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

ecoli · 17-01-2013 9:36pm

jfh wrote: »

You have some great sessions. This is another I'll be trying when I'm back on track. You're making a steady return

Thanks

Yeah despite lower mileage that i would have liked so far the base training is shaping up nicely and getting my strength back come Feb I will be able to get into a 6 week transition phase consisting of 3 sessions a week (Rhythm running short reps/Tempo/Hills) which should set me up nicely then for 6 weeks 10k specific stuff and hopefully a PB come the GIR and get me back on track after a fairly poor last quarter of 2012. The consistency is back and that will be my focus between now and April to make sure that I can churn out simple sessions week in, week out.

You will find regardless of the sessions if you are able to string together 3 or 4 months of solid consistent training you will be in good nick

theboyblunder · 17-01-2013 10:23pm

I thought you were unfit?

40 sec recovery is very short. Great session.

ecoli wrote: »

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Thursday|Cruise Intervals|11.34 miles| mile pace|

Session:
3.12 miles warm up, 10 x 1k w/ 40 sec recovery, 2.22 miles cooldown

Splits: 3.36, 3.29, 3.30, 3.29, 3.29, 3.28, 3.29, 3.30, 3.30, 3.29

Down to Vinny this morning to get the foot looked at. Was a niggle that cropped up last week but nothing major all the same I wanted to get it ironed out before it got worse. Foot was a little tender after the work this morning so opted out of the morning run just to give it a chance to let the foot settle.

Was down in the club with drquirky again for this one for something similar to last weeks miles session. First one I had it in my head that started the first rep a little too fast last week and so I decided to pull it back a bit but over estimated the pace and was a little sluggish so first one ended up slower than the original planned target of 3.33-3.34. After this we got moving and new few were a little fast however they were still comfortable so we went with the pace. Remained steady and was going well the legs were getting heavier as the session went on so by the last few was getting tough.

Quirky was only doing eight but given the pace was still turning out to be a great session though I knew the last two were gonna be tough on my own but managed to dig in maintain the pace which I was delighted about.

All in all a good session which gives me confidence in getting under 28 in Raheny hopefully next week

January Targets
300 miles minimum|140.61 miles left
Sub 28 Raheny|
Run every day|16/17

WTD|34.47 miles
MTD|139.39 miles
YTD|139.39 miles

TRR · 17-01-2013 11:46pm

Playing devils advocate here, is your rep pace too fast for cruise intervals? Considering short recovery I would have thought a slower pace for reps? Those cruise intervals are basically race pace.

ecoli · 18-01-2013 4:45pm

@tbb Cheers yeah it kinda surprised me to nice little confidence booster for hitting sub 28 in Raheny

@TRR I was waiting on someone to call me on it

Yeah it was a little faster than planned but was feeling good and went with it. Was never laboured really on the session and always felt in control so while the physical dynamics of the session may have changed a little the mental benefits will help.

I think also the fact that having drquirky there had a factor. I have a tendency to sometimes switch off mid way through longer reps and with him there he has kept me honest. With being base phase also I can probably get away with pushing the boat once in a while also as not doing too many sessions so body is able to recover somewhat

woodchopper · 18-01-2013 8:28pm

TRR wrote: »

Playing devils advocate here, is your rep pace too fast for cruise intervals? Considering short recovery I would have thought a slower pace for reps? Those cruise intervals are basically race pace.

Perhaps you have a valid point but remember sub 28 is just a benchmark that Ecoli put down I presume.

My suggestion would be to negative split the race ie. run the first half of the race at 28 minute pace and then if your feeling good pick it up and grind out hard the last km rather than sprint the last 200 all out. More time can be picked up with a sustained effort rather than a short traditional end of race sprint.

Either way 27.30ish is on the cards if you dont flog the first mile in 5.10 or something similiar if its slightly downhill.

TRR · 18-01-2013 9:15pm

woodchopper wrote: »

Perhaps you have a valid point but remember sub 28 is just a benchmark that Ecoli put down I presume.

Well that was actually part of my point but I failed to make it. Doing that session, sub 28 target is way too soft!

ecoli · 18-01-2013 9:43pm

TRR wrote: »

Well that was actually part of my point but I failed to make it. Doing that session, sub 28 target is way too soft!

