Eugene's wedding on Friday. It will be a challenge but at least there is no Golf this week ;-)
Captain's Prize 2013
So despite playing very little golf this year apart from a few matches I had been scoring ok but didn't really have any consistency to my game to even consider shooting a good score in a strokes competition off the medal tee's so with tired legs I set off with the intention just to enjoy the day and the weather.
For the first 3 holes I was in a bit of trouble on each hole but managed to make 2 pars and a bogey. Played the 4th hole well with a difficult pin which I didn't try to get close to. The 5th hole is the index 1 and is difficult at the best of times. My drive finished on the edge of more tree's but I was luck to have a swing and made a birdie to get me back to level par. This was a very good start as these holes ruin many a scorecard. At this stage I knew I had a chance of doing something but at the same time I was going to have to start playing better probably as well. I played a bad putt from the fringe on the 6th and had to chip out of more trees on the 8th which left me on 2 over par. We had been told when playing the 7th that there was a 67 in apparently which I didn't really want to know but at least I knew where I stood.
The 9th is a par 5 over water which had the wind behind today. After a good drive I took it on in 2 but ran over the back of the green nearly out of bounds. I got up and down for a birdie and missed a good birdie chance on the 10th. The 11th is a tricky driving hole and I got away with a far from pure strike. A good iron shot led to another birdie after tricky putt. Another good putt followed on 12 to save par after being through the green in 2.
So level par with 6 holes to play you could not ask to be in a better position. I knew of the challenges ahead though and was still taking it one shot at a time and that if I avoided any disasters I would be well placed. The par 3 13th hole had a real sucker pin but I only had eyes for the centre of the green. I made horrible contact here and ended up in the water short right of the green. The angle from here to the flag was tough and after dropping out my pitch finished around 15ft away with the putt shaving the hole. Despite this I still remained calm but ran into more tree trouble on the 14th hole not once but twice and again shaved the hole for a bogey. So there is was 4 shots gone just like that.
Walking back to the 15th tee I suppose at that point it helped knowing what the score to match or beat was. It meant I needed to be -1 under to match the score or -2 under to beat it for the last 4 holes and I guess the chances were quite slim with what had gone on before. Again I hit a patchy enough drive on 15 and was left with 180 yards to the flag from the rough. I hit a 4 iron and in the context it was probably my best shot of the day as it came to rest pin high around 25/30 feet away. It was probably the shot that stopped the rot. I had been putting well all day and again hit a good putt that seemed to be tracking and bang it disappeared into the hole. The 16th was another sucker pin off the back tee and I hit 4 iron again very solid past the flag and safely 2 putted for par. I hit a good tee shot up 17 but was probably a club short with my second and finished inside the bunker on the right on the fringe. This left a difficult chip which I managed to get up to around 4 feet and thankfully hole the putt.
On the long walk to the 18th I had a decision to make. This is a tight driving hole and I had not been hitting the ball well off the tee apart from a couple of holes. I knew though to post 66 I probably needed to be able to reach the green in 2. In the end I suppose I knew I had a chance to possibly win the Captain's prize and I had to try and take it myself and not rely on a count back. I composed myself on the tee and probably hit my best drive of the day to the perfect position near the top of the hill. I was just trying to as the Pro's say stay in the moment and not get ahead of myself. I think I had around 235 yards to the flag. I elected to take my rescue club which meant I should be able to reach the green but more importantly I know I couldn't get into trouble over the back of the green. Unfortunately the shot leaked a bit to the right and seemed to bounce right when it landed. When I got up to where it finished al was not well. It was just maybe 6 inches past the last tree but I had a restricted backswing with branches in the way. I was just about pin high but there was a certain amount of hit and hope involved. I was just hoping to scuttle it onto the green which thankfully I did. It actually couldn't have worked out much better finishing around 12ft from the flag. So here we were with a birdie putt on the 18th to finish with a 66. No doubting I was now quite nervous and the putt slid past on the left finishing around 2ft away. I got that out of the way quite quickly without any problems and checked and double checked the card before returning a 75 gross/67 nett.
I had no idea if it would beat the earlier 67 on countback or even if a better score had come in. With the conditions I would have been surprised if a better score had come it to be honest and I knew I had got a few breaks early in the round that helped me. I had an inkling that I had the best score but wasn't sure heading up for the presentation with Emma shortly afterwards. Others seemed sure but I wasn't counting any chickens. Eventually the formalities started and when Liam Kidd was called out as runner up with nett 67 I knew I had won. I was called up to collect my prize of the Captain Paul Cox who also is a friend of mine.
The celebrations started then with some good friends which was great. I tried to take it all in as much as I could and savour the moment. It's not every day you have days like this. When they are completly unexpected it makes them all the sweeter.
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
14 Weeks to Berlin & not enough days in the week
If ever there was a week where things had the potential to go pear shaped then this was it. A step up again in distance and faced with a tough Marathon Paced long run at the weekend. Time management was going to be a nightmare trying to fit 5 runs in with the below all happening in the same week.
Monday 24th June - Week 5 Day 1
Plan: Rest Day
Actual: Rest Day
Not ideal to take a rest day with the week that's in it but after the weekends running the legs needed time to recover.
Tuesday 25th June - Week 5 Day 2
Plan: 14K w/8K @ Half Marathon Pace
Actual: Club Session
Again went for the Club session in favour of the session in the plan. Went down a little earlier to get a couple of K extra warm up done before joining the rest of the gang for a loop of the college grounds. This was followed by some stretches and drills before a lap of running the bends easy and the straights hard.
The session then was a 10 minute Tempo run @ 5K pace, 1 lap easy, 1x600m @ mile pace, 2 min rec, 2 x 200m. Splits were:
10 min @ 4:15 pace
600M @ 3:33 pace (2:10)
200M @ 3:02 pace (35 secs)
200M @ 2:55 pace (34 secs)
Was happy with how this went. Legs were feeling good with no niggles etc but were fairly whacked after the 200's. Finished off with a nice slow loop to bring up to 12K for the session
Wednesday 19th June - Week 5 Day 3
Plan: 8K Recovery
Actual: Rest
As mentioned above I had to head from work straight to Baltray for the teams practice. Actually got to play which was nice, although my golf wasn't wonderful.
