A Day at the Races

christeb

Only 2 runs to report. Extremely busy week in and out of work, so didn't get a run in until Friday. This will change from here on in, I need to prioritise running slightly more in the overall scheme of things.

Fri 12th Oct
Intervals with theboyblunder. This man is going to kill me some day. I did 5 x 4 min hard @ ca. 5:45 - 5:50 pace, didn't have the watch.
5.5m warm up, 3.5m intervals. It's a very very tough session but I'm sure we'll reap the rewards, although both on different sides of the 3 hr mark, at least this time around!

Sun 14th Nov
11m. 10 of which were with the club @ 7.36 pace. Chilly and should have gone further but I was happy with the pace.

# Runs: 160 (13 races, 6 PB)
MTD: 70
YTD: 1,205

figs

christeb wrote: »

5 x 4 min hard @ ca. 5:45 - 5:50 pace

Fair play. Some impressive intervals there. Keep that up and you'll be very soon under the 3 hour mark. Look forward to reading about your winter and lead-up to Barca.

theboyblunder

christeb wrote: »

Intervals with theboyblunder. This man is going to kill me some day.

haha I wont kill you wth intervals buddy.

But if you dont get those tempos in then I might

christeb

theboyblunder wrote: »

haha I wont kill you wth intervals buddy.

But if you dont get those tempos in then I might

eek. I related news I had a chat with one of the guys on Sunday, our coach has a 16 wk plan which I've requested. Interesting to see what he comes up with, I'll forward you on a copy. I think something which has day-to-day detail in it might suit me better, the less I have to think for myself, the less excuses I can make...

christeb

Mon 15th Nov
6.5m in total. 1m easy in town, cycled home and then 5,5m around the Raheny 5 course.

Thurs 18th Nov
1m - in-between snoozing during the 6 1 news, scrambling to get my gear on and jogging down to an empty clubhouse - I think my brain broke. Tired and trudged back for some R&R

Fri 19th Nov
8m @ 7.50ish pace. Solo, happy to get the miles in.

Sat 20th Nov
Hip was sore (and has been on/off for a couple of weeks) so managed 30 min of weights in the garage gym.

Sun 21st Nov
14m @ 8.18 pace. Out to Howth, 5m around the muddy Cliff Run and home. Pace on the roads was fine but I took a few breaks to admire the scenery and waves (or really to trudge through the mud) on the cliffs. Woke up late so did this accompanied by Breakfast with the Beatles on Nova instead of with the club.

Need to get some consistency - and fast. No intervals this week - technically I can blame tbb for that. My legs are thanking him though.

# Runs: 151 (13 races, 6 PB)
MTD: 99.5
YTD: 1,234.5

BeepBeep67

christeb wrote: »

Sun 21st Nov
14m @ 8.18 pace. Out to Howth, 5m around the muddy Cliff Run and home. Pace on the roads was fine but I took a few breaks to admire the scenery and waves (or really to trudge through the mud) on the cliffs. Woke up late so did this accompanied by Breakfast with the Beatles on Nova instead of with the club.

Nice run and breakfast with the Beatles beats Beatle week on X Factor I'm sure!

christeb

Mon 22nd Nov
6.5 easy.

Tues 23rd Nov
10m @ 7.41. First 4m with a couple of the faster lads, took the foot off the pedal after this as they weren't going as far. Struggled through the last 3m but gave myself a coouple of treats if I got through it. The tactic worked!

Weds 24th Nov
4m eeeearly in the morn. Had planned to do more, but considering I wanted to lie down in the middle of the road and sleep for all of this run, I was happy to get the 4 in.
That night went to Martin Hayes + Dennis Cahill and the RTE Symphony Orchestra in the NCH. A truly mind-blowing gig.

Thurs 25th Nov
8m w/ 6m @ tempo (~6.52) - 7.15 pace overall
Showed up to the clubhouse with no one there, then spotted one of the lads just pulling away in his car. He was on the way home as he wan't running solo. Nabbed him and convinced him to do a good 8. This guy is a good motivational running partner, I've done some quality sessions with him at this point. Out and back to Sutton, last mile was in the Park solo as the ol' innards were giving off dodgy signals. I survived, but only just!

