hills, spills and bellyaches

showry

Wednesday:
Running, week 5 of the winter league, 6 miles,
38:09 - my fastest time yet,
went off quite fast, settled down for a couple of miles and then kicked on for the last 2, felt quite strong at the end,

MCOS

Good running showry! The speed work is really paying off!

showry

Thursday:
Running, 4 miles, varying pace,
with a couple of people from work and one of them wanted to go to the track for speed work so we went over there,
legs felt very heavy so went round mostly at about 8 min pace, with a couple of fast laps thrown in,
would much rather be on the road for that kind of running though,

showry

unplanned rest day today,
was meant to do 10 miles this evening but couldn't get out of work,
off to see billy bragg in about 20 minutes so no time for anything,
should try and do the 10 this weekend but the weather looks ideal for cycling both days so will probably do that instead, have monday off to so might try and get the 10 in then before herself goes to the shops,

showry

Saturday:
cycling, 80 km, avge speed 29 km/h

showry

Sunday:
Running, 12.5 mls @ 7:34 pace,

lovely morning for it, felt like I could have stayed running for the day,

going to the in-laws in Cork for dinner so I'd originally planned cycling up there but figured I needed a long run as I didn't have one last week and missed one Friday night, well pleased I went for the run instead,

MCOS

hey showry, what events are you planning for 2009? What are your A goals?

showry

MCOS wrote: »

hey showry, what events are you planning for 2009? What are your A goals?

My main goals are the 4 10 mile races at the start of the year, would love to break 70 in one of them,
after that it's the Wicklow 200, Ring of Kerry and Sean Kelly on the bike,

in between all of that there's the road racing summer series and I have the cycling summer league to defend.

showry

Monday:
Cycling, 50 km, avge speed 28 km/h,

herself headed off shopping early so I was on parenting duty,
she got back about 3, by which time I needed some space and I had a double quarter pounder with cheese meal (large) and the remains of 3 happy meals (never said I was a good parent) to burn off, so I decided to head out and do what I could before it got dark,
legs were very heavy after yesterday's run and every little bump in the road felt like Ventoux,
was glad to get out and do something though,

showry

Tuesday:
Running, speedwork,

4 X 800

2:49
2:54
2:52
2:52

MCOS

showry wrote: »

Tuesday:
Running, speedwork,

4 X 800

2:49
2:54
2:52
2:52

Good times there showry!

showry

cheers MCOS,
yeah, I was feeling strong today, set the timer to go every 44 seconds so hitting it every 200 would bring me in at 2:56,
at least it's over for another week,

showry

Wednesday:
Running, winter league, 6 miles,

strange night, it was a predict-your-time race tonight,
I don't like these as I tend to build in a comfort zone for myself.
Basically the clock starts counting down from an hour and you can go whenever you want with the aim of finishing at 0.00.
I went off with a big group at 40:00. The first couple of miles were very handy and sociable and then the pace upped a bit. I ran hard for the last 3 or 4 miles but still came in slower than 40, about 2 minutes slower than last week and feeling just as wrecked.
Bit pissed off at the moment but sure you get nights like that.

shels4ever

showry wrote: »

Wednesday:
Running, winter league, 6 miles,

strange night, it was a predict-your-time race tonight,
I don't like these as I tend to build in a comfort zone for myself.
Basically the clock starts counting down from an hour and you can go whenever you want with the aim of finishing at 0.00.
I went off with a big group at 40:00. The first couple of miles were very handy and sociable and then the pace upped a bit. I ran hard for the last 3 or 4 miles but still came in slower than 40, about 2 minutes slower than last week and feeling just as wrecked.
Bit pissed off at the moment but sure you get nights like that.

I know that feeling, I had a week of feeling wrecked but came out of it and back running ok. taking multi vits now ever day that may have helped.. But the bad days make the good days feel so much better

Sosa

Excuse my ignorance now lads ...
but when you say 2x800 you mean 2 laps of the track ...yes ?

I did a few speed sessions in a local park during the summer,its ideal because the pathway is exactly 1k all the way round...marked every 200m,did not to many because to be honest they take it out of you.
But i did enjoy them and must give it a go again soon.

If someone was doing speedwork in there marathon training,would they be primarily going for around 3hrs/under or does it matter

showry

Hi Sosa,
yeah, it's 2 laps of the track, I go over the RSC at lunchtime, 3.50 for as long as you want and a hot shower,
no idea how speedwork fits into marathon training though as I've never done one (yet)

showry

Thursday:
Running, 4.5 miles @ 8 min pace,
very enjoyable

showry

Saturday:
Cycling, 90km, avge speed 29.5 km/h,

another unplanned rest day yesterday due to work,
tomorrow will either be a 10 mile run with my brother or a 5 mile charity run out the road,
there's cycling club beers tonight, not sure if I'll go but that will dictate what (if anything) I do tomorrow,

showry

Sunday:
Running, 5 mile charity race, 33:24,

tough run, very hilly so I'm happy with the time, general consensus was that you could knock a minute and a half off the time to get a more realistic time,
it's officially my PB for 5 miles, although I did run 31:30 in the winter league a couple of weeks back that wasn't an officially measured run,

it was about 5 miles out the road at the top of a hill so I cycled out and back to warm up and down,

Sosa

Good stuff showry,i did a 5m half cross counrty / half road a few weeks ago ...not ideal either,but i suppose you cant have nice handy flat courses ( like i had today ) all the time...can you ?