Thursday 20th June - Week 5 Day 4
Plan: 16K General Aerobic
Actual: 16.1K
Avg Pace: 5:28
As I had to be prepared to be in work till 2am I would not start until a bit later today. Dropped Charlie off with his child minder and headed home to get ready. Parked in Gormanston and headed off on the hilly route through Stamullen, St Claire's, and back around to Stamullen via Greenanstown and eventually back to the college to make up the distance. Was a rough enough morning but running in the rain doesn't really bother me. Everything was going fine until around 10K in when I got a dart in my back. I stopped to stretch it out and took it handy for a while and lucky enough it was fine after that. Am enjoying these longer midweek runs.
Friday 21st June - Week 5 Day 5
Plan: Rest
Actual: 9.3K
Avg Pace: 5:39
Avg HR: 130
Emma was away with work for the night but I managed to get my brother to babysit for an hour so I could get out for this run. This was probably a tad too quick for recovery pace but I had to pick it up for the last K to get back home in time.
Saturday 22nd June - Week 5 Day 6
Plan: 8K Recovery
Actual: Rest
Early morning start with getting ready for Golf match and getting Charlie ready when he eventually woke up. Dropped him off with Tracy (thanks again) and headed to Baltray just in time to see the lads heading off. Spent the morning following the matches which we unfortunately lost. The afternoon was taken up with actually playing Golf and qualifying for the Captain's prize. Was pretty wrecked by the time everything finished. finished off the night with a few drinks for a friend of mine heading to Dubai this week.
Sunday 23rd June - Week 5 Day 7
Plan: 26K w/16K @ Marathon Pace
Actual: Rest
I had already decided I was going to try and swap this run with next weeks shorter long run as part of a recovery week. To be honest I was pretty wiped out after everything from the last week and even by the evening when I hoped to run I was falling asleep on the couch so it fell by the wayside.
So a disappointing week overall with only 3 runs and around 37K running and I suppose at the end of the week I did make excuses which is not always good. At the same time we're not robots either and this is a hobby that has to fit in around real life as well.
The next 2 weeks will be difficult as well with other things to fit in this week namely Golf matches that have to be played and a wedding the following week. Aim will be to get as much done as possible and make sure the long runs are done at some stage. Need to start looking at getting more early nights and looking a nutrition so that I'm not feeling as tired.
- Practice for Golf team I'm joint manager of Wed evening
- Potentially working till 2am on Thurs night
- Emma away for deserved night with work from Friday afternoon
- Golf matches potentially Sat/Sun AM/PM for Golf team
- Qualifying for Captains Prize if I wanted to play in it
Monday 24th June - Week 5 Day 1
Plan: Rest Day
Actual: Rest Day
Not ideal to take a rest day with the week that's in it but after the weekends running the legs needed time to recover.
Tuesday 25th June - Week 5 Day 2
Plan: 14K w/8K @ Half Marathon Pace
Actual: Club Session
Again went for the Club session in favour of the session in the plan. Went down a little earlier to get a couple of K extra warm up done before joining the rest of the gang for a loop of the college grounds. This was followed by some stretches and drills before a lap of running the bends easy and the straights hard.
The session then was a 10 minute Tempo run @ 5K pace, 1 lap easy, 1x600m @ mile pace, 2 min rec, 2 x 200m. Splits were:
10 min @ 4:15 pace
600M @ 3:33 pace (2:10)
200M @ 3:02 pace (35 secs)
200M @ 2:55 pace (34 secs)
Was happy with how this went. Legs were feeling good with no niggles etc but were fairly whacked after the 200's. Finished off with a nice slow loop to bring up to 12K for the session
Wednesday 19th June - Week 5 Day 3
Plan: 8K Recovery
Actual: Rest
As mentioned above I had to head from work straight to Baltray for the teams practice. Actually got to play which was nice, although my golf wasn't wonderful.
Thursday 20th June - Week 5 Day 4
Plan: 16K General Aerobic
Actual: 16.1K
Avg Pace: 5:28
As I had to be prepared to be in work till 2am I would not start until a bit later today. Dropped Charlie off with his child minder and headed home to get ready. Parked in Gormanston and headed off on the hilly route through Stamullen, St Claire's, and back around to Stamullen via Greenanstown and eventually back to the college to make up the distance. Was a rough enough morning but running in the rain doesn't really bother me. Everything was going fine until around 10K in when I got a dart in my back. I stopped to stretch it out and took it handy for a while and lucky enough it was fine after that. Am enjoying these longer midweek runs.
Friday 21st June - Week 5 Day 5
Plan: Rest
Actual: 9.3K
Avg Pace: 5:39
Avg HR: 130
Emma was away with work for the night but I managed to get my brother to babysit for an hour so I could get out for this run. This was probably a tad too quick for recovery pace but I had to pick it up for the last K to get back home in time.
Saturday 22nd June - Week 5 Day 6
Plan: 8K Recovery
Actual: Rest
Early morning start with getting ready for Golf match and getting Charlie ready when he eventually woke up. Dropped him off with Tracy (thanks again) and headed to Baltray just in time to see the lads heading off. Spent the morning following the matches which we unfortunately lost. The afternoon was taken up with actually playing Golf and qualifying for the Captain's prize. Was pretty wrecked by the time everything finished. finished off the night with a few drinks for a friend of mine heading to Dubai this week.
Sunday 23rd June - Week 5 Day 7
Plan: 26K w/16K @ Marathon Pace
Actual: Rest
I had already decided I was going to try and swap this run with next weeks shorter long run as part of a recovery week. To be honest I was pretty wiped out after everything from the last week and even by the evening when I hoped to run I was falling asleep on the couch so it fell by the wayside.
So a disappointing week overall with only 3 runs and around 37K running and I suppose at the end of the week I did make excuses which is not always good. At the same time we're not robots either and this is a hobby that has to fit in around real life as well.
The next 2 weeks will be difficult as well with other things to fit in this week namely Golf matches that have to be played and a wedding the following week. Aim will be to get as much done as possible and make sure the long runs are done at some stage. Need to start looking at getting more early nights and looking a nutrition so that I'm not feeling as tired.
Monday, 24 June 2013
15 Weeks to Berlin & a visit to Parkrun
Monday 17th June - Week 4 Day 1
Plan: Rest Day
Actual: Rest Day
Tuesday 18th June - Week 4 Day 2
Plan: 13K w/10x100M strides
Actual: Club Session
An absolute belter of an evening on Tuesday and down to the College for our weekly speed session.
3.87K warm up including stretches and a couple of laps of bends easy/straights hard.
Gary told us he was taking it handy on us as a lot of people were racing Dunshaughlin at the weekend. The session consisted of 2 sets of (1x1000,2 min rec,1x800, 2 min rec,1x600) w/4 min between sets. These were to be done at 10K pace as opposed to 5K pace as normal.
