On Your Marks ...

stmochtas · 16-04-2009 9:24pm

These to runs were an easy 30 mins and an easy 60 mins. Thankfully tomorrow is rest day as I did not enjoy tonight at all.

Also have a bit of a strain in the middle toe of my left foot :mad:. At least thats what I think it is, if its still there on Saturday then I am not racing.

stmochtas · 17-04-2009 8:21pm

Foot is still sore and on ice at the moment. Not doing tomorrows run in Clonee as I don't want to impact my goal race on May 2.

stmochtas · 20-04-2009 9:00am

There is an improvement in my foot today. I may take it for a short easy run tonight and see how it reacts. If I get a reaction then I will have to hit the bike of the few days and see if I can get back onto my feet for the weekend. Its a bit of a mystery as I have no idea how I hurt it.

stmochtas · 21-04-2009 8:56am

No improvement so I am going to get some medical advice.

It is disappointing as it may be a struggle for me to make the RTE race now and I felt like I was just getting to a new level too.

I have to stay focussed however and try and get over this one.

stmochtas · 21-04-2009 1:36pm

30 mins cycling this afternoon. Kept up a decent effort but I much prefer running. Foot not sure at all to cycle but sore to walk on. :mad:

Physio tonight for a professional opinion on my perdicament.

stmochtas · 22-04-2009 9:36am

Looks like I have the early stages of something called Mortons Neuroma. Most likely cause of this may been wearing my runners too tight as I dont have any issues with pronation etc. on that foot. I am going to rest up for 6-days and see the Physio on monday.

In the meantime I have an exercise I can do to strengthen muscle in the top of my foot and he added a gel pad to my insole in order to spread the bones in my feet a bit so they don't irritate the swollen nerve.

Plenty of icing as well. The worst case scenario he hoped would be 3 weeks but he feels mine is quite early stages and other patients he has seen would have hopped off the table when he squeezed their foot.

I am going to continue the cycling as well. May endanger my plans to run RTE 5 mile but I am not giving up hope yet.

stmochtas · 22-04-2009 9:21pm

13-14k cycle in 48mins with avg hr 135

Nice cycle in the park. Foot on ice at the moment.

stmochtas · 25-04-2009 12:58pm

Still on ice. Not too much improvement unfortunately. I have been evaluating my shoe choice etc. and may look for a wider fitting runner in case this is how the injury arose. Hoping for a big improvement this weekend or else I can kiss the rte 5 miler goodbye. :mad:

stmochtas · 27-04-2009 8:52am

Definite improvements but still pain when I walk. Physio today, I am now 80% I wont to the RTE 5 mile and hopefully get back on the road for the Intel 10k. I will decide Wednesday.

jlang · 27-04-2009 9:21am

Sounds sensible. If you're not sure it's probably best not to risk it. If your injury gets worse you could be out of action for longer.

stmochtas · 27-04-2009 10:35am

I think your right Jlang. I need new runners too, so I want to be sure i have the right footwear for the next time I race.

stmochtas · 28-04-2009 1:26pm

Yesterday

Physio. Nerve swelling is gone now but the joint on my second smallest toe is still killing me probably because of how hard it was worked last night.

Taking this week off and staying on the bike. Disappointed to miss the RTE race but I will just re-focus now.

Today

30 Mins on the exercise bike to get the HR up.

stmochtas · 30-04-2009 11:37am

30 mins on the exercise bike again yesterday. Boring.

Did a session of 1 min hard - 1 min easy to make it interesting.

Still some tenderness in the foot but I am on the mend. Targeting a return to action next week.

stmochtas · 07-05-2009 1:04pm

I managed to 5k easy runs this week but my foot has stiffened up again so I am going to have to continue to do low impact activity for a while longer.

I need a rough plan in order to stay motivated as last weekend I just ended up eating and drinking.