SUNGOD

great time for a hilly course, and like ya said you could easy take a couple of min off ,it was a flat course.
great running keep it up
are you doing the 5 miler stephens day in dungarvan?, think myself and sosa could be doing it





* there is the baldy man run on tramore beach on the 28th of dec as well if your interested

showry

cheers lads,
I'll be doing the Stephen's day run in Dungarvan alright, although I might just be doing the 2 miles with the young fella,
it's very much a charity run though, don't even think they record the times if I remember, nice atmosphere and soup and sandwiches afterwards,

showry

Monday:
Running, speedwork,

4 sets of 1,000m at 3km pace plus 300 metres hard
Target Pace: 1 km at 95 seconds per 400m or 03:58 per 1 km, 300 metres in 63
Rest between efforts: jog forward 100 metres after the 1km efforts; jog forward 200 metres after the 300 metre efforts

Times per 1km/300m were:
3:49
62 secs
3:47
62
3:47
63
3:47
63

was my last trip to the track for the year and wanted to try something different, really enjoyed it (probably means I wasn't trying hard enough),

showry

rest day yesterday,

here's my upcoming race schedule,
would hope to break 70 in one of the 10 milers and 32:30 in a 5 miler,

Jan 11th - Mallow 10 mile
Jan 25th - Colligan cup - 5 mile
Feb 1st - Dungarvan 10 mile
Feb 22nd - Kilmacthomas 5 mile
Mar 1st - Dungarvan 10k
Mar 8th - Ballycotton 10 mile

cycling plans for the year are the Wicklow 200, Ring of Kerry & Sean Kelly

Sosa

Busy schedule Showry ...
I think there is a 5 miler in Waterford on Jan 11th ...so i prob wont go to mallow.Dungarvan 10m,Kilmac 5 & Ballycotton are on my list aswell ...we will see about the dungarvan 10k

showry

Wednesday:
Running, winter league, 6 miles,
in or around 37:25, PB again,
I ran hard, was with a strong group and just kept telling myself to stick with them for another half mile - stayed with them all the way, felt quite strong and was in the mix at the end,
it's on a break now until Jan 7th which is a shame as it's great to have a competitive run like that once a week. I might run the Stephen's day run a bit more seriously than I had intended and do the Baldy Man in Tramore to try and keep the sharpness up before Mallow.

showry

Thursday:
Running, 3.5 mls @ 7:15 pace,

busy at work but got out for a lunchtime run, lashed down for the last mile and a half so picked up the pace a bit more than intended,

last night's time was 37:27 - well pleased as the ambition at the start of the league was to break 40 by February

showry

Friday:
Running, 10.25 miles @ 6:59 pace,
good run, felt strong, windy enough in parts though,
hopefully I can keep this up for Mallow and not blow it all over the chrimbo,

Sosa

Thats a great time for a training run,Showry ...what time are you aiming for in Mallow ?

showry

Hi Sosa,
sub-70 was my aim, anything better will be a bonus. Dungarvan was the one I was targetting so I should have a more realistic goal after Mallow.

showry

Saturday:
Cycling, 50km, avge speed 28.6 km/h,
hungover and windy, wasn't up in time for the group spin so went out on my own, broke a spoke and had to turn back, bit of a disaster but was glad to get out,

Sosa

Hi Sosa,
sub-70 was my aim, anything better will be a bonus

If you can do 10 x 7 min miles in training...you are well on the road to getting nearer 65 mins rather than 70.

I was similar a while back ....aiming for 70 ...ended up with 66:10 ....beyond all expectations....keep up the good work.

showry

Sunday:
Cycling, 75km, avge speed 29 km/h

showry

Monday:
Running, 8.5 miles, 6.5 @ 7:04 pace, 1 mile jog either side,
felt like we were going much faster than that to be honest, legs were a bit heavy

showry

Tuesday:
Ruuning, 6.5 miles, about 7:50 pace,
wanted an easy run so didn't bring a watch but met a chap with a garmin after a couple of miles and ran the rest with him so he was letting me know the pace,
enjoyable run,

showry

Wednesday:
Running, speedwork,
4 X 1km repeats & fast 300s

wasn't at the track so went on the road. The distances were fairly approximate but not too far out as the times were close enough to my track times last week and I was pretty wrecked after it,

showry

Friday:
Running, 5 mile charity run, 35:20,
it's more of a social thing than a race so decided against hammering it and just went to enjoy it,
first mile was 8 mins, next 3 were 7 exactly and the last was 6:20,
very enjoyable run,