Splits were (4:21,3:25,2:27,4:22,3:26,2:22)
Happy with how this went and felt controlled enough throughout, except for an eyeballs out sprint with Rosemary for the last 50M of the last rep :-)
2.66K w/d to bring it up to 12K for the session in total.
Wednesday 19th June - Week 4 Day 3
Plan: 8K Recovery
Actual: 16.4K
Avg Pace: 5:40
Avg HR: 127??
Moved this run forward a day as time was going to be tight on Thursday with stuff on. Met with Brian Moore at the college and headed off through Stamullen around by Silverstream out onto the main road near Applegreen and then down the back road onto the beach and eventually back up to the College via the Delvin road. Quite hilly route but we took it handy enough after the session the night before. Legs were tired by the end but great to get the run done. HR reading very low again. Must keep an eye on it for my next run to see is there a fault.
Thursday 20th June - Week 4 Day 4
Plan: 16K General Aerobic
Actual: Rest
Friday 21st June - Week 4 Day 5
Plan: Rest
Actual: 6.4K
Avg Pace: 5:52
Avg HR: 133
Just a couple of loops around Gormanston at recovery pace. I managed to leave this late enough to coincide with the rain starting. Nothing exciting to report apart from that.
Saturday 22nd June - Week 4 Day 6
Plan: 6K Recovery
Actual: 8K incl Malahide Parkrun
5K in 21:48
Avg Pace: 4:21
Avg HR: 145
Headed to Malahide on Sat morning to do the Parkrun for another bit of speed work and to compensate a bit for missing Dunshaughlin. Did about a 2K warm up and was feeling a bit heavy legged and tired. Headed to the start and as usual started fairly promptly. Started a bit too far back and got boxed in a bit for the first few 100 metres, eventually opened up and started passing people gradually.Felt I was running pretty controlled without being flat out. Continued to work my way past people and bridge gaps to groups in front as we completed the first loop. It was now well spread out and just a couple more people to target in front. Was keeping a bit of an eye on the pace and it seemed fine but once you get under the tree cover it seems to drop automatically so didn't bother looking at it. After around 3K there was now a gap of around 50 metres in front of me so I just kept running along at the same steady effort. Came out of the woods with about a K to go and the legs were definitely feeling it now. Got passed by a couple of lads with about 500M to go but kept them in range heading up the last hill and passed them out them with a sprint to the line. Happy enough with the time for not running flat out. Finished 43rd overall.
Sunday 23rd June - Week 4 Day 7
Plan: 24K Long Run
Actual: 24.2K
Avg Pace: 5:40
Tried to muster up some company for this one but most of the usual crew were quite rightly resting up after super races in Dunshaughlin. Decided to head over to Skerries for a change and head off up Flemington lane and across the ring road in Balbriggan. Legs knew there had been a race the day before and I just let them dictate the pace. Noticed on the way over the wind seemed to be picking up all the time and I would have a fight on my hands on the way back. Around Barnageera I started to see the odd cyclist and I copped then that the Skerries Triathlon was on so as I was heading into Skerries there were plenty coming the opposite direction. Reached my turnaround point which also happened to be the transition area so stopped to get some water and have a quick look at what was going on before setting off back where I came from. As got back outside Skerries it was like running in a wind tunnel the whole way home. Pace dropped off slightly but not too much which was good as it felt like walking pace in spots. Around the 20K point I got my first official attack from a Seagull of the year so stopped again and had to take a slight detour again. Nice couple of hills to finish and eventually when I turned for home at the top of Flemington lane the wind was in my favour again. Another long run ticked off and legs felt fine afterwards.
67K for the week which climbs to 72K this week before a step back week. Long run goes up to 26K this week with 16K at Marathon pace so that will be a toughie for sure. The session in the plan this week is 14K w/8K at Half marathon pace. Not sure yet whether to do this or the club session. Might be no harm to do a more endurance based session?
In other news I applied to be a pacer for the Dublin Marathon and was thrilled to be accepted. The pace bands this year will be at 10 minute intervals and I will be hopefully be pacing the 5 hour group. Looking forward to it but also nervous at the same time. No time to worry about that for the moment though.
Plan: Rest Day
Actual: Rest Day
Tuesday 18th June - Week 4 Day 2
Plan: 13K w/10x100M strides
Actual: Club Session
An absolute belter of an evening on Tuesday and down to the College for our weekly speed session.
3.87K warm up including stretches and a couple of laps of bends easy/straights hard.
Gary told us he was taking it handy on us as a lot of people were racing Dunshaughlin at the weekend. The session consisted of 2 sets of (1x1000,2 min rec,1x800, 2 min rec,1x600) w/4 min between sets. These were to be done at 10K pace as opposed to 5K pace as normal.
Splits were (4:21,3:25,2:27,4:22,3:26,2:22)
Happy with how this went and felt controlled enough throughout, except for an eyeballs out sprint with Rosemary for the last 50M of the last rep :-)
2.66K w/d to bring it up to 12K for the session in total.
Wednesday 19th June - Week 4 Day 3
Plan: 8K Recovery
Actual: 16.4K
Avg Pace: 5:40
Avg HR: 127??
Moved this run forward a day as time was going to be tight on Thursday with stuff on. Met with Brian Moore at the college and headed off through Stamullen around by Silverstream out onto the main road near Applegreen and then down the back road onto the beach and eventually back up to the College via the Delvin road. Quite hilly route but we took it handy enough after the session the night before. Legs were tired by the end but great to get the run done. HR reading very low again. Must keep an eye on it for my next run to see is there a fault.
Thursday 20th June - Week 4 Day 4
Plan: 16K General Aerobic
Actual: Rest
Friday 21st June - Week 4 Day 5
Plan: Rest
Actual: 6.4K
Avg Pace: 5:52
Avg HR: 133
Just a couple of loops around Gormanston at recovery pace. I managed to leave this late enough to coincide with the rain starting. Nothing exciting to report apart from that.
Saturday 22nd June - Week 4 Day 6
Plan: 6K Recovery
Actual: 8K incl Malahide Parkrun
5K in 21:48
Avg Pace: 4:21
Avg HR: 145
Headed to Malahide on Sat morning to do the Parkrun for another bit of speed work and to compensate a bit for missing Dunshaughlin. Did about a 2K warm up and was feeling a bit heavy legged and tired. Headed to the start and as usual started fairly promptly. Started a bit too far back and got boxed in a bit for the first few 100 metres, eventually opened up and started passing people gradually.Felt I was running pretty controlled without being flat out. Continued to work my way past people and bridge gaps to groups in front as we completed the first loop. It was now well spread out and just a couple more people to target in front. Was keeping a bit of an eye on the pace and it seemed fine but once you get under the tree cover it seems to drop automatically so didn't bother looking at it. After around 3K there was now a gap of around 50 metres in front of me so I just kept running along at the same steady effort. Came out of the woods with about a K to go and the legs were definitely feeling it now. Got passed by a couple of lads with about 500M to go but kept them in range heading up the last hill and passed them out them with a sprint to the line. Happy enough with the time for not running flat out. Finished 43rd overall.