Fri 26th Nov
6m warm up, 3.5m intervals and 0.5 wd with the boy blunder. Conditions were tough for this, wind and uphill on one of the straights and the cold means it's tricky to get quality air in. HR went up to 191 for one of these, not good for me! This really took a lot out of me, I was KO'ed by 2130 that night and wasn't up to much on Saturday either.
4.5 x 1200s, ca. 5.59 avg. The little lazy guy on my shoulder kicked in on the 4th int, I just crumpled.

Sun 28th Nov
12m @ 8.37. 4 of these were in the hills around Howth and on the virgin snow on Howth Gold Club, so I'm happy with this. Slow, but you can't judge pace int he snow. Tough on the legs but I gave myself a few breaks up there, took in the views and ate some (white) snow! Unique running conditions, refreshing although it'll take it out of you over the longer run....

total was 50.5 for the week, some quality in there so very happy with it.

# Runs: 157 (13 races, 6 PB)
MTD: 150
YTD: 1,285

christeb

Mon 29th Nov
6m easy into work

Tues 30th Nov
11m total. Tough in the snow. Ran with a randomder for 1+ mile along the coast road, turns out he works with one of the clubmates.

Wed 1st Dec
6m easy into work

Thurs 2nd Dec
7.5m home from work. Fresh snow, and a blizzard right at the end. A very fun run, if extremely slow.

Fri 3rd Dec
7.5m total home from work. Stopped off at the Bombay Pantry to collect dinner, the last 3m were done with this on the back, extremely slippy conditions underfoot and wet feet (those sleet covered 6inch puddles are a bas****).

Sat 4th Dec
3.5m easy early in the morning.

Sun 5th Dec
13.5m @ 7.57 pace. Ran this mostly with a couple of the faster lads in the club. Through the park, over the wooden bridge then up and down Dollymount Beach. DB was thankfully snow free. Good chat and there wasn't too much wind - happy to get this one done.
There was a sign-up form in the clubhouse for a Malin to Mizen relay, with 2 people doing a marathon over May Bank Holiday 2011. Obvs I put the name down, sure that's aaages away, I'll be in super shape then!

total was 55 for the week, nothing fast but we'll take it. 7 days on the trot. Next week looks busy so will be doing well to get anywhere near that but we'll try....

# Runs: 164 (13 races, 6 PB)
MTD: 38
YTD: 1,340

christeb

Nothing phenomenal to report, life and socialising tend to get in the way in December. Any ran is a bonus, especially with this weather.

Weds 7th Dec
3.5m easy in the ice, slipped once. This was after my first proper leg massage ever, the pain was excruciating

Thurs 9th Dec
4m on the treadie in the local gym - at ca. 7.10 pace. Happy to last that long

Fri 10th Dec
7 crappy messy miles with tbb - we went down to Irishtown but the track was closed. We found a spot in TCD to run but my legs were having none of it.

Sat 11th Dec
3 x 500 / 2 x 1000 / 3 x 500 intervals session with the club. Muddy in my trainers and tough, but got through it

Ca. 6m total

Sun 12th Dec
7m "LSR" - was tired from the night before.

Weds 15th Dec - Raheny Winter League Rd 1
3m in 17:37 - PB
Very happy with how this one went, I stayed with one of my clubmates for most of it, as I knew he'd be a great target. He overtook me at 2.3m and as I tend to go through a bit of a "patch" then, but I got through it after another 0.4m and started reeling him in - ca. 20m. With 30m to go we were neck and neck, we were muscling each other to get to the finishing shoot first. My longer legs and far superior kick(!) gave it to me though. Big Pb over the distance. Only -ve was that scamp macanri beat me, so he's the next target in the New Year!

4m wu / 1m wd = 8m total

Thurs 16th Dec
4m easy

Sat 18th Dec
8m @ 7.41 pace.

