Running Through The Wall

Killerz

21st-24th January

And so the second half of my mega running week:

Thurs: Was meant to do 10 miles but the wind and rain were awful, and no matter which direction I ran, the wind was against me! Did 8.7 miles in 1:10:31
Sat: 12.1 miles easy run with one of the lads (who is training for the Connemara Full). Leisurely, chatting pace, 1:52:49
Sun: Hard slog of 16 miles, incorporating Howth Head. Heavy going, given yesterday's mileage, but kept a good strong pace of exactly 8 min miles to finish in 2:07:57

And so the longest training week of my running career so far is over.

Total mileage this week: 62.8 miles
Total mileage this year: 130.4 miles

Killerz

25th - 31st January

After last week, which was the most mileage i've ever done in a week, following that up was going to be a challenge. Add in the fact that we had to pack up our apartment, put everything into storage/ pack it for our move to Canada, and it was clear it was going to be tough to fit any exercise in.

Mon: Gym - bike - 11.4k in 30 mins + 20 mins core work.
Tue: 6.9 mile run in 49:13

Wed-Thu: Packing and prep for move to Canada
Fri: Travel to Canada

Sat: 6.8 miles on treadmill in gym in apartment block in Canada. 50 mins. Very cold outside - my first outdoor run will be interesting.
Sun: 6 miles on treadmill, 50 mins; 2.5 miles on stationery bike, 10mins 30 sec.

Hoping to get some form of long training run in tomorrow. While it is very cold out (varying btwn -10 and -15), there is no snow, so at least that's something. I may mix the run half outdoor, half treadmill or something like that, if the cold gets too much!

Total mileage this week: 19.7 miles
Total mileage this year: 150.1 miles

Killerz

1st-3rd February

Mon: First outdoor run in Canada. -5 degrees celsius (-14 factoring in wind-chill). Did 13 miles exactly, a fact-finding mission of sorts. Relatively slow - 1:58:48, reflecting the tiredness in my legs from past two days' running and probably the cold. Hydration pack water kept freezing up in the tube!
Tue: 3.3 miles on treadmill, 25 mins. Interval work -totalling 17mins, 30 secs at 8 min miles and 7min 30 sec at 6min 40 sec miles pace (if that makes sense).
Wed: 10 miles on treadmill :eek: 77:58, due to heavy snowfall the night before.

Hoping to do a 20 miler on Friday morning, will be interesting to see how that pans out!

Killerz

4th-7th February

Fri: 20.5 miles in 3:14:51, incorporating a decent amount of hills and rough terrain. A real fact-finding mission in the city. A good part of the run was a trail in a river valley, nice and scenic, but quite cold, and was all on snowy paths. Also had to cross some frozen over streams which was a bit intimidating. some excellent running routes here.
Sat: 10 miles on the treadmill 78:34. Getting a little bit more used to running on the 'mill. The back-to-back weekend runs are beginning to stack up now.

Really pleased with this week's running:). Yes, the long runs are slower but (a) time on feet is important in training for an ultra and (b) I understand that your body needs to work a lot harder in the colder temperatures, so that would account for some of it.

Total mileage this week: 56.8 miles
Total mileage this year: 206.9 miles

Killerz

8th-10th February

Mon: 8.5 miles outdoors along the coast - decent wind chill, but a nice run overall. 1:04:28. Some hillwork included.
Tue: 5 miles on the treadmill, easy pace. 40 mins flat.
Wed: 9 miles on treadmill, 6 miles at 8 min/mile pace, 2 miles at 7:15min/mile pace, first and last half mile at slower pace. Total time: 1:12:11. 3% incline for 1 of the 8 min miles, 1% incline for 1 of the 8 min miles.

Satisfactory start to the week, having to stay indoors due to snowfall, but still keeping up decent mileage.

Killerz

11th-14th February

Agggh - frustrating second half to the week. After last Friday's long run, felt a bit of soreness in my foot. Ran 4 sessions over the following 5 days knowing it was there, but ignoring it. Took rest day on Thursday, and it turned from being sore into a feeling like a vein was popping out everytime i took a step. Now, obviously that wasnt happening, but thats what it felt like. Have done no running since then - not feeling any pain, just feels weird.

Bad thing is missing out on back-to-back runs this weekend.

Gonna refrain from running until tues (bank holiday in Canada on monday), and if not in good shape on tues morning, will go to the physio. have tried to keep up some other exercise in the meantime as follows:

Fri: 1 hour cycle outdoors - damn cold! :eek: c.12 miles easy.
Sat: 35 mins cross trainer, 25 mins gym bike.
Sun: Planning on doing an hour or so in the gym before Valentine's dinner later on.