Sunday 23rd June - Week 4 Day 7
Plan: 24K Long Run
Actual: 24.2K
Avg Pace: 5:40
Tried to muster up some company for this one but most of the usual crew were quite rightly resting up after super races in Dunshaughlin. Decided to head over to Skerries for a change and head off up Flemington lane and across the ring road in Balbriggan. Legs knew there had been a race the day before and I just let them dictate the pace. Noticed on the way over the wind seemed to be picking up all the time and I would have a fight on my hands on the way back. Around Barnageera I started to see the odd cyclist and I copped then that the Skerries Triathlon was on so as I was heading into Skerries there were plenty coming the opposite direction. Reached my turnaround point which also happened to be the transition area so stopped to get some water and have a quick look at what was going on before setting off back where I came from. As got back outside Skerries it was like running in a wind tunnel the whole way home. Pace dropped off slightly but not too much which was good as it felt like walking pace in spots. Around the 20K point I got my first official attack from a Seagull of the year so stopped again and had to take a slight detour again. Nice couple of hills to finish and eventually when I turned for home at the top of Flemington lane the wind was in my favour again. Another long run ticked off and legs felt fine afterwards.
67K for the week which climbs to 72K this week before a step back week. Long run goes up to 26K this week with 16K at Marathon pace so that will be a toughie for sure. The session in the plan this week is 14K w/8K at Half marathon pace. Not sure yet whether to do this or the club session. Might be no harm to do a more endurance based session?
In other news I applied to be a pacer for the Dublin Marathon and was thrilled to be accepted. The pace bands this year will be at 10 minute intervals and I will be hopefully be pacing the 5 hour group. Looking forward to it but also nervous at the same time. No time to worry about that for the moment though.
Monday, 17 June 2013
16 Weeks to Berlin
Monday 10th June - Week 3 Day 1
Plan: Rest Day
Actual: Rest Day & Gardening
Got the garden in good shape at last but body was aching the next day :-(
Tuesday 11th June - Week 3 Day 2
Plan: 16K General Aerobic
Actual: Club Session
The speed session in the plan this week was planned for Thursday to allow for proper recovery from the Marathon pace run but our Club session was on Tuesday so had to go with that.
Usual warm up loop followed by drills, stretching & strides. We were in the field this week as the track was too wet. Session consisted of (15,30,45,60,75,90,105,120,105,90,75,60,45,30,15) seconds at 5K pace with 35 seconds recovery. Was initially disappointed with how this went but when I looked at the splits they were mostly ok apart from a couple. Walked one of the recoveries to fix my watch which went mental with the rain so spent a bit of the session in no man's land after that.
Another long loop to warm down bringing up 12.1K for the session.
Wednesday 12th June - Week 3 Day 3
Plan: 6K Recovery
Actual: Golf
Had a Golf match after work so no running today. Got absolutely soaked for around 4 hours but thanks to my partner playing well we won on the 17th hole and live to fight another day.
Thursday 13th June - Week 3 Day 4
Plan: 13K w/6K @ Half Marathon Pace
Actual: 16.1K
Avg Pace: 5:13
Avg HR: 136
So this was where I substituted Tuesday's planned run in place of the speed in the plan. Was pretty wrecked mentally & physically during the day from a bit of a slog the night before. The rain was doing it's best to put me off as well but needs must.
Set out from the College around 7:15 through Stamullen and past St Pat's down into Julianstown and around the back roads. Went past my normal turn which brings you past Murphy's Quarry as I was sure there was a turn further on that brought you out at 'The Cock' pub. I must have missed it as I eventually ended up down the beach. Made it back to the college anyway safe from there.
This was one of those runs where you start out not so sure, a couple of easy K's to start and a few hills taken care of. Hit the downhill and the pace dropped naturally but when I reached the flat the pace stayed the same so I stuck with it. Was just running by feel and every time the watch beeped the pace was getting slightly quicker. Just went with it and enjoyed the run.
While the pace is a good bit quicker than normal for a 10 mile training run the HR is pretty bang on what it should be which is a good sign, that while it felt like I wasn't pushing myself this proves that I wasn't.
These runs don't happen all the time though so it's important to enjoy them when they do
Friday 14th June - Week 3 Day 5
Plan: Rest
Actual: 6.05K Recovery Run
Avg Pace: 5:51
Avg HR: 123
Not sure whether the wind or driving rain was worse when I started out on this run but they were both pretty bad, especially for June. Luckily it was only a short run which was basically 3K into the wind and then turnaround and come home again. It can be hard to motivate yourself sometimes for recovery runs but they are important to set you up for your next training day. Running them slow enough can also be a challenge and most people don't.
Saturday 15th June - Week 3 Day 6
Plan: 23K Long Run
Actual: 22.71K Long Run
Avg Pace: 5:39
Avg HR: 123
Met up with a friend on mine close to Croke park and ran along the grand canal as far as Ashtown and then into the Phoenix park for a loop mostly on grass/trail and back again via the Canal. First time running along the canal and enjoyed the various sights on the way. HR is showing as very low for the laps towards the end and not sure if this was the stop start nature of crossing roads or a problem with the reading so will see how it is for my next few runs. Really enjoyable run though and as always Longs runs are made easier with good company.
Sunday 16th June - Week 3 Day 7
Plan: 6K Recovery Run
Actual: 6.06K
Avg Pace: 5.59
Avg HR: 127
Same type of run as Friday without the wind and rain. Legs feeling a little tired but nothing major.
So 63K odd for the week just gone and still following the plan which is always good ;-) Had hoped to do Dunshaughlin 10K this Saturday night but Emma has a work night out. Will look at dropping one of the recovery runs and maybe do the Malahide Parkrun instead on Saturday morning with my Long Run on Sunday this week.
Plan: Rest Day
Actual: Rest Day & Gardening
Got the garden in good shape at last but body was aching the next day :-(
Tuesday 11th June - Week 3 Day 2
Plan: 16K General Aerobic
Actual: Club Session
The speed session in the plan this week was planned for Thursday to allow for proper recovery from the Marathon pace run but our Club session was on Tuesday so had to go with that.