7/5 Spinning Class
8/5 Spinning Class or (5 Hard/5 easy) * 4
9/5 20km cycle
10/5 20km cycle

Stretching and non-impact strength work each day.

stmochtas · 11-05-2009 9:54am

Completed most of the plan for the last 4 days. I skipped yesterdays spin on the bike due to saddle soreness. There is a slight improvement in my foot but nothing spectacular.

Going to go for Physio on Wednesday, however I cant see his name in the marathon results from Prague so hopefully he made it around ok. :eek:

Plan for the week,

Tue: 20k cycle outdoors
Wed: Exercise Bike session (5 min fast 4 min slow) * 4
Thu: Exercise Bike session (1 min flat out - 30 sec recovery - 60 sec slow) * 10
Fri: Exercise Bike session (5 min fast 4 min slow) * 4

Would hope to be thinking about a jog for the weekend but not going to push this at all.

Decided not to focus on the Intel 10k now as it is going to be too much too soon. Disaapointed not to achieve all I had planned for the first few months of the year but I still feel I have come along way.

The main focus for the summer is now

Adidas 5 mile
Adidas 10 mile
Warriors Run ( and some of the leinster league IMRA thrown in for traing ).

Of course this will change if the foot doesn't heal but at the moment I am staying positive and the training plan is completed.

I will come back out fighting for a new 10k PB post-warriors. :cool:

stmochtas · 14-05-2009 10:25am

Update

No running.

I have been continuing with the cycling program. Hoping that it is helping to maintain the fitness levels I built up in the last few months. To be honest it does not compare to running but hopefully it is helping.

Went to the physio on Wednesday morning and he worked on the foot and the lower leg which may also be contibuting. After the session my foot felt a lot better. The session was tough though and we put a plan in place. No running until Saturday and then try the foot over a 3k easy run. If I have a re-occurence then a scan will be nessecary to examine the bones etc.

It has been 3-4 weeks now since I stopped training and although my foot is improving there is still a slight discomfort when I walk on it.

So fingers crossed for Saturday.

stmochtas · 02-06-2009 9:43am

Right,

Just so I dont completely disappear of the radar I will update the log. My foot injury seems to be on the mend and although the Physio recommended returning to full training I am taking the cautious (not lazy) approach as there is still evidence of tightness and tenderness in the problem area.

Last week I managed the 5k and 8k runs along with a spinning class and a 15k cycle.

This week so far I covered 10k on monday in 54 mins which wasnt bad considering the heat at the time I was running. The rest of the week will be something like this,

Tuesday: Rest / strength exercises
Wednesday: Spinning
Thursday: I want to push a bit harder so an LT session might be on the cards if the foot feels good
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 12k
Sunday: Rest or 5k recovery, again going to listen to the foot.

So after 6 weeks of very little running I get to add 23k to the 100 mile challenge. Looking at my current 363 miles so far getting to 1000 is really going to be a challenge.

stmochtas · 04-06-2009 10:25pm

Good Session tonight on grass with very little pain at all

2 * 1 mile @ approx LT Pace

Mile 1 : 7:18 avg 175
Mile 2 : 7:28 avg 177

Jogged for 3 mins in between and included a 2k warm up and cool down.

First time in a while I felt like I was moving.

shels4ever · 04-06-2009 10:34pm

stmochtas wrote: »

Good Session tonight on grass with very little pain at all

2 * 1 mile @ approx LT Pace

Mile 1 : 7:18 avg 175
Mile 2 : 7:28 avg 177

Jogged for 3 mins in between and included a 2k warm up and cool down.

First time in a while I felt like I was moving.

Nearly the exact same session as i did on Thursday pace very close too...

stmochtas · 05-06-2009 8:58am

shels4ever wrote: »

Nearly the exact same session as i did on Thursday pace very close too...

I noticed that. If I can get back to feeling good about my foot we could do a couple of sessions together.

stmochtas · 07-06-2009 10:26pm

12k Run in 62 mins avg HR 170.

