Raheny 5 Mile Race

This week was to be a bit of a step back after 3 weeks of increased mileage and with the Raheny 5 mile race on Sunday. It's important during blocks of training to give your body a chance to recover a bit before adding to the workload again.

Monday 20th Jan - Strength & Conditioning

Weekly strength & conditioning session with some tough core exercises to finish it off. Paid a visit later on to Mark to get him to check out my calf and work on a bit of tightness which he did and released the pain.

Tuesday 21st Jan - Session

This weeks session was a ladder session with 1,2,3,4 mins with 75 sec jog recovery between each one, then 3 mins recovery before the climb back down 4,3,2,1.

Gary told us to try and run the first couple slightly quicker than 5K pace and then try to hold 5K pace for the rest. Pace splits were (6:28, 6:41, 6:47, 6:44, 6:44, 6:40, 6:28, 5:54).

Again there was a nice group of us working off each other, was conscious that it was a long enough session so needed to be paced right. The 4 mins back to back were tough trying to get the legs going again after the 3 min recovery but finished the session strongly which is always a good sign I suppose.

6.86 miles in total for the day.

Wednesday 22nd Jan - Easy Run

5.79 miles @ 8:46

Met up with Mo for this (Hackett not Farah) and we made our way around Stamullen and Gormanston chewing the fat as we went. Nice to see some of the backways of Stamullen. Legs feeling ok.

Thursday 23rd Jan - Easy Run

5.67 miles @ 8:55
Avg HR: 131

There was talk of a tempo run but with the race on Sunday we opted for an easier run on the night. Just a few loops of the college with the usual gang and we were joined by Helen White who lives local but is a member of Sportsworld. got chatting to her about London as she has done the race previously so that helped pass the time.

Friday 24th/Saturday 25th Jan - Rest

Friday was a planned rest day, the first day with no running or S&C since New year's day and Saturday also became a rest day running wise as I had to play golf so my easy 30 min run became 4 hours of golf which was't ideal with a race the next day I didn't expect it to have any real impact.

Sunday 26th Jan - Raheny 5 Mile

Got to Raheny in plenty of time and registered and had a chat with some of the others from the club, warmed up and took a place behind the sub 35 section and before long we were off.

The goal I had set myself at the start of the month was sub 35 (pb 35:49) but as always your not sure how the weather will be so early in the year. It had been windy all day but the rain was holding off.

The first 2 mile's were all about getting off at the right pace and I was prepared to be slightly down on goal pace as I knew the stretch along Howth road was going to be into the wind and coming so early in the race you can't push too much or run the risk of burning yourself out. Kept the pace well contained for the first mile and was into my running as we turned onto Howth Road. First mile passed in 7:01. We were now into a good breeze so I upped the effort a bit to keep the same pace, seeking shelter where I could but struggling to find a big enough group at my pace to tuck in behind. I guess I passed a few people along here and the section seemed to go on for longer than I remembered previously. As we turned off this section I was glad of a bit of relief from the wind but it had definitely taken a bit out of the legs. Shortly afterwards the second mile passed in 6:57. I knew the next couple of miles were where a bit of time could be banked possibly so just put the head down and kept trucking along. I could see the avg pace dropping slightly anytime I checked but not by too much either. Was passing people with more frequency now as we came round by St Anne's park and clocked the 3rd mile at 6:54. At this stage I was feeling pretty much flat to the boards but was hoping I could keep at it for the last 2 miles.

After a brief respite with the downhill onto the coast road I found the section along the coast road hard to pass people with the cones restricting space. I didn't want to settle in and run someone elses pace though so with a couple of glances over the shoulder I passed a few blocks of people outside the cones and soon my thoughts were turning to a tough finish. Turned off the coast road and made our way up the mail hill in the race passing the 4 mile marker. Mile 4 was covered in 6:49.

I knew at this point I should be good for a PB and sub 35 if I could keep it together but I didn't feel like I had another mile in me. Legs were screaming at me as we crested the hill and the rise up All Saints road was into the wind which wasn't helping matters. The pace had dropped a bit coming up the hill but with 1/2 mile to go I was passing people steadily again. Passed the corner of the park and I knew after the long straight there was only 2 corners to go. When I got to the second last corner the legs seemed to respond and I was able for a bit of a sprint finish. Last mile in 6:44.

Chip time was 34:25 which represents an 84 second PB. Very happy with that given the conditions, which weren't ideal but not horrific either.

 

As always a very well organised race which had a record turnout this year. Nice cup of tea and catch up with others in the hall afterwards.