Usual warm up loop followed by drills, stretching & strides. We were in the field this week as the track was too wet. Session consisted of (15,30,45,60,75,90,105,120,105,90,75,60,45,30,15) seconds at 5K pace with 35 seconds recovery. Was initially disappointed with how this went but when I looked at the splits they were mostly ok apart from a couple. Walked one of the recoveries to fix my watch which went mental with the rain so spent a bit of the session in no man's land after that.
Another long loop to warm down bringing up 12.1K for the session.
Wednesday 12th June - Week 3 Day 3
Plan: 6K Recovery
Actual: Golf
Had a Golf match after work so no running today. Got absolutely soaked for around 4 hours but thanks to my partner playing well we won on the 17th hole and live to fight another day.
Thursday 13th June - Week 3 Day 4
Plan: 13K w/6K @ Half Marathon Pace
Actual: 16.1K
Avg Pace: 5:13
Avg HR: 136
So this was where I substituted Tuesday's planned run in place of the speed in the plan. Was pretty wrecked mentally & physically during the day from a bit of a slog the night before. The rain was doing it's best to put me off as well but needs must.
Set out from the College around 7:15 through Stamullen and past St Pat's down into Julianstown and around the back roads. Went past my normal turn which brings you past Murphy's Quarry as I was sure there was a turn further on that brought you out at 'The Cock' pub. I must have missed it as I eventually ended up down the beach. Made it back to the college anyway safe from there.
This was one of those runs where you start out not so sure, a couple of easy K's to start and a few hills taken care of. Hit the downhill and the pace dropped naturally but when I reached the flat the pace stayed the same so I stuck with it. Was just running by feel and every time the watch beeped the pace was getting slightly quicker. Just went with it and enjoyed the run.
While the pace is a good bit quicker than normal for a 10 mile training run the HR is pretty bang on what it should be which is a good sign, that while it felt like I wasn't pushing myself this proves that I wasn't.
These runs don't happen all the time though so it's important to enjoy them when they do
Friday 14th June - Week 3 Day 5
Plan: Rest
Actual: 6.05K Recovery Run
Avg Pace: 5:51
Avg HR: 123
Not sure whether the wind or driving rain was worse when I started out on this run but they were both pretty bad, especially for June. Luckily it was only a short run which was basically 3K into the wind and then turnaround and come home again. It can be hard to motivate yourself sometimes for recovery runs but they are important to set you up for your next training day. Running them slow enough can also be a challenge and most people don't.
Saturday 15th June - Week 3 Day 6
Plan: 23K Long Run
Actual: 22.71K Long Run
Avg Pace: 5:39
Avg HR: 123
Met up with a friend on mine close to Croke park and ran along the grand canal as far as Ashtown and then into the Phoenix park for a loop mostly on grass/trail and back again via the Canal. First time running along the canal and enjoyed the various sights on the way. HR is showing as very low for the laps towards the end and not sure if this was the stop start nature of crossing roads or a problem with the reading so will see how it is for my next few runs. Really enjoyable run though and as always Longs runs are made easier with good company.
Sunday 16th June - Week 3 Day 7
Plan: 6K Recovery Run
Actual: 6.06K
Avg Pace: 5.59
Avg HR: 127
Same type of run as Friday without the wind and rain. Legs feeling a little tired but nothing major.
So 63K odd for the week just gone and still following the plan which is always good ;-) Had hoped to do Dunshaughlin 10K this Saturday night but Emma has a work night out. Will look at dropping one of the recovery runs and maybe do the Malahide Parkrun instead on Saturday morning with my Long Run on Sunday this week.
Monday, 10 June 2013
17 Weeks to Berlin
Monday 3rd June - Week 2 Day 1
Plan: Rest Day
Actual: Rest Day
Tuesday 4th June - Week 2 Day 2
Plan: 13K w/10x100M strides
Actual: Club Session
There was no speed specific session plan midweek this week with the Marathon pace run on Sunday. This run had a few strides but as planned this was ditched in favour of the Club session.
Session consisted of just under 3K warm up loop followed by stretching, drills & a few strides. Those of us lucky enough to have missed the Mini Marathon then had to do 5x800M w/75 second recovery while the ladies had a slightly easier session ;-(
Splits for the 800's were (3:13,3:12,3:15,3:17,3:19).
Made a bit of a mess of these. They were meant to be done at 5K race pace. The first 2 were too quick and the legs were feeling it by the 3rd one ans swimming in lactic. Felt like I was threading water for the last 2 and surprised they were not slower. Was also pretty warm which I'm sure made it a bit more difficult. Lesson learnt anyway about pacing better at the start of a session.
Another loop to cool down bringing it up to 10.3K for the session. Slightly less than what is in the plan but sometimes quality is better than quantity.
Wednesday 5th June - Week 2 Day 3
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
Thursday 6th June - Week 2 Day 4
Plan: 16K General Aerobic
Actual: 16.01K
Avg Pace: 5:30
Avg HR: 136
Another lovely evening to be out running. Headed down to Gormanston early and did a loop outside the college grounds before meeting up with the Club gang. After a lap around the grounds Rosemary suggested doing the Balscadden loop which although hilly would bring up the distance for me so was thrilled not to have to do laps of the college. Around 8 of us headed off and the pace upped a bit but this was fine. The group eventually split into two and as we got back to Gormanston I only had a K left to make up which was great. Hopefully we can do this more often on our club run night ;-)
Friday 7th June - Week 2 Day 5
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
Saturday 8th June - Week 2 Day 6
Plan: 21K w/13K @ Marathon Pace
Actual: 21K w/13K @ Marathon Pace
8K
Avg Pace: 5:36
Avg HR: 134
13K
Avg Pace: 5:01
Avg HR: 141
Was down in Kildare at the weekend for my Sis-In-Laws 30th birthday party so had to get this run done early Saturday morning. Got started just before 9 and most of the early K's were fine although spent most of the time wondering how I was going to maintain Marathon pace in the increasing heat and the usual negative thoughts. Passed by the in-laws after around 6K and picked up my water belt and a couple of gels and set off upping the pace slightly as I reached the 8K point. Stopped here and took a drink and reset the watch.
The next question was what is Marathon pace and how would you know in the 2nd week of the plan. I decided to run at a pace that should feel like I was working a good bit at the end of a weeks training and on tired legs and hopefully this would be between 5 min pace per K & 5:20 at the outset.