I got the pace on this one completely wrong and then just decided to maintain it to see what the legs are like. Felt good ut definitely tired. This was another confidence boost at least.

stmochtas · 09-06-2009 11:29am

The weeks plan decided to run the IMRA run on Wednesday as I need to start getting hills into the legs for the Warriors run.

Mon Rest
Tues Easy 5-8km
Wed Imra 6km
Thurs Rest
Fri V02- 5 * 2.5 mins (2.5km warm up/cool down)
Sat Rest
Sun Long Run 14km

Might need to juggle a bit as I am out on Fri. night.

stmochtas · 09-06-2009 8:52pm

4 miles nice and easy in 40 mins to activate the legs for tomorrow.

stmochtas · 15-06-2009 9:16am

Got an easy 8 miles in on Sunday with Shels. I think about 8:40 pace. Shels can confirm very enjoyable and hope to that again as the miles just fly by when you have company.

This weeks plan

Mon: 2* 2.5k
Tues: Rest
Wed: IMRA Scarr
Thurs: 6-8k recovery
Fri: Rest
Saturday: 8 * 100M, Basic speed session.
Sunday: 15k Long Run

Hoping for company on the long run

.

stmochtas · 15-06-2009 9:40pm

2 * 1.5 mile @ approx LT Pace

Mile 1 : 11:37 avg 172
Mile 2 : 11:31 avg 175

Jogged for 4 mins in between and included a 2k warm up and cool down.

Could have pushed these into the 11:20's on reflection but happy enough.

Total Distance: 9.4km

stmochtas · 18-06-2009 5:14pm

IMRA Scarr - 8k

My second go at mountain running and some more lessons learned. The climb was cruel on the legs but will help to build on my strength. The wind at the top did not help things and I had a little fall which left me bruised. :eek:

Finished in 54:02 and was the 121st home. No records broken but I feel like improvements are imminent.

Nice to meet one or 2 of the Boards lads.

shels4ever · 18-06-2009 6:04pm

stmochtas wrote: »

IMRA Scarr - 8k

My second go at mountain running and some more lessons learned. The climb was cruel on the legs but will help to build on my strength. The wind at the top did not help things and I had a little fall which left me bruised. :eek:

Finished in 54:02 and was the 121st home. No records broken but I feel like improvements are imminent.

Nice to meet one or 2 of the Boards lads.

good running, fancy the 5k race on sunday have race you soon.

stmochtas · 19-06-2009 9:18am

shels4ever wrote: »

good running, fancy the 5k race on sunday have race you soon.

Hi probably wont be at the 5k as I am going to get a long run in instead. But it would be nice to get out for a race with you soon. I have only ever raced one 5k and did it in 24min so its a PB I can improve the first time I try.

stmochtas · 20-06-2009 5:47pm

9 Mile Long Run

Nice long run in the park and great to add another mile to the last weeks run.

9 Mile in 79:07 (avg hr 165)

Pace works out at 8:47 mile pace.

stmochtas · 21-06-2009 9:18pm

4 Mile Easy Run And Basic Speed

Nice easy run in the park. Decided to get the weekly total to 40km so got out for 4 easy miles. I then added a basic speed session in the park at my house.

8 * 100m with 100m recovery jogs (fastest 19 secs)

I will post a plan for this week later. I have a bit of juggling to do.

Weekly Totals
Distance: 40km
Time on feet: 3hr 56m

stmochtas · 06-07-2009 10:17pm

So I have not been logging much at the moment as not too much to report. I have just been building up the miles over the weeks and hope to start some serious work and start a proper plan after the Adidas 5 mile in the park.