 

 

Monday 27th Jan - Long Run

13.65 miles @ 9:08 pace

Avg Hr: 131

With the race yesterday the long run was pushed to today with Gary telling me to do 2 hours and not to worry about the pace. I guess it still counts as last weeks training. Headed out in the rain which was pretty bad at the time but eased off shortly afterwards. Legs weren't feeling too bad but knew they had raced yesterday. Had planned to meet Ken for the 2nd hour which kept me going to be honest. Looped back to his house after around 7 miles and added another hour on to the run. Was great to have the company and the miles passed quickly enough. Was pretty hungry for the last couple of miles so lucky I have plenty of reserves to call on.

Delighted to get this out go the way.

Laying the foundations

Following on from last week I just wanted to keep it consistent this week i.e. just run and follow the plan. Monday & Wednesday involved a strength & conditioning class of 30 Min's. In the coming weeks I will be pulling this back to 1 class a week.
Tuesday 14th Jan - Session

This weeks club session was 8x2 Min's with 1 min jog recovery between each one. This was to be done at 5K pace.

Pace for these was (7:02, 7:00, 7:01, 6:59, 6:58, 6:55, 6:49, 6:43).

There was a good group of us working together for these and the pace picked up gradually as we worked our way into the session (as we were told to do). This was a toughie but happy with the outcome. 6 miles in total with w/u & c/d.

Wednesday 15th Jan - Recovery

4.5 miles @ 10 min avg

Recovery run before my class to try and flush out the legs from the day before and in preparation for the next day. While the pace might seem very sedate it's important that you do them at the pace they are intended and for the purpose that is intended.

Thursday 16th Jan - Tempo

The plan was for a 6 mile tempo, keeping within around 15/20 secs of half marathon pace. I had estimated a loop from gate to gate and back in Gormanston to be 1.5 miles, meaning 4 loops so decided to do it there. Turned out this was only 1.25 miles which meant another loop had to be added on.

Splits were (7:34, 7:42, 7:38, 7:40, 7:36, 7:33)

I think the effort was a little quicker as a bit of time was lost each time we had to turnaround so based on that I was happy. Had some company as well which helped pass the miles and keep the effort up. Legs were hurting for the last couple of miles but I guess that's to be expected for this type of run. 7 miles in total for the day.

Friday 17th Jan - Easy Run

6 miles @ 9 min avg

Met up with Ken after doing a mile in advance and did a 5 mile loop of the town.

Saturday 18th Jan - Easy Run

6 miles @ 9:07 min avg

Got out in the rain on Sat morning for another easy run doing my town loop in reverse (how exciting). Legs a bit tired as they seem to be when I switch from running in the evening during the week to morning at the weekend. Finished like a drowned rat but running in the rain doesn't bother me really.

Sunday 19th Jan - Long Run

16 miles @ 8:38 pace

The plan was for 15 miles and I did 3 miles in advance of meeting up with the rest of the Sunday morning crew at 8:30. We headed off towards Bellewstown from Stamullen and the group split just before the road up to the racecourse with Stuey & Chris heading left and myself, Danny & Brian heading right on the road that takes you out to the Duleek - Julianstown road, from here we headed into Julianstown and down by the church and around and up the Mosney Road before heading back to Stamullen. Turned out the second part of the route was just under 13 miles so we rounded it up and I finished with 16 miles.

My right Achilles/calf has been a bit tight for the past few days and was the same during this run. It's more annoying than anything else but will get it looked at anyway. Have had it before and think it's just a tight spot. Apart from that was really happy with this run as it was pretty hilly, especially early on but we kept the pace steady throughout and wasn't in a heap finishing.

Another good week with just over 45 miles and 2 sessions completed. Hoping to race Raheny next Sunday so this week coming will be a bit of a step back week probably with regard to the overall mileage before picking back up again.

Back to normality

This was the week that was all about getting back to normality and back into routine.
Monday 6th January - Strength & Conditioning

Back to work today and back to routine. First class in a few weeks and was eased back into it with only having to do 4 sets instead of the normal 5. The body wasn't sure what was happening but got through it in the end.

Tuesday 7th January - Session

Back to speed training with the club tonight and the numbers seem to have trebled from the weeks leading up to Xmas. Good to see so many down.

Session consisted of a 12 min tempo @ 10K pace (7:22) followed by 2 Min's recovery, then into 6x200 w/45 sec recovery (32, 40, 40, 39, 38, 38).

As we weren't using a standard track the distance was approximate and it was changed after the first rep.