Perhaps. When I threw out that figure at the start of the month I had been p!ssing about for a couple of months and was struggling horribly fitness wise so the idea was to set a few targets for the month to regain focus - a mileage one, a consistency one and a pace one to prove that I was not just phoning in the other two. I think it was also in my mind that my last race was in fact a 5 miler in October and I was just outside 28 min so it seemed like a logical target to set. Ill see how I feel next week going into the race but to be honest this month is all about building the strength back so the race was just an end of the month fitness evaluation

ecoli · 19-01-2013 3:22pm

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Saturday|Easy Run|6.07 miles|7.04 mile pace|

Decided to stay up for the second part of the Lance interview last night however tiredness was creeping up and after 15 min decided just to tape it and watch it in the morning (didn't miss too much with Oprah failing to do the interview the justice it deserved and never really pushed him on the details). Felt sluggish and was freezing but despite that the pace was decent which was a great sign as I was very comfortable. I think I am getting back to where I was so irregardless of whether I hit the targets or not I consider this month a success

January Targets
300 miles minimum|128.44 miles left
Sub 28 Raheny|
Run every day|18/19

WTD|46.64 miles
MTD|151.56 miles
YTD|151.56 miles

RunningKing · 19-01-2013 4:03pm

ecoli wrote: »

Decided to stay up for the second part of the Lance interview last night however tiredness was creeping up and after 15 min decided just to tape it and watch it in the morning (didn't miss too much with Oprah failing to do the interview the justice it deserved and never really pushed him on the details).

Imagine if Vincent Brown got a hold of him............

ecoli · 19-01-2013 4:09pm

RunningKing wrote: »

Imagine if Vincent Brown got a hold of him............

Prefer to see Paul Kimmage

(Seriously though in fairness didnt agree with him but he pushed the tough questions during the Fagan discussion on Setanta)

ecoli · 20-01-2013 11:17pm

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Sunday|Long Run Session|14 miles|7.09 mile pace|1.40.12

Session10 miles easy, 4 miles steady

Steady splits: 6.26, 6.23, 6.26, 6.13

First off apologies to people about last night didnt get out of work till near 12 so had to give the meet up a miss. Tonight was full of enthusiasm yet body was tired due to lack of sleep still once I got going on the steady miles I was ticking away nicely. Sleet and wind were horrible which probably had me running a little faster simply because I wanted to get back to the warmth:D Happy enough with it and felt fairly strong during the steady miles so seems like I am rounding nicely into a bit of shape just in time to start the real training starting from after Raheny

January Targets
300 miles minimum|134.44 miles left
Sub 28 Raheny|
Run every day|19/20

Weekly Mileage|60.64 miles
MTD|165.56 miles
YTD|165.56 miles

ecoli · 21-01-2013 9:58pm

ecoli · 24-01-2013 1:42am

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Tuesday|Easy Run|4 miles|7.29 mile pace|29.54

Felt crap today kept it short and easy. I think though training has been going well and the base is coming back slowly I am still a good while off being my old strong self where could run all day. Still just gotta keep it patient and I know that will come in time. The next 6 weeks will be when I re introduce sessions and work on my general overall fundamental run specific fitness so should have me in solid shape.

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Wednesday AM|Easy Run|3 miles|7.12 mile pace|21.35
Wednesday PM|Easy Run|6.11 miles|7.02 mile pace|42.57

This mornings run was revised mid run. Nature was calling and wasnt taking no for an answer and given the loop I was on ended up just making it a short one to loosen out the legs. This meant that I had to get out again in the evening for a midnight run after work. The legs felt great and the morning loosener prob contributed to this. Need to get back in the habits of doubles also but happy that I am moving in the right direction in terms of slow and steady mileage increases

January Targets
300 miles minimum|111.33 miles left
Sub 28 Raheny|
Run every day|22/23

WTD|23.11 miles
MTD|188.67 miles
YTD|188.67 miles

ecoli · 24-01-2013 2:02pm

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Thurs AM|Tune up session|8 miles| mile pace|

Session: 1.5 mile warm up, 4x200, 2x400, 800, 2x400, 4x200 w/ 200m jog recovery (average 75 sec)

Splits;36, 37, 37, 35, 79, 76, 2.25, 79, 78, 37, 37, 37, 36

Down to the track with drquirky. With both of us racing at the weekend this was just a handy tune up session. idea of this session is to just get legs ticking over a bit for a race with the 800m being the focus while other just handy efforts with sufficient recovery.