I will be running the IMRA run on Wednesday as they are a great build up to the Warriors run.

stmochtas · 12-07-2009 3:56pm

Thought I would update the log as I am not getting as much time as I would like to keep things up to date.
For the last couple of months I have been really just getting the miles into the legs. The most I will need to do really is a 50km week as I am not training for the longer distances at present. I have built up slowly over the last 6 weeks and feel good about the foot injury I picked up in May. I have been running the IMRA Leinster league for the last 5 weeks as well; these runs will be good physical and mental preparation for the Warriors in August.
Here is a synopsis of my week.
Monday: An easy 10k run which I did not enjoy at all due to a bad blister. I decided that Tuesday was going to be a rest day in order for the blister to clear up. It was a big one. I needed the rest day anyway to get a long day done at work.
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: IMRA Ballinastoe
This was an epic race which was billed as a 12km run over 2 climbs and plenty of muck. The billing did not let us down. I ended up getting lost at some point with a group of 30 runners and running an extra km. The race started with a nice climb and brought us into a forest where we ran through some very dark woods, dodging low pine branches and at one point we seemed to be running in quick sand. We got lost on the second climb, it was a shame as I felt I was doing well up until that point. Once we copped that we were lost then we just enjoyed the rest of the run.
Thursday: Forced myself to rest as I felt that my ankle had been jarred on Ballinastoe so I took the sensible approach.
Friday: Rest/Travel
Saturday: Got out to Strandhill to meet T_Runner and Sobriquet for a run of the warriors run course. It was a very enjoyable easy run of the complete course. Some great advice from T_Runner as well as we made our way around. We took it easy to the start of the mountain climb. Then slowly made our way to the summit with some walking and jogging . On the descent T_Runner took of like lightening where as I hit the floor once due to lack of grip. We then ran the last 7.5km home at a faster pace to complete the course in 90 mins. A sub 80 has to be the target now for the race, well so T_Runner says.
Sunday: another easy 10k with some nice hills

Weekly Total: 46.4km

stmochtas · 18-07-2009 1:18pm

Just completed the Phoenix park 5 miler this morning I am a very happy man. I managed a time according to my watch of 36:45 which was a great PB having never run this distance below 40mins, not that I have race to many 5 miles.

I met Figs at the start which was great, nice to be able to chat with someone while we waited for the late runners to get lined up. Looks like there was over 5000 there which meant if you were starting further back there were significant delays. Ask Gerard65. I got my starting position about right and when the hooter went set of at a 7 min pace. My plan was to get to 2 miles at 14:30 mins and hopefully at that stage the race with have spread out. Got there in 14:04 and feeling good. At the half way mark I started to feel Wednesdays mountain run in the legs and passed the 3 mile mark in 21:24 and then into the final climb. My legs were tiring now and on reflection if I had eased up a bit to the 3 marker I might have had more in the tank. Mile 4 was pain and took me 7:45. Sometime during it ChristeB flew past me as if I wasn't moving. He got caught up at the start I learned later. Last mile so some quick calculations told me sub 37 was on if I dug deep, so I did to run the last mile in 7:20.

My garmin measured it at 5.04 miles which is down to my racing line.

Splits
6.57
7.07
7.19
7.45
7.20
0.14

I am delighted with this and I reckon the 36 would be achieveable very soon.:D

This race gives me a VDOT of 44 on the daniels chart. So now its time to move to some speed work (on Monday

).

Met ChristeB, Gerard65, Woddle and Figs at the end, some great times from the lads who ran.

BeepBeep67 · 18-07-2009 1:25pm

Well done on the PB, great to see the training paying off.
Word of caution, you should wait 1 day for every mile you race before doing another session.

stmochtas · 21-07-2009 8:55pm

Time to move on to Phase 2 of Daniels 5-15k program which introduces speed work. I feel I have built up a good base now and picked up a 5 mile PB along the way.

