"If I'm not out there training, someone else is."

ecoli

1st June

5 miles recovery (9.03 mile pace)

nice easy one this morning with woddle with the race tomorrow night

ecoli

2nd June

Not feeling great today had 2 drinks out catching up with a friend and with exams results i was woken early so sleep wise i was knackered and a bit of a headache just generally not feeling good at all so said to myself "PB is out the window" and just decided to go out and give it a lash no expectations.
Lined up only five of us in the field so i thought i would be dropped fairly early and be left in no man s land as has happened in one or two races. Gun went off anyway and just slotted in behind the group. First lap was slow, 76 but suited me down to the ground, next lap picked up a bit and at this stage i had got it in my head that i was gonna hold on for as long as possible and see how i got on.
800m in 2.28 was happy said to myself try keep this for a while and hopefully have a cushion for the later laps,1k in 3.05 still on the pack i was delighted. Leaders started winding up at this stage and two of them were away the other two were still in site i was happy with how it was going. 1500m 4.40 on for 9.20 pace, prob fast and i knew i was gonna die but the plan was run hard for as long as possible and hope not to die too bad.
200m to go in 9.07, 40 seconds to do 200m i knew this was possible so gave it everything. Refused to wear a watch during the race because i wasnt feeling great and said not to worry now it was agony not knowing how i had done the lads from the club missed the start so didnt time it like usual so i was left to the waiting game till the results came on site and finally got them this morning.

Official time: 9.41

I was delighted 6 second Pb over a distance i couldnt seem to break for a few years for some reason. Best thing about it is given how bad i was feeling i reckon there is another few seconds in there if i make another attempt over the summer

ecoli

3rd

Rest

was planning on getting out for a run but after a very long day in work today came home got something to eat and while waiting for it to digest watching a bit of tv fell asleep next thing i know it was 11pm so didnt get out. Didnt have a rest day planned for this week though only a recovery one for the race so i suppose not the end of the world

ecoli

4th

8.05 miles @ 7.22 pace

was dying on this run as it was so hot and was well dehydrated in future hoping not to run during the middle of the day if i can avoid it

smmoore79

ecoli wrote: »

Official time: 9.41

I was delighted 6 second Pb over a distance i couldnt seem to break for a few years for some reason. Best thing about it is given how bad i was feeling i reckon there is another few seconds in there if i make another attempt over the summer

Great result! Extremely quick time. Sometimes pb's occur when ya least expect them :rolleyes:

ecoli

5th

6 x 800m over barriers (90 second recovery) 5 min 2 x 400m (2.30 recovery)

Splits: 2.44, 2.42, 2.43, 2.42, 2.45 2.42 400m:61 , 65

Happy enough with this session was feeling fairly hungry at the start due to last min change of plans i had to do this session alot earlier than planned but happy that i was hitting my planned race pace without it being a killer though it was still tough session. Decided would a bit of top end speed stuff at the end. Given the session in my legs i was happy enough with the times

ecoli

6th

13.48 miles @ 7.16 pace

first half of this run was quite slow as was with a lad coming back from injury from the club but opened up the second half going at a nice little pelt was happy enough with it. The rain had me soaked but got to the stage where i didnt care

ecoli

7th

7.32 miles @ 7.48 pace

nothing to hectic today as legs were pretty tired but got around which is the main thing on the tough days

ecoli

8th

2 mile warm up 1600m, 800m, 600m, 400m 2 mile cool down

Splits:5.20, 2.41, 2.00, 72

This was supposed to be mile reps but i hadnt eaten in 6 hours with working through my lunch break. At the end had to abandon this and do a light session @ 5k pace perfect (bit quicker on the 400m) for getting ready for steeple race at the weekend in the leagues.

ecoli

9th

Rest

Hours are a bit crazy in work this week (late night shifts or very early) as such finished work today went home went for a lie down for a half hour.......... couple of hours later i arose. Not too worried will just swap the my scheduled rest day

ecoli

10th

1 mile warm up, 800m, 4 min recovery , 4x200m (w/200m recovery) 1 mile cool down

Splits: 2.21 31,32,32,31

Just a light session today with the leagues on sunday so i just opened up the legs a small bit but kept it controlled. Was a bit worried with this being done straight after work i was fairly hungry but thankfully got through it and better yet the legs actually got better as the session went on and by the last one i was starting to feel good

ecoli

11th

7.44 miles @ 7.23 mile pace

ecoli

12th June

Birthday celebration for my log now a year old and what a year it has been went from coming back from injury this time last year to so far in 2010 i have:

Raced:800m, 1 mile,3000m (x2), 3000m S/c, 10k, half marathon
PBs: Set: 2
Broken: 1

So i thought to celebrated i thought i would have a momentous session so i thought i would take a session from the great Emil Zatopek (won 5000m, 10000m and marathon all in one Olympics) so the plan was:

50x400m w/ 90 sec recovery

Sadly i forgot i have a race tomorrow so this session would have to wait:p

Ended up with quite anti climactic training day

3.8 miles recovery @ 8.14 min mile pace

This was just to flush the legs with the leagues tomorrow and a rare chance to get in a steeple race

Woddle

Good man ecoli, keep it up dude

ecoli

Decided not to run with the watch for this race and just focus on getting points for the club. There was a great field with alot of good runners so i thought my PB of 10.50 would be a memory.
Gun went and i started off really, the idea was that i would hopefully not die as much in the last k as i did in the last race. Hurdle technique was really happy with though i was shuffling my feet coming up to the water jump each time but once hit the barrier i was getting over grand. After 400m was kinda isolated but i didnt mind as i though a few would fall back to me. As the race went on i was tiring but still though i was going well. Had a ferrybank lad falling back to me ever so slowly with 200m i was about 25-30 m off him but as i came over the last hurdle i gave it everything and came barreling down the home stretch. I was closing! 20m! 15m! 10m! 5m! and then crossed the line? beaten by a dip but i was still delighted that i had closed so much on him as he is one that i will have in the u23s against me in two weeks so a reckon i have the beating of him so happy days........... that is until i hear the time........ 11.05 i was not happy i knew was a bit windy but to be honest i was told that i died as much in that race as the last so the 15 secs were lost in the first k so i think i am better going out better and trying to hold on

Time: 11.05

ecoli

14th

8.23 miles easy @ 7.01 mile pace

Nice day out and legs felt good surprisingly after yesterdays race

ecoli

15th

2 mile warm up,3 mile Club race (tempo), 2 mile easy, 4x400m in 2 min cycles

Tempo: 2.98 miles in 17.10
400ms: 75,73,74,73 (recoveries 45,47,46,47)

Today was a good old fashioned strength day something i haven't had in a while. Because the legs were still heavy from the race on sunday i knew there was no point in racing it so i said i would still support the club by doing it, but rather just take it as a tempo. First mile a bit quick in 5.25 but balanced out. Jogged back to the track and did a few fours to make the session long enough to be worth anything. Suprised how easy the 400ms felt prob could have done more but given the race was still in my legs i didnt want to push it too much. Happy with today overall

ecoli

16th

5.02 miles @ 7.36 pace

Bad day at the office today just didnt feel good at all legs were very heavy so i cut the pace very quickly into the run and cut it short. Better to ease up today and save the weeks training rather than labour through and cost me on quality session tomorrow and sat

ecoli

17th

1 mile warm up, 4x1k, 1 mile cool down

Splits: 3.21, 3.24, 3.26, 3.28

Another bad day. I am starting to think that I have been trying to prolong my season. Given the fact that it started in early April and since then i have raced 8 races in space of 10 weeks this might be the cause for my struggling to hit paces and bad race on sunday however i want to try and get one more race out of it next week. This is a dilemma of coaching yourself you sometimes have clashes of head and heart. Plan is bit of rest and then few days easy no sessions and hit the race if i am still tired will pack in the season and hit my rest weeks. If i feel okay i can contribute the tiredness and bad times to increased hours in work and other factors.

18th

Rest

ecoli

Well I have decided to be smart and not try to flog a dead horse so i am drawing a close to my season. Body is starting to display signs of over training so rather than try geta few sub par races in i am gonna take my rest period for two weeks and then head back to base building phase.
At this stage i thought it would be a good chance for a little recap on the year