After 2 minutes recovery we finished up with 4 minutes @ 5K pace (7:02).

With warm up & cool down just over 5.5 miles for the night. This was a toughie being the first one back after Xmas and the strong wind on one side of the track making it hard to maintain pace.

Great to get back into it though.

Wednesday 8th January - Strength & Conditioning

Another strength & conditioning session lasting 30 minutes or so. A good session with a tough finisher. Finisher was a minute hitting a tyre and a minute of a wall sit for a total of 6 minutes each. The wall sit looks nothing but it takes a lot more effort that just sitting against a wall.

Thursday 9th January - Easy Run

6.34 miles @ 8:52

Was meant to be a tempo run today but I felt I needed a bit more recovery time from the previous 3 days and also I was running around all evening so wasn't really prepared for it anyway. Headed down to Gormanston and did a few miles with the club gang. Legs did feel tired as they often do during an easy run for some reason.

Friday 10th January - Tempo Run

7 miles @ 7:52
7 mile tempo was on the agenda for today and was lucky enough to have Ken for company as we set off for a hilly enough route around Balbriggan. My Garmin was acting up so Ken set the pace with me checking every so often how we were getting on. Legs were feeling it a bit as they should I suppose but finished strong enough I think.

8 miles in total including w/u & c/d

Saturday 11th January - Easy Run

6 miles @ 9:32

This was early on Saturday morning and the legs were a bit creaky from the night before. Also didn't get a chance to have breakfast beforehand or anything to eat much after the run last night which didn't help. Got it done though and hoped it would freshen the legs up for the run the next day.

Sunday 12th January - Long Run

11 miles @ 8:58 + 3 miles @ 7:48

I did a couple of miles before meeting up with the club for the long run. We clocked up another 9 miles at an easy pace, counting down the miles until the pain would hit. Worked the route so we would be starting the tempo part outside the college and would follow the SOS 5K route.

The group was down to myself and Rosemary at this stage and we set off towards Stamullen, the first mile wasn't too bad but we knew we had the rise up through Stamullen into the wind which turned out to be as tough as anticipated. Even when we turned into St Claire's we were still into the wind so no real respite. The pace had dropped a bit as expected but not the effort. As we made our way back towards St Pats we picked back a bit of time on the downhill and I was never happier when we ground to a halt after 3 miles.

I had been dreading the pick up in pace after 11 miles as last weeks 11.5 mile run was the longest I had run since Dublin and also coming at the end of a long week. In the end we got it done though although hard to hit an exact pact with the nature of the conditions yesterday.


So finished the week with 40 miles & a couple of s&c sessions thrown in for good measure. Happy with that and the aim for the moment is to just keep the consistency there as the mileage gradually rises. Another full weeks training this week and then will step back a little bit for the week of the Raheny 5.

Happy New Year

It's a New Year and a New start, or in some cases a continuation on from where you already were. For me it's a case of switching back onto a disciplined routine after the festive season and shedding any excesses along with a bit more hopefully.

Here's what I've been up to since my last post:

Monday 23rd December

5.02 miles @ 9:17

Just an easy loop around Balbriggan from what I can remember. Legs probably a bit tired from the race the day before.

Wednesday 25th December

5.04 miles @ 8:38

Headed out after Mass on Xmas morning for a bit of fresh air before the 2 dinners and all that goes with that (We cook dinner for my dad & brother and then head down to the In-Laws for dinner in the evening down there). Was wondering was I mad running on Xmas morning but came across someone else doing the exact same thing within a few minutes. I did seem to get a few strange looks from cars but it was a really lovely morning for a run and I really enjoyed it.

Thursday 26th December

Tinryland 4 mile Xmas Handicap

I had spotted this the week before Xmas and being quite close to the In laws once permission was secured I decided to give it a go. Woke up with a sore toe that was difficult to bend but headed off anyway noticing a bit of frost on some of the back roads. Got there in plenty of time and signed up giving myself an overly optimistic time of 28 Min's.

Did a bit of a warm up and noticed the footing was difficult in some spots on the approach to the finish but the race seemed to be going ahead anyway. I changed from my racers into my training shoes as these have more grip at the moment and hung around as various different groups started off. Before long I set off with 3 others in the same time bracket.

4 miles in 29:33 (7:06, 7:27, 7:51, 7:07)

First mile was pretty much on pace till I cam to a ice patch on a downhill which threw me completely and I nearly went into a ditch. Lost touch a bit with the other 3 here and they gradually pulled away. Small hill in mile 2 and then a good rise in mile 3 combined with excesses from the day before were causing me to slow. Picked it up a bit for the last mile but it was a struggle.