Date|Plan|Results|Notes

20/07/2009|10km E||
21/07/2009|Rest||
22/07/2009|Q1: 5 x (2 x 200m R + 1 x 400m R) 2km wu/cd E||
23/07/2009|8km E||
24/07/2009|Rest||
25/07/2009|Q2: 5 x 1 mile T 2km wu/cd E||
26/07/2009|14km E||

stmochtas · 22-07-2009 9:59pm

Date|Plan|Results|Notes

20/07/2009|10km E|11.01Km in 64:06|
21/07/2009|Rest||
22/07/2009|Q1: 5 x (2 x 200m R + 1 x 400m R) 2km wu/cd E| 46,44,96; 46,47,98; 48,46,97; 46,46,98; 46,47,98 (9.92km)|Happy with this speed session, 400's were a little fast but I coped.
23/07/2009|8km E||
24/07/2009|Rest||
25/07/2009|Q2: 5 x 1 mile T 2km wu/cd E||
26/07/2009|14km E||

stmochtas · 23-07-2009 9:54pm

Phase 2 Week 1

Date|Plan|Results|Notes
20/07/2009|10km E|11.01Km in 64:06|
21/07/2009|Rest||
22/07/2009|Q1: 5 x (2 x 200m R + 1 x 400m R) 2km wu/cd E| 46,44,96; 46,47,98; 48,46,97; 46,46,98; 46,47,98 (9.92km)|Happy with this speed session, 400's were a little fast but I coped.
23/07/2009|8km E|7.75km|Tired Legs!
24/07/2009|Rest||
25/07/2009|Q2: 5 x 1 km T 2km wu/cd E||
26/07/2009|14km E||

Woddle · 23-07-2009 10:56pm

Congrats on the pb and you looked very fresh after. Just curious to hat your recovery was between intervals and sets?
And whats the goal race at the end?

stmochtas · 24-07-2009 3:19pm

Thanks Woddle.

My sessions are based on the Daniels book and great advice from the ever improving "dapope".

The Q1 session from Wednesday is done at Repitition pace and the rest periods are not set to a specific time. The idea of this session is to run all reps at the recommended pace comfortably. If you have a read of the Daniels chapter on Repitition training you will see a full explanation. You can use HR or just go with how you feel in order to determine when you are ready for the next Rep. I went with feel and my rest periods were averaging between 75-90secs.

The Q2 session is run at threshold pace so the rest periods will be uniform in order to insure most of the running is done at lactate threshold. I am going to reduce this to 5 x 1k (Daniels recommends 1 miles but I know my limits) on advice and rest period will be 90-120 secs, I need to have a quick read of that chapter again to determine the rest period.

On races coming soon I am going to run the following although they are very early in my quality training they will be an indicator of improvements I hope,

August: Warriors Run
Sept: Firhouse 10k

As a target race I am looking at a 10k in Dec and the Aware 10k jumps out at me so I think that will be the target. That race got a lot of positive feedback last year and it is close to home.

I will also participate in the BHAA winter league as I enjoyed the social aspect of these races and they are well organised.

stmochtas · 25-07-2009 2:24pm

Not feeling great today. Feel a but flu-like so going to just rest up as my hols start next week. Bit annoying as I wanted to get into the next speed session.

stmochtas · 10-08-2009 5:38pm

:eek: Yikes I go on Holidays for 2 weeks and find myself on page 4. Great to see the amount of activity that is happening on the boards I guess.

Holidays were a mixed bag for training really as I was moving about a good bit but I managed to get in some good sessions on the first week and miles and miles of walking. The second week was not good as I got a touch of Mortons Neuroma (I think) so I did a bit of cycling in the hotel gym.

Warriors is less than 3 weeks away so I am going to keep things easy starting with a cycle tomorrow as there is still some tenderness if I press on my foot and I dont want to risk not starting. I am going to monitor it closely an hopefully be out for an easy run towards the end of the week.

stmochtas · 11-08-2009 9:24pm

No Plan for this week apart from to stay active and insure my foot is recovered.

Date|Plan|Results|Notes

10/08/2009|Rest|Travelling|
11/08/2009|Cycle 2k Wu ~ 20k Hard ~ 2k Cd at high cadence||
12/08/2009|||
13/08/2009|||
14/08/2009|||
15/08/2009|||
16/08/2009|||

figs · 11-08-2009 9:34pm

Bad luck on the foot. Hope it gets better soon.