Sun 19th Dec
5.8m "race." 5am to bed and 4 hours sleep meant I jogged this with one of the lads, turns out we were the last 2 in the race and he got the nod over me. It was one of those races where everyone gets a prize - oh noes! Well, at least I can stractch that off the list

# Runs: 173 (14 races, 7 PB)
MTD: 91.5
YTD: 1,393.5

christeb

Sat 24th Dec
7m @ 7.43
7m to Christmas lunch in Denmark. Nice flat run, think I was wind-assisted for a fair portion of it

Sat 25th Dec
7m @ 7.39
The ol' lad was 50, so got 7 solid in before the festivities. Felt good.

Sun 26th Dec
10m @ 8.01
10k faster with the local running club in Denmark, ended up running with only 1 guy, but he was very nice. We exchanged marathon stories, they're all doing Hamburg in May. He says they get 1,000,000 spectators on race day!
I misjudged the temp for this, thought it was -4 but it was actually -11. The result being I thought my hands would fall off

Tues 28th Dec
16m @ 8.05 back in Ireland
A couple of beers and an ego-busting skating fall the night before didn't hlep in the prop for this one.
Went out with one of my clubmates who is also doing Barca, an experienced chap who will be in the 3 - 3.10 bracket come race day. He brought me up over Howth Hill and into the village. "Right turn around now." I nearly cried, I thought we'd be straight back home. An 11min TOUGH climb through Howth village awaited. Happy with the distance and pace overall, I needed the company. Took 2 gels and a couple of water stops.

Weds 29th Dec
101.5 @ ~good pace. Watch was dead, but felt really good for this one. Went out pretty late, but I think they pace was 7.15 - 7.20 for moost of it, that's if I can judge my legs properly. Finished with 6 x 100m strides, which is a sign I was feeling really good.

Thurs 30th Dec
5.5 @ 8.20, very easy. Off to Kilkenny for some New Year's shenanigans. The runners are packed but any running will have purely prophylactic effects!

# Runs: 179 (14 races, 7 PB)
MTD: 147.5
YTD: 1,449.5

MisterDrak

Christeb,

Savage milage over the Xmas... Looking good for the 1000 mile in 2011...

christeb

Right 2011, where do we start? A nice hungover run of course!

Sat 1st Jan
4 mile hungover and very very slow around Kilkenny town. Spent 3 delightful days down there with a bunch of close friends, lots of fun had.

Sun 2nd Jan
6m easy as I recall, got back from KK so was still pretty tired. Actually pace was about 7:25, so not that easy!

Tues 4th Jan
8m. First 6 at <7 min pace with a clubmate, but I wasn't feeling the pace so I let him burn me off.

Thurs 6th Jan
8m @ 7:55 ish. Ran with 2 clubmates, 1 of which is doing Barca. Pace was slow throughout, laugh out loud potty banter so I wasn't complaining.

Fri 7th Jan
8m @ 6:56 pace. Great run with theboyblunder, he doesn't judge all my rants and whines, the perfect running buddy! Kept a good pace, fierce rain out the trip so delighted with this.

Sat 8th Jan
6m easy on Dollymount. Very slow, against the wind. Just to stretch out the legs.

Sun 9th Jan
18m @ 7.55
Set the alarm for "Weekdays", so slept wasn't awake for the club LSR. Got out eventually, equipped with iPod and running belt. Nothing makes you feel more like a fat American than running around with 6 little bottles of water. I was running solo, so I needed it.
Route was same as the last LSR + 2 miles at the start. Out to Howth, down into the village and back. Hills should stand to me come 6th March. The run was relatively undramatic, normally I'd be in far worse shape come mile 16. Took 2 gels during this also. A good days work to cap off a decent week.

Next week is the 2m race on Weds. For a 5m in 29:59 McMillan says I need 11:09 for this. I can feel the pain already. Otherwise just trying to keep consistency up, I'll need to re-jig LSRs slightly to fit in the Raheny 5 at the end of the month. It's a semi-A goal, would absolutely love to break 30 but it'll be very tough, I know that.