The splits for the 13K turned out to be (5:00,4:56,5:00,5:00,4:56,4:59,5:10,5:01,5:16,4:55,5:19,4:48,4:48)
Had a bit of downhill to begin with so it was a case of easing into it and not going too fast. From around 2-7K was along a road connecting Athy to the M9 motorway so was a bit tough mentally just seeing this road in the distance and also being completely exposed to the heat. Towards the end of this road seemed to be into a bit of a breeze which made it a bit more difficult to maintain the pace for the same effort. When I turned off this road I still had another long straight road of around 4K to manage before getting back on country roads. Took a walking drink break after 6K to simulate what it actually felt like and although I lost a small bit of time doing this it helps get the fluids on properly and I was back on pace pretty quickly after it. Was suffering a bit mentally and slowed a bit so I popped a gel after around 8/9K. This seemed to have the desired effect and after negotiating the hills coming off the main road I picked up a bit for the last 2K and finished strong including a significant hill up to my In-laws house.
In the circumstances doing this by myself and in serious heat I was happy enough with how it went. Think the next Marathon pace run is in 3 weeks so will be interesting to see how that goes and compare.
Sunday 9th June - Week 2 Day 7
Plan: 8K Recovery Run
Actual: 8.03K
Avg Pace: 5:52
Avg HR: 131
Back in Balbriggan and feeling wonderful after the party the night before I set out for this run. Legs a bit tender for the first couple of K's but fine after that. Nothing much else to report other than the amount of Seagulls around the place. None swooping at runners yet but I'm sure that will start soon when they are protecting their nests.
So this brought the week to an end with 4 runs and 55.35K covered. Club session and first Marathon pace run out of the way. Up to 5 days running now this week with another recovery run added. Speed session in the plan is set for Thursday but I presume I'll do the Club session on Tuesday.
Plan: Rest Day
Actual: Rest Day
Tuesday 4th June - Week 2 Day 2
Plan: 13K w/10x100M strides
Actual: Club Session
There was no speed specific session plan midweek this week with the Marathon pace run on Sunday. This run had a few strides but as planned this was ditched in favour of the Club session.
Session consisted of just under 3K warm up loop followed by stretching, drills & a few strides. Those of us lucky enough to have missed the Mini Marathon then had to do 5x800M w/75 second recovery while the ladies had a slightly easier session ;-(
Splits for the 800's were (3:13,3:12,3:15,3:17,3:19).
Made a bit of a mess of these. They were meant to be done at 5K race pace. The first 2 were too quick and the legs were feeling it by the 3rd one ans swimming in lactic. Felt like I was threading water for the last 2 and surprised they were not slower. Was also pretty warm which I'm sure made it a bit more difficult. Lesson learnt anyway about pacing better at the start of a session.
Another loop to cool down bringing it up to 10.3K for the session. Slightly less than what is in the plan but sometimes quality is better than quantity.
Wednesday 5th June - Week 2 Day 3
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
Thursday 6th June - Week 2 Day 4
Plan: 16K General Aerobic
Actual: 16.01K
Avg Pace: 5:30
Avg HR: 136
Another lovely evening to be out running. Headed down to Gormanston early and did a loop outside the college grounds before meeting up with the Club gang. After a lap around the grounds Rosemary suggested doing the Balscadden loop which although hilly would bring up the distance for me so was thrilled not to have to do laps of the college. Around 8 of us headed off and the pace upped a bit but this was fine. The group eventually split into two and as we got back to Gormanston I only had a K left to make up which was great. Hopefully we can do this more often on our club run night ;-)
Friday 7th June - Week 2 Day 5
Plan: Rest
Actual: Rest
Saturday 8th June - Week 2 Day 6
Plan: 21K w/13K @ Marathon Pace
Actual: 21K w/13K @ Marathon Pace
8K
Avg Pace: 5:36
Avg HR: 134
13K
Avg Pace: 5:01
Avg HR: 141
Was down in Kildare at the weekend for my Sis-In-Laws 30th birthday party so had to get this run done early Saturday morning. Got started just before 9 and most of the early K's were fine although spent most of the time wondering how I was going to maintain Marathon pace in the increasing heat and the usual negative thoughts. Passed by the in-laws after around 6K and picked up my water belt and a couple of gels and set off upping the pace slightly as I reached the 8K point. Stopped here and took a drink and reset the watch.
The next question was what is Marathon pace and how would you know in the 2nd week of the plan. I decided to run at a pace that should feel like I was working a good bit at the end of a weeks training and on tired legs and hopefully this would be between 5 min pace per K & 5:20 at the outset.
The splits for the 13K turned out to be (5:00,4:56,5:00,5:00,4:56,4:59,5:10,5:01,5:16,4:55,5:19,4:48,4:48)
Had a bit of downhill to begin with so it was a case of easing into it and not going too fast. From around 2-7K was along a road connecting Athy to the M9 motorway so was a bit tough mentally just seeing this road in the distance and also being completely exposed to the heat. Towards the end of this road seemed to be into a bit of a breeze which made it a bit more difficult to maintain the pace for the same effort. When I turned off this road I still had another long straight road of around 4K to manage before getting back on country roads. Took a walking drink break after 6K to simulate what it actually felt like and although I lost a small bit of time doing this it helps get the fluids on properly and I was back on pace pretty quickly after it. Was suffering a bit mentally and slowed a bit so I popped a gel after around 8/9K. This seemed to have the desired effect and after negotiating the hills coming off the main road I picked up a bit for the last 2K and finished strong including a significant hill up to my In-laws house.
In the circumstances doing this by myself and in serious heat I was happy enough with how it went. Think the next Marathon pace run is in 3 weeks so will be interesting to see how that goes and compare.
Sunday 9th June - Week 2 Day 7
Plan: 8K Recovery Run
Actual: 8.03K
Avg Pace: 5:52
Avg HR: 131
Back in Balbriggan and feeling wonderful after the party the night before I set out for this run. Legs a bit tender for the first couple of K's but fine after that. Nothing much else to report other than the amount of Seagulls around the place. None swooping at runners yet but I'm sure that will start soon when they are protecting their nests.
So this brought the week to an end with 4 runs and 55.35K covered. Club session and first Marathon pace run out of the way. Up to 5 days running now this week with another recovery run added. Speed session in the plan is set for Thursday but I presume I'll do the Club session on Tuesday.
Monday, 3 June 2013
18 Weeks to Berlin & Star of the Sea 5K
As the title suggests Marathon training is now officially underway :-( I will be trying to follow a training plan from the book Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger & Scott Douglas. The plan I have chosen is an 18 week plan up to 55 miles per week. The only difference from the plan is that I will continue to do the weekly club speed sessions in place of the session that week in the plan.