Glad to do the race as it is not something you would do in a session by yourself on St Stephen's day.

This turned out to be my last run of the year as the sore toe made itself known later on and turned into a limp. A couple of days rest combined with a wedding on NYE put paid to any further running.

Thursday 2nd January

7 miles @ 8:57

Just the usual Thursday evening club run around Gormanston College. Everything feeling a bit sluggish between not running and excesses of Drink & Chocolate.

Friday 3rd January

9 Miles @ 8:30 - 9

Normally I'm not free to run on Friday evening but I was this week so I headed down from home to meet the Balbriggan Roadrunners and did their loop with them and the continued on home again. Around 9 miles in total and pace is an estimate as I didn't have the Garmin with me.

Lovely to meet and run with some new faces.

Saturday 4th January

Malahide Parkrun in 21:23

First visit for a while to Malahide to give the legs a good blowout. Rosemary, Eamonn & Brian were also there from Star of the Sea so we had a good catch up before the race.

Ran this completely by feel without checking my pace once. It was a little bit congested for the first mile or so but opened out after that. As we headed out onto the bigger loop I just tried to pick people off in front and passed a few along the way. Didn't have a whole lot left to give at the end but hadn't gone full tilt at it either. Was happy enough with the time for the time of year and given the course.

Sunday 5th January

11.62 miles @ 8:33

There are hills and then there are hills. Met up with the club gang for this one and the decision was taken to head for the hilly route. Started in Stamullen and headed out by Ballestran, towards Mullaghteelin before a bit of respite heading towards Clinstown and climbing again towards Greenanstown and then climbing again towards Herbestown. This one seemed to go on forever and the legs were full of lactic reaching the top.

We got a bit of respite as we headed towards Naul before tackling Snowtown hill being re-assured when we reached the top of this that it was mostly down hill from there. Running with faster runners the pace picked up gradually towards the end.

Really enjoyed this route and the challenge it provides. Hills are good right?



So that it where I'm at right now. I noticed on Facebook during the week that there was 100 days to the London Marathon. That is the main goal for the early part of the year. A couple of goals for January are to run 160 training miles, get the long run up to 16 miles and get under 35 Min's in Raheny 5 mile race.

Hopefully I can give them all a good go.

Clonliffe 5K report & Merry Christmas

Better give a quick update before the Xmas festivities....

To say there has been a lot going on the past couple of weeks would be an understatement. Between trying to fit in S&C classes when I could, a stag night and a typically busy period for Emma with school there hasn't been a whole lot of time free. There is light at the end of the tunnel though.

In brief the training has been as below:

Mon 9th Dec

3 mile recovery run

Tuesday 10th Dec

Session: 12 Min's tempo @ 10K pace + 6 x 400m

Another good session. Numbers were a bit sparse this week. Pace for the tempo was 7 min mile pace. Was pretty windy and this seemed to pick up further for the 400m as they went on. 6.5 miles in total for the night.

Thursday 12th Dec

8.18 miles easy run

Just the usual few loops of Gormanston, even venturing out towards Stamullen to get a bit of extra distance in.

Tuesday 17th Dec

Session: 18 Min's tempo (10 @ 10K, 8 @ 5K) + 4 x 250m

This was a toughie as again it was basically a solo run with nobody to pace off. Probably started off a bit too quickly and didn't have the pick up required to really hit the 5K pace as I would have liked. The pace was 6:57 for the 10K portion and 6:51 for the 5K portion. Finished off with 4 x 250m at mile pace.

4.84 miles in total.

Thursday 19th Dec

5.15 miles easy run

Had hoped to get down to the club run but didn't work out time wise so just headed out for a loop of Balbriggan. Nice bit of wind and rain but legs felt good which was a bonus.

Sunday 22nd December

Clonliffe Christmas Cracker 5K

Had this race in mind for a blow out before Xmas and although the conditions weren't going to be ideal I decided the night before to do it. Picked up Stuey and headed off to Santry in plenty of time. Got registered, had a chat with Gary and Mark Bermingham and then set off to do our first warm up. This was actually just to try and get warm in the first place as it was Baltic out. With about 15 Min's to the start we stripped off and did a more serious warm up with a few drills and strides. When I went to set my watch I noticed the battery was at 0% so I left it behind in the bag. This was going to be interesting.