I also jumped up on my buddy's new weighing scales that tells bf % and such. I was 13'10 (middle of the day), slightly overhydrated @ 65% and had 10.5% bodyfat. I'll keep an eye on this inn the future to monitor changes

WTD: 48
MTD: 58
YTD: 58

Macanri

See you Wed, B. I won't be doing it in 11:09 and thats for sure - Waterford HM on Sat the aim of the week for me.

theboyblunder

good start to 2011! Nice 18 today - notice these are getting faster too. Good luck with the 2 miler - 11:09 is some target!

christeb

Mon 10th Jan
5m @ 7.59. Easy recovery run solo

Tues 11th Jan
9.5 @ 7.33. HR 151. Nice run with the club, the guys I was with were downloading all their best race tips. Guys have run well under 3, so I was all ears. Pace was picked up for some of the middle miles, so was happy to get a decent distance done.

Weds 12th Jan - Raheny Shamrocks Winter League Rd 2
3m @ 6.05 - 18.15 finishing time. Simplpy didn't have it this evening, last nights run was still in the legs. I was gone after 1.5 miles, but kept it together to finish respectably enough. 3m wu (went over my ankle v badly but it was OK) and 1.5 wd, 7.5 total. Nice to say hello to El_Director and macanari (sandbagger-in-chief!) on the night.

Fri 14th Jan
9 @ ~7.30. Met up with tbb, both of us forgot our watches. Nice run, I think we were wind assisted.

Sat 15th Jan
6m @ 7.30. Nice recovery job with a clubmate.

Sun 16th Jan
18m @ 7.41. Most of my running buddies are doing the Dublin Masters XC, so I ended up heading out with a bunch of guys from Piranha Tri Club. Super sound bunch, pace was respectable and this was a solid enough run. Included in the time was a 30 sec break to throw a top off, so actual pace under 7.40. HR 148. Great morning for running, loads of fellow runners out. Said hello to MisterDrak too.

Happy with the 55, so quality in there too. If I can keep that mileage going for the next 4 weeks I'll do my 3:10 target in Barcelona, no question.

WTD: 55
MTD: 113
YTD: 113

misty floyd

Going great, keep it up.

RacoonQueen

Doing smashing training at the moment. Whats the goal for the Raheny 5?

christeb

Thanks lads. A lot of it can be put down to living the clean life since New Years. It sickenens me, frankly :rolleyes:

RQ, A goal for the 5 is sub 30, B goal is sub 31. EASY!

BeepBeep67

christeb wrote: »

(sandbagger-in-chief!)

christeb wrote: »

I'll do my 3:10 target in Barcelona, no question.

<Rubs Chin>

Great week's training all the same.

theboyblunder

+1 good rnning christeb - great lsr today

MisterDrak

Nice 18m there on Sunday Christeb, nice and handy on the way out but the coast road back was not that handy...:mad:

tunguska

Good stuff Briano. You may not like the clean living but it sure as **** gets the job done. One word for you though in relation to your prep for Barca: Threshold.

christeb

Tues 19th Jan
7.5 with the club. For some reason I felt absolutely rubbish, I think I was dehydrated. Worst run in a long long LONG time.

Weds 20th Jan
9.5m with the club. 4 of these at 6.49 pace, I cruised them. Felt strong for the whole thing, finished off with 7 x strides. Black and white when compared with Tuesdays run. Amazing how the body can feel on a particular night.

Fri 21st Jan
12 @ 7.13. Met up with tbb, another good run tonight. Good chat straight to Raheny, then we decided to do 3 miles at his marathon pace (6.43), then 3 at mine (7.13). There were a couple of breaks, but overall this felt good. I felt comfortable on my 3 marathon miles, I just need someone to entertain me
Jumped up on my buddy's special scales later in the evening - 9.5% bodyfat. Doubtful, but I'll take it!

Sat 22nd Jan
6m @ 8.25 HR 130 with a couple of non-running buddies. Calf started getting sore at the end, really sore....

Sun 23th Jan
15.5m @ 8.00. HR 141

Supposed to be 20 but the calf went at 15.5, had to stop dead. It was a gradual pain throughout, but started spreading at that point. Luckily I was close enough to the house to limp home. I was physically ale for the 20, so it was unfortunate. A nice run apart from that, the boys were in good form and we picked up MisterDrak on the way out to the corkscrew hill in Howth. Chilly out there.
Got some 1hr solid treatment in the afternoon (the benefit of having physio friends ), so should get over the injury pretty quickly.