Races 09-10
5 July – 400h - 67.59
16 July – 3000m (Track)- 10.21
4 Oct – Rathfarnam 5k - 17.09
11 Oct - Novices XC (6k) - 21.55
17 Nov - 2 mile (Road Relays) - 10.43
5 Dec- Jingle Bell 5k - 17.10
28 Feb- Half Marathon -1.17.06 *PB*
9 April - 3000m (Track) - 9.52
- 800m - 2.13
19 April- Great Ireland Run 10k - 36.44
23 April- 3000mS/C - 10.50 *PB*
2 May Great Limerick Run 1.29.38 *Pacer*
19 May -1mile 4.46
2 June -3000m 9.41 *PB*
14 June -3000mS/C - 11.07


Looking at my season i am really happy with my winter work and i feel this was the key to the success's in the year. Coming back from injury last year i went from struggling to do an hour run in 7-8 min pace to hitting sub six pace for my half marathon.
My summer i feel was shortened because of my layout of my training. Once i finished the half training i tried to force too much quality sprint work with the idea that my speed was lacking and as such ignored my longer sessions and i feel that this was the reason for my season coming to an end sooner than i had planned. This will be something i will improve on for next season. Given last year i hope to use to catapult myself into new heights next season and hopefully a few more PBs

ecoli

Well after a two week break (which was quite possibly the longest two weeks of my life im back training. I have often had to go longer periods for injuries etc but it is always harder when you know that your perfectly healthy to run but need to force your body to rest but i got through it and am now ready to start my 2010/11 season.
I plan to do keep the winter quite similar to last year in terms of training as it went pretty well except this year plan to do a small bit more racing and having good run outs with a few key races in mind. The target race will be the Torrevieja half again in Feb (hoping to go one better and win the u23s this year) but i am also considering hopping in the Waterford one depending on how training is going in December as nearly 3 months should be plenty of time between them.
In the mean time the plan for the next 2 months will be no racing but getting the miles in and hopefully getting close to regular 90 mile weeks.
First race that i have planned to have a good lash is the Pearl Izumi 10k in sept which will be a busy month as i am pacing two half marathons also so i will be kept busy.
Though training does not start back proper till tomorrow for me i decided to do a few easy miles today to get the legs back into the swing of things. for all the stat freaks out there i will hope to give alot more info about my training in the new and improved log so hopefully it will provide a good readright lets get started

Date|Session|Weekly mileage|Total Mileage
Sunday 4th July AM||||
Sunday 4th July PM|3.92 miles easy + light core work out|3.92|3.92

Due to a Garmin problem (have a feeling battery is gone as it just gave up for no reason) as i was leaving the door i did this run old school(run had to be worked out on map my run when i got back). No watch and just a rough idea of a route so i said i would just go out and get the legs moving which would be perfect because i was only starting back and shouldnt have been worried about time. The first half of the run i was so energetic and feeling really good was planning on it being about 7 - 7.30 pace originally and thought i was hitting it with ease. One problem. I had a gusty wind behind me which i now realise was pushing me much faster (possibly around 6.30) not what the legs needed and facing that wind for roughly 2 miles coming back it was an interesting start to training again i feel that i am long way off full fitness but only the start of training so that grand and looking in comparison to this time last year when 8 min pace was most of my runs so wont worry at all

ecoli

Date|Session|Time|Average pace|Target pace
Monday 5th July AM|7.47 miles easy|53.04|7.06 mile pace|7.00-7.20|
Monday 5th July PM|5.01 mile cycle|25.03|4.59 mile pace|No target

AM
Oh what a difference 2 weeks make. This run was harder than it should have been. Though the pace itself was on target the effort was a good bit harder than it should have been. I not too worried though as it is early days and i know it will get easier once i get back into it. My legs are not talking to me anymore with the shock i am putting them through. Legs are like logs at the moment just not used to the mileage but i know i will get there after all over two months till my first race so a long time to get into the shape i wanna.

PM
Got out of work early tonight and there was still a small bit of light left in the evening so i said i would get in another training session. Given it is first week back and i dont want too put too much pressure on the joints i said rather than a run i would get in a cycle instead which would help with the aerobic development without increasing the risk of injury. Small loop with a killer hill to get the HR up near the house so i did that twice. I know the legs will hate me tomorrow but the first week back is always like that so i will just bear it

Total weekly Mileage: 7.47 miles
Total season mileage:11.39 miles

ecoli

Date|Session|Time|Average pace|Target pace
Monday 5th July AM|7.47 miles easy|53.04|7.06 mile pace|7.00-7.20|
Monday 5th July PM|5.01 mile cycle|25.03|4.59 mile pace|No target
Tuesday 6th July AM|4.11 miles easy|29.10|7.05 mile pace|7.15-7.30|
Tuesday 6th July PM|5.46 miles easy + 4x200m strides|39.03|7.10 mile pace|7.15-7.30
|200m splits|33,37,36,36