The race started with a lap and a bit of the track before heading out of Morton stadium. Was a bit worried about heading off too quickly with no watch to tell me the pace I was running at so settled in behind someone I remembered passing towards the end of the Jingle bells 5K reckoning that would be about right.

I moved past them after about 1K as we turned into Northwood to be greeted by a nice stiff breeze for around the next 1.5K or so along with some icy rain :-( Was trying to find a group to tuck in with but was gradually passing people and trying to work between groups. Noticed then that my lace had opened but tried to ignore it. It got to the point a few minutes later where my runner was becoming loose and I was losing grip. There was nothing for it but to pull over and tie it. Not sure how much time this cost me but enough anyway.

Got back into it and set about making up ground and passing some people for the 2nd time. As we turned onto Ballymun road there was a brief respite from the wind and before long we turned onto Santry avenue to make our way back towards the stadium. I had missed the 3K sign and the field was fairly strung out so I was just trying to keep going and was managing to bridge the gap and overtake a few people in front of me. I thought I could see the left turn in the distance to bring us back to the stadium when one of the volunteers told us there was 1.5K to go. This threw me a bit as I was pretty much flat out at this stage and was running at an effort that wouldn't have lasted for 1.5K. I wondered about easing up a little and maybe did somewhat for a couple of hundred metres but then say the turn so knew we were nearly home.

Got a nice bit of encouragement from Mark just before turning into the stadium with about 300 metres to go on a saturated track. There was only one runner in my sights and I managed to close down and pass him. Crossed the line with 20:50 on the clock which allowing for 5 seconds or so to cross the line I would estimate 20:45 as my finishing time.

This was 14 seconds slower than my PB from 2 weeks ago. Running without the watch hadn't been a disaster. It only really helps in a 5K to get your pace right at the start I suppose. I'm not sure if it would have turned out differently with it or not. Having to stop to tie your lace costs you time and momentum as you have to get up to speed again. This was also a much tougher day than a couple of weeks ago so I suppose I have to be happy with the result. I can't help but feel I might have knocked a few more seconds off the PB without the stoppage. I guess that will have to wait for another day though.

Summary:

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog since I started it up and for the mostly positive feedback you have given me. I wasn't sure about it all at the start but I hope you enjoy my ramblings. I hope everyone has a great Xmas and finds time to put the runners on to work off the excesses. I'll be back with more of my ramblings in early 2014.

Now where did I leave that Marathon Plan............

Jingle all the way

Thursday 5th December

S&C session and 4.61 miles easy run.

Did my strength and conditioning session a day earlier with the race on Saturday and then headed down to Gormanston later on for a few easy miles to keep the legs ticking over. Having been down there 3 of the last 4 weeks there seems to have been a big drop off in numbers for these runs compared to what I can remember. 

Saturday 7th December

Jingle Bells 5K

The club had their Xmas night on Fri night which I debated whether to go to or not with the race the next morning but I did and as usual had a great night. I sipped a few pints along with pints of water and made my exit just before midnight when the dancing was starting to kick-off.

Got to the park in plenty of time and parked near the Castleknock end to give me a nice warm up run to the start and cool down after the race. Met Karen Clarke on the way to the start who was fresh from her Xmas party as well. Did another bit of a warm up with her and Ray and a few strides and took our places at the start.

Wasn't sure how I was feeling to be honest but the plan was to get the pace right for the first mile and not go off too fast. We headed up acres road and turned past the papal cross park towards Chesterfield avenue. We were now running into the wind and slightly uphill as I started to work my way past people and bridge the gaps from group to group. Mile 1 past in 6:53.

Kept working well steadily passing people to the top of Chesterfield avenue and turned the corner onto Ordnance survey which offered a bit more shelter but was more or less into the wind. Noticed the 3K marker and I think the average pace here was around 6:50. Time to start upping it if I could with 2K to go. Mile 2 completed in 6:44.

As we turned onto Upper Glen Road I knew there was a good downhill section towards the end of this so despite hurting I upped the effort as much as I could and worked my way round the corners again picking of people trying to pass as many as I could without really worrying about pace. Hit the downhill section and there was a bit of nip and tuck with a guy from Dunleer who I overtook but then he came past me again before  overtook him again. Mile 3 completed in 6:10.

Took the slight turn towards the finish and almost went over into a pothole losing a bit of momentum as a result. Could see the finish now about 100 metres away but it was like the scene where you felt like you were never going to reach it. Managed to hold off those around me with not quite a sprint finish but delighted to cross the line in 20:31. Took a couple of minutes to feel normal again but was thrilled with taking 41 seconds off my PB.