Measured the resting HR this morning, got it down to 37, so I'm in decent shape...

An OK week overall. Next week offers Round 3 of the Winter League (2m) and the Raheny 5 on Sunday. If I do a sub 30 I will be very very happy....

WTD: 50.5
MTD: 163.5
YTD: 163.5

BeepBeep67

Solid week all the same BHC - hope the calf is only a niggle and you beat 30mins for the 2M .

Macanri

Great running over the last 2 weeks. Sorry to hear about the calf. And speedy recovery to you. Sounds like the physio has you sorted, good stuff. See you on Wed, I'll join you on those 15:00/mls.

theboyblunder

Macanri wrote: »

Great running over the last 2 weeks. Sorry to hear about the calf. And speedy recovery to you. Sounds like the physio has you sorted, good stuff. See you on Wed, I'll join you on those 15:00/mls.

+1 hope the calf is ok buddy

christeb

theboyblunder wrote: »

+1 hope the calf is ok buddy

Macanri wrote: »

Great running over the last 2 weeks. Sorry to hear about the calf. And speedy recovery to you. Sounds like the physio has you sorted, good stuff. See you on Wed, I'll join you on those 15:00/mls.

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Solid week all the same BHC - hope the calf is only a niggle and you beat 30mins for the 2M .

Thanks guys, feels a lot better even this morning. The calf is still sore, but the rest of my legs feeling so good is making up for it. Might chance an easy 5 tonight, I'll see how motivation levels are después del español esta noche.

christeb

Apologies for the break, computer was out of action. Thanks to a certain boardsie for some help in that department

Tues 26th Jan
9m with MisterDrak and foleya. Nice run, we did a solidly paced loop of the Raheny 5 course, the guys we keen to head around in preparation for Sunday. Ca. 7:30 pace overall

Weds 27th Jan - Raheny Winter League Rd 4
3m warm up - 2m race 11:26 - report here - 2m warm down. Good race, happy to stay relatively strong for both laps.

Thurs 27th Jan
4m easy

Fri 28th Jan
7.5m with the club. 7.55 pace

Sun 30th Jan - Raheny 5
2m warm up - 31:12 race - 1m warm down. Bad race, I violated a couple of my personal pre-race rules. I got the time I deserved. Had I prepped properly I'm positive I had a sub 30 in the legs, which is reassuring. Everytime I upped the pace from 3m onwards I started cramping (stomach), so had too keep the pace slow. I was 18:00 after 3, but it was slipping from 2m onwards. the 2 guys I comfortably bet on Weds both cruised to sub 30s, so I'm sure I could get there too.

A super super race overall, perfect conditions and great organisation. A credit to the club.

Tues 1st Feb
12.5 with the club. A solid midweek session, felt pretty good throughout.

Weds 2nd Feb
8.5m with macanri. We did 3.5 x 1km, I had to pull up with my right leg through this as I couldn't continue. Was in discomfort for most of the run but the speed exacerbated it.

Fri 4th Feb
Physio sesh - 60 mins of pure pain. There are a number of bad spots on both legs,
.
Disappointed with the current status given there's only 4+ weeks to the marathon. Most important is to make the start line in good shape, if I do this I still think I have 3:10 within my grasp. Speed doesn't seem to be the problem, stamina is. So hopefully I'll get a 20m in tomorrow, legs very tender now but should be in much better shape then...

WTD: 21
MTD: 21
YTD: 221

christeb

Sat 5th Feb
5m wet and windy easy around the Raheny 5 course. Legs felt tender but I was cautiously optimistic I'd get the LSR in.

Sun 6th Feb
6.5m with the club, pulled up with the calf. Bad timing to say the least....Physio sesh tonight then will lay off it for a few days. The mara goal looks out of reach at this stage, given my lack of LSRs. I knew I should have went out and got wasted on Saturday night!

WTD: 32.5
MTD: 32.5
YTD: 232.5

theboyblunder

sorry to hear that. gigve it some proper rest and hopefully it will clear up quickly.