I did something to my back during the week, doesn't bother me running but it's sore when I'm getting up or stretching a particular way, might not cycle tomorrow to avoid aggravating it and go for another easy run,

showry

Saturday:
Cycling, 70km, avge speed 27.5 km/h,

leisurely group spin punctuated by punctures,

on the beer last night so rest day today - getting stuck into the last of the pudding, the afternoon tea and the celebrations,

showry

Monday:
Running, 6.8 miles @ 6:59 pace,

was going to go cycling but it looked bleak and windy so I chickened out and went for a run instead,
struggled a bit despite doing nothing yesterday, legs were probably full of roses and celebrations, did the last 2 in 12:30,

planning a long run tomorrow with my brother, he's talking about doing 14 miles,

showry

Tuesday:
Running, 12.5 miles @ 7:15 pace,
tough run, still not feeling like I've much strength in the legs for whatever reason,
struggled through the first half but picked it up for the second half, did the last 3 in 20 minutes,

Slogger Jogger

A good run to wind up the year in any event Showry. Where were you running as a matter of interest? Details people details

showry

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

A good run to wind up the year in any event Showry. Where were you running as a matter of interest? Details people details

Thanks Slogger Jogger,
just running around Dungarvan, next race is the Mallow 10 mile on the 11th Jan

showry

Wednesday:
Running, 5 miles, very easy pace,
didn't bring a watch - just wanted to run the deadness out of the legs, and last night's beer, and the eddie rocket's I had for lunch,

I had planned to do a lot of cycling this week but haven't been on the bike since Saturday, a combination of social/family plans and that cold easterly wind,
planning to get out for a couple of hours tomorrow, doing a 10 mile run Friday and cycle Saturday & Sunday,

Haven't been running too well either but hopefully a track session and a winter league run next week will restore a bit of sharpness before Mallow,

happy new year to everyone and keep up the hard work,

showry

have been feeling rotten since yesterday so haven't done anything, dosing up on lemsips/vitamin c/benylin,
no sign of it shaking off though so at this stage it looks like I'll take the weekend off as well to try and clear it totally and get what I can done before Mallow next sunday,
I was going to try and have a crack at breaking 70 there but that might have to wait for Dungarvan,
very frustrating,

Sosa

Hey Showry,
A quick question for you...
I see that you are looking to do sub 70 for a 10m....you have been doing 7:15 pace and lower in training..are you going flat out or are you comfortable in doing that ?
I was looking for sub 70 in a 10m race i did back in october.
I decided on the start line to do as many 6:30 paced miles as i could and if i drop off so be it...i ended up 66:10 - 6:37 Pace.

The reason i say all this is that your times are very similar to mine in most distances...you can over compensate for longer distances,you might surprise yourself ( as i did ) ....give it a go

showry

Hi Sosa,
I would have been going strong enough in training but not race pace.
I was going to go at it the same way as you, maybe not 6:30 pace, but about 6:45. I've found in the past that starting off slow and trying to finish fast doesn't really work for me, I'm better off going off harder and burying myself to try and keep it going.

This flipping cold's in my chest now so if I am doing Mallow next week it'll more than likely be to just get some miles in the legs rather than beat any times.

SUNGOD

that sounds sensible showry , and maybe target dungarvan to go sub 70?

showry

Monday:
Running, 5 miles tempo, approx. 7 min/mile,

felt ok today so wrapped up and went for 5, didn't bring a watch but felt strong all the way and did it in about 35 according to the kitchen clock,
no adverse effects so far,
all going well will do an easyish session at the track tomorrow (200s maybe) and then there's the winter league on Wednesday night, with any luck the post-christmas pace will be sensible enough - I'll be one of the last off so I won't really be able to take it easy if everyone else isn't,

am dosed up on vitamin c and sitting by the fire for the evening anyway,

showry

Tuesday:
Running, track session,

Basic 200s

3 sets of 3 x 200m at 600m pace
Pace: 41 seconds per 200m
Rest between efforts: up to 1 minute
Rest between sets: Lap jog


slowest: 40 secs
fastest: 37 secs

made a nice change from the 800/1000 repeats - still not 100%, didn't want to overdo it between coming off a cold and winter league tomorrow night

showry

Wednesday:
Running, winter league week 9,
6 miles - 38:53,

3 of us went off together and none of us was in the mood for killing ourselves so it was steady enough,
was still knackered at the end - found breathing quite hard, we didn't catch too many people,
I probably could have pushed a bit faster (and suffered a bit more) if I needed to (although the other 2 did outsprint me at the end).

A minute and a half off my best time so far:
week1: 43:42
week2: 40:20
week3: 38:17
week4: 31:33 (5 miles)
week5: 38:34
week6: 38:09
week7: 40:24
week8: 37:27