A really well run race by Donore Harriers on the fastest route you could get in the Park. Felt like I ran a good race for me and got the pacing/effort right with the average overall pace being 6:35 per mile.

Finished off with a cool down back to the car carrying my Jingle Bells mug.

Around 7 miles in total for the day.

Sunday 8th December

8.15 miles Easy

Had been out for Emma's birthday on Saturday night so was not feeling too energetic for anything on Sunday. Also had the kid's Xmas party for work on this morning which Charlie really enjoyed but like most 2 year olds he wasn't so sure about Santa.

With the race yesterday I wasn't worried about pace here so just kept the effort easy as I worked my way around Balbriggan. Lovely evening for a run and it helped clear the head ;-)

Summary: Got the mileage back up to an almost respectable level this week along with 3 S&C sessions. Back to healthier eating this week and in the run up to Xmas in general. Can't let this training go to waste although looking forward to a stag night this coming Saturday in town.

Not too much going on here

So after a few people getting on to me about trying to do too much too soon I eased of a little bit and then had some stuff on like Emma's graduation and work Xmas party and also playing a bit of golf on the weekend for a change. Below is a summary of the training for the past couple of weeks.

18th - 24th November

The running sequence continued for another 4 days this week doing 2 short (3 mile) recovery runs before my training with Tony. These were really slow paced but beneficial. I also did just over 4.5 miles on the Thursday night around the college with the club. The session on Tuesday night was 4x6 mins @ 10K pace w/3 mins recovery. If I remember it was very windy so we had the wind behind on one straight and straight into on the other so it took plenty of effort. The numbers were down a bit as Gary was away but I did these with Rosemary and the paces were (7:25, 7:19, 7:19, 7:21). With warm up and cool down just over 6 miles was covered in total.

Rounded off the weeks training with another Gym session on Friday.

25th - 1st December

Again this week I had my 3 sessions with Tony but Fridays was moved forward to Thursday as I had my work party. I can definitely see that I'm making some progress with these. The intensity is going up steadily but I'm better able to handle most exercises now and not taking as long to recover afterwards.

Not much happening in the way of running with just one short recovery run and the Tuesday night speed session.

The session was 4 sets of 4 mins @ 5K pace, 60 secs recovery, 1 min @ mile pace, 2 mins recovery. This was a toughie adapting to the different paces and not really knowing what mile pace should be. The paces for the 4 min segments were (6:55, 6:47, 6:37, 6:27) and for the 1 min segments were (6:16, 6:21, 6:13, 5:38).

The paces seemed to be improving as we went on which I guess is a good sign but with not much mileage in the legs recently the legs are also probably a bit fresher than they were.

Tuesday 3rd December

Another Tuesday another speed session greeted us on the wind tunnel in Stamullen. When Gary was explaining the session he told us there was 12 mins @ half marathon pace which didn't sound too bad but after a pause he went on with 8 mins @ 10K pace, getting worse and then to rightly finish us off 4 x 2 mins @ 5K pace. There was 3 mins recovery after the 12 & 8 mins and 90 secs between the 2 mins.

I knew if we went off too fast this was going to be a disaster so held the pace steady for the first few laps. I was running with Susan chatting away for the first few laps but as we had to work a bit harder into the wind it stopped soon enough. Gary was calling out the splits trying to get everyone to work to even splits. Finished off the 12 minutes @ 7:22 pace.

After recovery and being told we should be aiming to run the laps 5-10 seconds quicker we set off for the 8 minute portion. Putting in a bit more effort where the wind was behind us and trying to stay controlled into the wind. Wasn't really watching the pace but the splits were quicker as required. Turned out the 8 mins were done @ 6:47 pace which is definitely not my 10K pace.

I was worried then about the last portion and blowing up but again we were encouraged to up the intensity again from the previous 8 mins. Lucky enough I was feeling strong and was able to pick up the pace for each one as it passed. They were completed at (6:22, 5:58, 5:54, 5:36). Was pretty wrecked after the last one but that was pretty much flat to the boards in terms of effort.

Another good session under the belt in terms of speedwork.


Summary: Have a race on Saturday morning over 5K in the Phoenix Park. Not going in with any expectations as this time of year you never really know what the conditions will be like. Going to run it with no watch for a change i.e I won't look at the watch during the race just to see how that goes.

Need to find a way to start upping the miles again as well but I think between myself and Emma there is something on every weekend day/night between now and Xmas. I think there will have to be a few early morning runs thrown in somewhere.