The only goals I have at the moment are to follow the plan and to get to the start injury free which is always easier said than done with Marathon training. As the weeks go by I'll try and give more insight into the different types of runs in the plan and why they are part of the plan. For the moment below is my first weeks training along with the small matter of the Star of the Sea 5K race.
Monday 27th May - Week 1 Day 1
Plan: Rest day
Actual: Rest day
Don't you just love training plans that start off with a rest day :-)
Tuesday 28th May - Week 1 Day 2
Plan: 13K w/6K @ Half Marathon Pace
Actual: 4K Warm up - Star of the Sea 5K - 1K Warm down
4K Warm Up
Avg Pace: 5:24
Avg HR: 136
5K in 21:39
Avg Pace: 4:20
Avg HR: 153
1K Warm Down
Avg Pace: 6:19
Avg HR: 126
So although the plan called for something different tonight was the first running of the Star of the Sea 5K road race so I couldn't miss that. There was speed work on the plan so this was a more than capable replacement. Wasn't sure what to expect having not run since last Wednesday and enjoying my weekend maybe a bit too much on the eating and drinking front but as always was going to give it a go and see what happened.
Got in a good warm up before hand consisting of a few laps of the track in St Pats GAA meeting up with a friend of mine Matt who had come out from town to support the race, and then making my way down to the start about a mile away outside Gormanston college. It was a lovely evening and to use horse racing terminology I was certainly sweating up in the paddock.
Everyone lined up just before the appointed start time and following a minutes silence for Maurice Hackett's mum we were underway. The first K took us over the M1 motorway with a bit of a rise followed by a downhill the far side. Checked the pace to make sure I hadn't gone off too fast and it seemed pretty ok. The road had by now flattened out as we headed towards Stamullen village and I passed the 1K mark in 4:09. This felt ok and didn't feel like I had gone out too fast.
The next K was about trying to keep control of the pace as we made our way into Stamullen and lots of support especially on the way into the village at the turn off for St Pat's. On past here and there was a nice incline through the village which zapped a bit of energy from the legs. As we made our way of the village I passed the 2K in 4:16. Was happy enough with this and hoped to be able to maintain this for the next couple of K.
We were now heading towards the entrance to St Claire's nursing home and although a slight incline it was nothing major. Swung into the grounds and had a nice flat/downhill run towards the actual home. The hill though had taken more out of me than I thought and when I even felt like I was moving slower even on the flat ground. Felt like stopping at this stage but that is pretty normal for a 5K. Plodded on and knew I was in trouble when the 3K split was 4:30.
Had pretty much given up on running a good time at this stage as we headed for the exit of St Claire's and another incline for a couple of hundred metres. Felt dead coming out the gate but knew it was flat/downhill from here to the last couple of hundred metres. Checked the watch and the pace had slipped to am embarrassing 4:50 pace. Tried to dig in as we headed back towards Stamullen and although hurting the pace started to come down. Passed a few people at this stage with the field well spread out by this stage. Recovered a bit to pass the 4K point with a 4:31 split.
Just the 1K to go now and just really wanted to reach the finish. Felt like I was plodding a bit and not making much progress. There was nobody within touching distance in front of me but I could hear a couple of people close behind me. Got down through the village holding them off and swung left for the uphill finish towards St Pats. Great support here again and got a lot of support but as too tired to have a look at where it was coming from. One guy came past me on the uphill but I tagged onto him as we closed in on the last 100 metres. Went past him again and held him off only to be passed by someone else finishing a lot faster than me. Ran the last K in 4:15 to finish overall in 81st place out of 360 odd runners in a time of 21:39.
With no expectations of time or anything I was happy enough with this and I suppose despite wanting to stop or feel like I was slowing down I did manage to dig in a bit and make it a worthwhile run.
Although I am biased this really was such a well run event, from registration to starting on time, marshaling on the route, course accurately measured and results available straight away afterwards. The spread in the clubhouse afterwards had to be seen to be believed with a mountain of food still left over after 360 runners had been fed and watered. Well done to everyone who had any part in making it all happen.
Wednesday 29th May - Week 1 Day 3
Plan: Rest day
Actual: Rest day
Thursday 30th May - Week 1 Day 4
Plan: 14K - General Aerobic
Actual: 14K
Avg Pace: 5:37
Avg HR: 137
Lovely evening for a run in the sun. Headed from Stamullen to Gormanston and a bit of a loop on the beach and back adding on a bit at the end to make up the distance. Bit of tiredness in the legs from the race but nothing major.
Friday 31st May - Week 1 Day 5
Plan: Rest
Actual: Club Session
Didn't think we'd have a session this week with the race but it was moved to Friday night :-(
3.9K warm up included a loop of the college grounds, stretching and a couple of laps of running the straight hard and the bend easy. The session was 3 sets of (1x1200m, 55 sec recovery, 1x300m) with a 3 minute recovery between each set.
Splits were (5:03,1:01;4:57,1:01;4:53,1:00)
A couple of laps then to warm down finishing with 9.33K for the session. This was a tough session but with any session the key is to be able to pace yourself right and run all the intervals close to the same pace/effort. Legs were pretty wrecked afterwards.
Saturday 1st June - Week 1 Day 6
Plan: 6K - Recovery Run
Actual: 5.3K Treadmill Run
As part of the local summer festival the local pub 'The White Hart Inn' was running a 24 hour treadmill run with the proceeds going to Crumlin childrens hospital & Balbriggan Cancer support group. I was assigned the 7am slot so just treated this as a recovery run. Great to get it out of the way so early but legs were in ribbons after the night before.
Sunday 2nd June - Week 1 Day 7
Plan: 19K - Long Run
Actual: 19.6K
Avg Pace: 5:39
Avg HR: 134
Another lovely morning when I set out from Stamullen for my long run. Was worried how the legs would hold up given how they felt the previous morning and while they were tired that is all it was. Headed towards Julianstown and then the back road to Laytown where I swung back and headed back towards Mosney and eventually back onto the main road at Murphy's quarry. From here I headed up towards the Delvin and back up around Gormanston College and back to the car. Probably could have done with a bit of water towards the end but felt fine afterwards.
Plan for the week was 4 runs and 53K, with the session as well as the race it was a tough enough week and ended up doing 5 days and around 58K in total. Back to 4 days this week before moving to 5 from the following week. Have my sister in laws 30th birthday party on Saturday night so will aim to get the runs out of the way and leave Sunday free for a rest day this week.