The shorter stuff made it apparent that I am not sharp with the shorter stuff but given the focus of training not too worried. Was surprised at being able to hit a 2.25 given the earlier reps I though 2.30 was gonna be a more realistic time

January Targets
300 miles minimum|103.33 miles left
Sub 28 Raheny|
Run every day|23/24

WTD|31.11 miles
MTD|196.67 miles
YTD|196.67 miles

ecoli · 24-01-2013 11:54pm

Ideal considering the session this morning and the race at the weekend.
Legs felt good this evening and pace felt handy which was ideal so all in all a solid day work. Now off to sign up for Raheny (In all the focus on getting back in shape it seemed to have slipped my mind:o)

January Targets
300 miles minimum|97.23 miles left
Sub 28 Raheny|
Run every day|23/24

WTD|37.21 miles
MTD|202.77 miles
YTD|202.77 miles

ecoli · 26-01-2013 11:00pm

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Fri |Easy Run|6 miles|7.37 mile pace|45.42

Met up with shels4ever for this one to drop back his garmin charger (thanks again) but as I had kept him waiting because I got caught with work and traffic (sorry again:o) he had racked up a few miles before I got there so the run was short lived and I pushed on myself. Absolutely horrific run weather was dreadful. Within 5 min I was like a drowned rat trudging through Corkagh Park. Was feeling about as bad as the weather to which didn't help so kept this short

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Saturday|Recovery Run|5 miles|9.05 mile pace|45.25

Love the feeling you get after a run like this the legs become totally invigorated. Was thrown around a bit by the wind and at one point I was pretty sure I wasn't actually moving forward for atleast 30 seconds despite being in running action.

A few handy strides after at race pace just to get the legs ticking over and looks like I am all set for tomorrow. Looking forward to tomorrow even if the wind is like this and any sort of time gauge is out the window just good to have that pre race buzz again

January Targets
300 miles minimum|86.23 miles left
Sub 28 Raheny|
Run every day|25/26

WTD|48.21 miles
MTD|213.77 miles
YTD|213.77 miles

ecoli · 27-01-2013 7:39pm

Background
This race was set up to be a fitness gauger after the last month of training. It took me far too long to stop d!cking about before Christmas that by the time that I finally got going again I was in a bad way. I knew that this month would be a base month and just focus on getting me back running consistent and give me a point to push on from.

Woke up this morning and after what had been a horrific day in terms of wind I was not even thinking about times till I looked outside and thought we were blessed as looked calm and clear. This was short lived however, by the time I was on the way out to Raheny the rain was bucketing down and the wind howling.

On the warm up was not loosening up as much as I would have liked however I was just still on a buzz from being back running that I thought I would be fine and try use the nervous energy to my advantage. I ran the second mile of the course as part of the warm up and I knew this was gonna be a the worst as the wind was right in your face so I reckoned that if I could take this one handy I should be able to make up the difference in the second half of the race. The race plan was simple, keep it handy for the first two mile (roughly around 28 min) and push on from here and see what I have left.

The Race

Hit the start line and I was pumped, quick nod over to RayCun and a few others I knew who had made there way up near the front and was ready to go. BOOM! and we were off. I managed to be smart and resist every fiber of my being that wanted to get caught up in the starting madness (especially as I knew what was to come in the second mile).
I noticed Orla Drumm was just ahead of me and started to think of follow her (for strictly racing purposes of course:D) Funny enough my last race back in October was the Tallaght 5 mile and she came in just behind me so I knew that she should be in atleast 28 min pace so I thought she might be a good marker however she pushed on and I played it sensible and left her go

Mile 1 in 5.35

Second mile and I knew this was gonna be tough I tried tucking in behind groups but there was alot of people with the same idea as such there was alot of shuffling around the groups and no one wanted to take it on. In the end after much tooing and frowing at a pace that was much to slow I pushed on and knew I was gonna have to work on my own. The wind really took its toll on this mile and I knew it was gonna be tough to get near 28 min despite turning out of the wind for the last min of the mile

Mile 2 in 5.47

Third mile and I was feeling strong stride was good yet the pace wasnt coming. Was moving nicely up the field passing a few (most likely suffering from the second mile)

Mile 3 in 5.38

Down along the coast road and I was still moving well pacing was finally creeping down also and was eating up the distance between me and competitors moving up the field. Noticed Drumm again about 30m up ahead and set her as a target to try and catch

Mile 4 in 5.31

Last mile is always one of the tougher ones on this course with the hill. Again pushed on up the hill passing 3 or four athletes on the hill and then turned the corner to meet the near gale winds. I was at full pelt now but with the wind was not able to hit sub 6 pace. Despite this I was working hard and still making ground on the athletes ahead of me. The glare from the sun on the puddle swept roads meant that all I was seeing was silhouettes till we got to the shade of a few high trees, and who was it just ahead of me only Orla again pushed on past trying to encourage her to come with me but she was flagging. I pushed on past another, and another, turned the corner to do the final loop of the small park towards the finish and was in top gear now coming barreling down the finishing straight to cross the line in

Mile 5 in 5.58

Finishing time: 28.39

All in all despite the dreadful time I am pretty happy with the effort. It was a strong run and exactly what I needed. I now have a starting point for the year and have a bit of strength so I should be able to push on into full training and start getting in shape to run the times I should be running.