AM
Early one this morning the first in a long while as I had an 8 am start in work and this is the first time i will be doing a double since nearly March (IIRC). The legs were tight after yesterday which was to be expected but was still able to hit the pace easy enough which tells me that once the legs get back used to the mileage the aerobic base is not as bad as i thought

PM
Wind had the times all over the place for this run so just went out easy first half with the wind on my back and had too work a bit harder once i started making my way back. Gonna take a bit of time to get used to doubles again as i was really sleepy and ended up having to get a half hour kip after work before my second run. legs are still like logs but just keep fighting through that and come my rest day will really help and hope that legs will catch up to the rest of my body all in all happy with how its going so far however first week back so just gotta take things slow


Total weekly Mileage: 17.54 miles
Total season mileage:21.46 miles

tisnotover

Good to take the 2week break ecoli. It'll be hard coming back, but you've bags of time on your side.

The Waterford half is a very good race+have that pencilled myself !

I've a question for ya. Any advice for a guy going doing his first 3k track race next week ? Its a graded meet. Is it a case of picking a lap-time and running even-lap splits ?
I'm not sure what group i'll fall into, it could be being one of the back-markers in first group...hanging on for dear life, or being one of the faster in the 2nd group and leading that group.

TheRoadRunner

Hey ecoli do you know the date or have a link for the torraveja half next year ? Cheers

ecoli

tisnotover wrote: »

Good to take the 2week break ecoli. It'll be hard coming back, but you've bags of time on your side.

The Waterford half is a very good race+have that pencilled myself !

I've a question for ya. Any advice for a guy going doing his first 3k track race next week ? Its a graded meet. Is it a case of picking a lap-time and running even-lap splits ?
I'm not sure what group i'll fall into, it could be being one of the back-markers in first group...hanging on for dear life, or being one of the faster in the 2nd group and leading that group.

Personally i feel that my best races this year were when i hung on to a group ahead of me for as long as possible (within reason).
First 3k of the year let my watch dictate and ended up too far ahead of second group and too far behind front group and got caught in no mans land and it cost me. Finishing time : 9.52
Second 3k i held onto the back of the first group came through 1500m in roughly 9.20 pace died a little but still finished in a time of 9.41 a PB.
I think track is a completely different animal to road and as such tactics should tend to differ.

Best of luck with the race

ecoli

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Hey ecoli do you know the date or have a link for the torraveja half next year ? Cheers

Dont have a date for it as of yet not sure it has been announced but last year it was 28th of Feb and tends to be usually the last sunday of that month.Definitely one i recommend flat very fast course through the town and along the promenade. The goodie back was really good and race entry was only 15 euro so was practically for nothing. A good weekend away all round

tisnotover

ecoli wrote: »

Personally i feel that my best races this year were when i hung on to a group ahead of me for as long as possible (within reason).
First 3k of the year let my watch dictate and ended up too far ahead of second group and too far behind front group and got caught in no mans land and it cost me. Finishing time : 9.52
Second 3k i held onto the back of the first group came through 1500m in roughly 9.20 pace died a little but still finished in a time of 9.41 a PB.
I think track is a completely different animal to road and as such tactics should tend to differ.

Best of luck with the race

tx for reply. I'd agree with you on how hanging onto group can lead to a good race, saw this in a 10k race myself this yr, it was either go with a slightly faster pace, or end up in no-mans land!

I think i'll try and follow heels of someone for as long as I can, rather than being worried about splits too much.
It'll be interesting anyway as its my first track race (guaranteed PB), looking forward to it now!

TheRoadRunner

ecoli wrote: »

Dont have a date for it as of yet not sure it has been announced but last year it was 28th of Feb and tends to be usually the last sunday of that month.Definitely one i recommend flat very fast course through the town and along the promenade. The goodie back was really good and race entry was only 15 euro so was practically for nothing. A good weekend away all round

Cheers. I was planning on spending a few days around that area in Feb or March so will definitely try and get dates that coincide

ecoli

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Cheers. I was planning on spending a few days around that area in Feb or March so will definitely try and get dates that coincide

Ill drop you a link as soon as i hear word