The only goals I have at the moment are to follow the plan and to get to the start injury free which is always easier said than done with Marathon training. As the weeks go by I'll try and give more insight into the different types of runs in the plan and why they are part of the plan. For the moment below is my first weeks training along with the small matter of the Star of the Sea 5K race.
Monday 27th May - Week 1 Day 1
Plan: Rest day
Actual: Rest day
Don't you just love training plans that start off with a rest day :-)
Tuesday 28th May - Week 1 Day 2
Plan: 13K w/6K @ Half Marathon Pace
Actual: 4K Warm up - Star of the Sea 5K - 1K Warm down
4K Warm Up
Avg Pace: 5:24
Avg HR: 136
5K in 21:39
Avg Pace: 4:20
Avg HR: 153
1K Warm Down
Avg Pace: 6:19
Avg HR: 126
So although the plan called for something different tonight was the first running of the Star of the Sea 5K road race so I couldn't miss that. There was speed work on the plan so this was a more than capable replacement. Wasn't sure what to expect having not run since last Wednesday and enjoying my weekend maybe a bit too much on the eating and drinking front but as always was going to give it a go and see what happened.
Got in a good warm up before hand consisting of a few laps of the track in St Pats GAA meeting up with a friend of mine Matt who had come out from town to support the race, and then making my way down to the start about a mile away outside Gormanston college. It was a lovely evening and to use horse racing terminology I was certainly sweating up in the paddock.
Everyone lined up just before the appointed start time and following a minutes silence for Maurice Hackett's mum we were underway. The first K took us over the M1 motorway with a bit of a rise followed by a downhill the far side. Checked the pace to make sure I hadn't gone off too fast and it seemed pretty ok. The road had by now flattened out as we headed towards Stamullen village and I passed the 1K mark in 4:09. This felt ok and didn't feel like I had gone out too fast.
The next K was about trying to keep control of the pace as we made our way into Stamullen and lots of support especially on the way into the village at the turn off for St Pat's. On past here and there was a nice incline through the village which zapped a bit of energy from the legs. As we made our way of the village I passed the 2K in 4:16. Was happy enough with this and hoped to be able to maintain this for the next couple of K.
We were now heading towards the entrance to St Claire's nursing home and although a slight incline it was nothing major. Swung into the grounds and had a nice flat/downhill run towards the actual home. The hill though had taken more out of me than I thought and when I even felt like I was moving slower even on the flat ground. Felt like stopping at this stage but that is pretty normal for a 5K. Plodded on and knew I was in trouble when the 3K split was 4:30.
Heading into St. Claire's between 2K&3K
Had pretty much given up on running a good time at this stage as we headed for the exit of St Claire's and another incline for a couple of hundred metres. Felt dead coming out the gate but knew it was flat/downhill from here to the last couple of hundred metres. Checked the watch and the pace had slipped to am embarrassing 4:50 pace. Tried to dig in as we headed back towards Stamullen and although hurting the pace started to come down. Passed a few people at this stage with the field well spread out by this stage. Recovered a bit to pass the 4K point with a 4:31 split.
Just the 1K to go now and just really wanted to reach the finish. Felt like I was plodding a bit and not making much progress. There was nobody within touching distance in front of me but I could hear a couple of people close behind me. Got down through the village holding them off and swung left for the uphill finish towards St Pats. Great support here again and got a lot of support but as too tired to have a look at where it was coming from. One guy came past me on the uphill but I tagged onto him as we closed in on the last 100 metres. Went past him again and held him off only to be passed by someone else finishing a lot faster than me. Ran the last K in 4:15 to finish overall in 81st place out of 360 odd runners in a time of 21:39.
With no expectations of time or anything I was happy enough with this and I suppose despite wanting to stop or feel like I was slowing down I did manage to dig in a bit and make it a worthwhile run.
Although I am biased this really was such a well run event, from registration to starting on time, marshaling on the route, course accurately measured and results available straight away afterwards. The spread in the clubhouse afterwards had to be seen to be believed with a mountain of food still left over after 360 runners had been fed and watered. Well done to everyone who had any part in making it all happen.
Wednesday 29th May - Week 1 Day 3
Plan: Rest day
Actual: Rest day
Thursday 30th May - Week 1 Day 4
Plan: 14K - General Aerobic
Actual: 14K
Avg Pace: 5:37
Avg HR: 137
Lovely evening for a run in the sun. Headed from Stamullen to Gormanston and a bit of a loop on the beach and back adding on a bit at the end to make up the distance. Bit of tiredness in the legs from the race but nothing major.
Friday 31st May - Week 1 Day 5
Plan: Rest
Actual: Club Session
Didn't think we'd have a session this week with the race but it was moved to Friday night :-(
3.9K warm up included a loop of the college grounds, stretching and a couple of laps of running the straight hard and the bend easy. The session was 3 sets of (1x1200m, 55 sec recovery, 1x300m) with a 3 minute recovery between each set.
Splits were (5:03,1:01;4:57,1:01;4:53,1:00)
A couple of laps then to warm down finishing with 9.33K for the session. This was a tough session but with any session the key is to be able to pace yourself right and run all the intervals close to the same pace/effort. Legs were pretty wrecked afterwards.
Saturday 1st June - Week 1 Day 6
Plan: 6K - Recovery Run
Actual: 5.3K Treadmill Run
As part of the local summer festival the local pub 'The White Hart Inn' was running a 24 hour treadmill run with the proceeds going to Crumlin childrens hospital & Balbriggan Cancer support group. I was assigned the 7am slot so just treated this as a recovery run. Great to get it out of the way so early but legs were in ribbons after the night before.
Sunday 2nd June - Week 1 Day 7
Plan: 19K - Long Run
Actual: 19.6K
Avg Pace: 5:39
Avg HR: 134
Another lovely morning when I set out from Stamullen for my long run. Was worried how the legs would hold up given how they felt the previous morning and while they were tired that is all it was. Headed towards Julianstown and then the back road to Laytown where I swung back and headed back towards Mosney and eventually back onto the main road at Murphy's quarry. From here I headed up towards the Delvin and back up around Gormanston College and back to the car. Probably could have done with a bit of water towards the end but felt fine afterwards.
Plan for the week was 4 runs and 53K, with the session as well as the race it was a tough enough week and ended up doing 5 days and around 58K in total. Back to 4 days this week before moving to 5 from the following week. Have my sister in laws 30th birthday party on Saturday night so will aim to get the runs out of the way and leave Sunday free for a rest day this week.
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