This month has been about getting in shape to be able to train and I feel that I have done that

ecoli · 27-01-2013 9:41pm

tisnotover · 27-01-2013 9:49pm

good man, solid racing today, nice benchmark.

RunningKing · 27-01-2013 10:25pm

ecoli wrote: »

Finishing time: 28.39

All in all despite the dreadful time

:eek:

I guess its all relative.............

ecoli · 27-01-2013 10:41pm

RunningKing wrote: »

:eek:

I guess its all relative.............

Completely sorry was not meant as a put down to anyone. but all times are subjective. It was nearly a min 20 slower than best and 40 sec slower than target

Thats the good thing about running though while you can compete against others you are also against yourself so regardless the time it has a different meaning to each individual

ELFOYZER · 27-01-2013 10:44pm

Well done Luke. Gave you a cheer just after the first mile marker. Running well, ya looked in great shape.

ecoli · 27-01-2013 10:46pm

ELFOYZER wrote: »

Well done Luke. Gave you a cheer just after the first mile marker. Running well, ya looked in great shape.

Heard the shout alright wasn't sure who it was though just assumed that it was someone from the club. Cheers man but couldnt be further from the truth still a long way to go yet. How you getting on?

ELFOYZER · 27-01-2013 11:04pm

All good. Just base training for the next few weeks and we'll see where we go from there. Keep her lit, you're due an excellent season. Is this marathon year for you?

ecoli · 27-01-2013 11:05pm

ELFOYZER wrote: »

All good. Just base training for the next few weeks and we'll see where we go from there. Keep her lit, you're due an excellent season. Is this marathon year for you?

Nope not enough time to prep in four months so I have decided Rotterdam 2014 will be the debut for certain

ELFOYZER · 27-01-2013 11:17pm

Good man. Will be following with great interest. (Along with many others no doubt)

smmoore79 · 28-01-2013 2:06pm

Great running, 28 39 in them conditions are equivalent to 28 mins on a normal day. That wind was a killer and deffo suited stronger runners than speed merchants.. I can imagine you running that race at least 40 seconds quicker next year!!

pconn062 · 28-01-2013 3:11pm

Well done yesterday ecoli, it seems to have given you the hunger for racing back which is great, you will be flying again in no time.

drquirky · 28-01-2013 3:40pm

Was just thinking about this while looking at your training last week. 65.9 is pretty heavy milage to run a good race off of. Your training has been good and consistent over the last few weeks but I think if you scaled back the milage even a small bit you'd see huge results in a race like yesterdays. I know for a fact you are in better than just sub 28 shape- maybe an easy week into a 5k or similar to raise the confidence a bit? I'd be willing to bet money that if you ran 40 miles next week and ran a 5k or 5mile next weekend you'd see times that would accurately reflect your fitness level.....

ecoli · 28-01-2013 4:14pm

drquirky wrote: »

Was just thinking about this while looking at your training last week. 65.9 is pretty heavy milage to run a good race off of. Your training has been good and consistent over the last few weeks but I think if you scaled back the milage even a small bit you'd see huge results in a race like yesterdays. I know for a fact you are in better than just sub 28 shape- maybe an easy week into a 5k or similar to raise the confidence a bit? I'd be willing to bet money that if you ran 40 miles next week and ran a 5k or 5mile next weekend you'd see times that would accurately reflect your fitness level.....

I suppose looking at it, this was my highest mileage week since I came back so you may have a point however if you looks at it 17 of those miles were yesterday.

Having said that though this was never a target race but rather just a way to put down a marker so will keep plugging away till around April before I start to worry about times and keep the over picture for the season.

I am absolutely buzzing in terms of training at the moment and a poor result like that has only motivated me to push on and keep working hard so I think in one way it was a good motivator and dont think that I am in need of confidence just yet

No one will remember early season results its all about when I am in shape to attack the PBs that matters

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

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