I got something similar a few years ago, and was also after having been on holiday... physio deducted it was probably the cheap badly fitted sandals / flip flops I'd been wearing...

He prescribed some gentle massage, and stay away from heavy foot impacts (like running). I was right as rain after a week or so. Hope you get recovered as quick.

stmochtas · 13-08-2009 9:07am

5 x 10 push ups
3 x 10 Ab Curl
3 x 10 Back Ext
3 x 10 Side Leg lift
3 x 10 Squats

5 x 10 push ups
3 x 10 Ab Curl
3 x 10 Back Ext
3 x 10 Side Leg lift
3 x 10 Squats

|
15/08/2009|||
16/08/2009|||
17/08/2009|||

stmochtas · 16-08-2009 9:20pm

5 x 10 push ups
3 x 10 Ab Curl
3 x 10 Back Ext
3 x 10 Side Leg lift
3 x 10 Squats

5 x 10 push ups
3 x 10 Ab Curl
3 x 10 Back Ext
3 x 10 Side Leg lift
3 x 10 Squats

|
15/08/2009|Bike E Session|10K cycle|

5 x 10 push ups
3 x 10 Ab Curl
3 x 10 Back Ext
3 x 10 Side Leg lift
3 x 10 Squats

|
16/08/2009|Bike E Session|30k cycle + 8k cycle + 8k cycle|

A hard week on the bike completed. Thinking long and hard about next weeks plan.

Just thought I would add "come on you spurs".

stmochtas · 20-08-2009 10:14am

5 x 10 push ups

|
18/08/2009|Bike T Session|Cycle 2k Wu ~ 20k Hard ~ 2k Cd at high cadence|
19/08/2009|Easy Run plus Strides| 10k Cycle + 8K E Run + 8 * 100m Strides||
20/08/2009|Rest|Precaution|
21/08/2009|Rest|Travelling|
22/08/2009|L Run|
23/08/2009|Hill Walk|

stmochtas · 24-08-2009 9:27am

5 x 10 push ups

|
18/08/2009|Bike T Session|Cycle 2k Wu ~ 20k Hard ~ 2k Cd at high cadence|
19/08/2009|Easy Run plus Strides| 10k Cycle + 8K E Run + 8 * 100m Strides||
20/08/2009|Rest|Precaution|

5 x 10 push ups
3 x 10 Ab Curl
3 x 10 Back Ext
3 x 10 Side Leg lift
3 x 10 Squats

stmochtas · 24-08-2009 9:31am

This weeks plan is to be careful in the lead up to the race and maybe get 2 easy runs done. Plenty of stretching and icing too.

Date|Plan|Actual|Notes
24/08/2009|40 min Easy Run plus Strides||
25/08/2009|Rest||
26/08/2009|30 min Easy Run plus Strides||
27/08/2009|Rest||
28/08/2009|Rest|Travelling|
29/08/2009|Warriors Run :eek:||
30/08/2009|Rest||

shels4ever · 24-08-2009 6:19pm

stmochtas wrote: »

This weeks plan is to be careful in the lead up to the race and maybe get 2 easy runs done. Plenty of stretching and icing too.

Date|Plan|Actual|Notes
24/08/2009|40 min Easy Run plus Strides||
25/08/2009|Rest||
26/08/2009|30 min Easy Run plus Strides||
27/08/2009|Rest||
28/08/2009|Rest|Travelling|
29/08/2009|Warriors Run :eek:||
30/08/2009|Rest||

Hows the body holding up? your training has been really good other then that injury which I hope holds up. Best of luck in the run and then we will have to sort out a race.

stmochtas · 25-08-2009 10:10am

Date|Plan|Actual|Notes
24/08/2009|40 min Easy Run plus Strides|4 Miles easy on trails|
25/08/2009|Rest||
26/08/2009|30 min Easy Run plus Strides||
27/08/2009|Rest||
28/08/2009|Rest|Travelling|
29/08/2009|Warriors Run :eek:||
30/08/2009|Rest||

On Your Marks ...

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