Total mileage this week: 22.5 miles
Total mileage this year: 229.4 miles

Killerz

15th-21st February

Injury problems continued early on in the week. But went to a physio here in Toronto on Wednesday and she did a bit of work on it, and it seems its nothing more serious than a strain. i can keep running on it, dependent on the pain i get.

Mon: Gym - 35 min x-trainer, 25 min bike
Wed: Gym - 45 min x-trainer, 20 min treadmill (very slow, just to test out the foot). 2 miles. Seemed okay. Will hopefully get a run out tomorrow.
Thu: 5.9 mile run, no watch, just seeing how the foot was going. Once again, alrite, sore in places, but nothing i couldnt really happen.
Fri: 17 miles - 2:38:28. More about time on feet and seeing how I can push it after a bit of time off. Sore at times, around 12-14 mile mark, so walked bits of it. But, happy with my run.
Sat: 10.1 miles - 1:23:03. Very sore at the start, was going to turn around. Persevered and got it done.
Sun: 5 miles fast session - 32:55. Really happy with this, given (a) 4th day of running in a row (b) foot felt fine (c) had a hangover and (d) the speed was good.

Overall, the week was backended with a lot of mileage (40) due to injury in early half of week. Good to be back in the saddle. Fingers crossed foot stays okay.

Starting work tomorrow!:eek:

Total mileage this week: 40 miles
Total mileage this year: 269.4 miles

rigal

Considering you were injured that's a good week of running Killerz.

How's the weather over there now?

Killerz

rigal wrote: »

Considering you were injured that's a good week of running Killerz.

How's the weather over there now?

Thanks Rigal.

The weather was considerably better this weekend - even six degrees yesterday:cool:

I fear another inconsistent week tho coz just got hit by a serious snow storm today. i think that running on treadmills may have caused the problem in the first place.

Killerz

22nd-25th February

Tues: 8.5 miles outdoors, v.cold. 1:14:24
Weds: 10.0 miles outdoors. even colder, a lot of black ice, but good time of 1:17:32
Thu: 6.5 miles on treadmill, 47:32 - inc 1 x 6 min mile and 1 x 7 min mile.

Solid start to my week, and the runs are fitting in well around my work schedule.

Killerz

26th-28th February

Sat: 11 miles in evening - 1:25:32. Really was feeling pretty awful when I woke up this morning - headache and dodgy stomach. Add to that a huge snowfall, and there was no way I was doing the planned 20 miles today. Compromised with an 11 miler in the evening when I felt a little better.
Sun: 6 miles. Forgot to restart watch while out - roughly about 50 mins I'd say. Hangover today, plus moved into new apartment, so wasnt really in the right headspace for decent mileage.

Slightly disappointing end to the week, mileage-wise. The weather is such a huge factor, that it can be stop-start for the winter training. Just gotta plough on, I suppose.

Total mileage this week: 42 miles
Total mileage this year: 311.4 miles

Abhainn

I was wondering how runners maintained milage over the winter months in that part of Canada. Fair play Killerz, you are very committed.
On wards, Spring is here

Killerz

Thanks Abhainn. Indeed the snow etc may have been more of a shock if it wasnt for the weather in Ireland in January. Still surprised at how many people are out running, even given the weather here.

Bring on spring indeed!

Killerz

1st-7th March

Ah, the onset of Spring, how wondrous it is.
Suffered with a headcold much of this week, but was determined to bang out the miles. And I did!

Tue: 11 miles: 1:22:53 - roughly 7min 30 sec miles. Went well. Enjoyed this one.
Wed: 8.5 miles 1:02:46 - Good result, felt grand throughout, pushed the pace a bit over the last 3 miles.
Thu: 9 miles 1:11:58 - tough run. Both the cold and previous 2 days' running catching up with me.
Fri: No running, but went to see Rodrigo y Gabriela - really good. Standing up for 4 hours tho... ahead of....
Sat: 22.8 miles 3:25:52. Nice weather at last in Toronto - 9 degrees celsius, was almost over-dressed for this one. Challenging, but ultimately rewarding. Took in a lot of hills, continued on my gel and pretzel experimentations (Carb Boom strawberry - tasted awesome, not sure if it did anything for me, but i'd eat them for fun). Very, very tired at end.
Sun: 13.1 miles 1:42:45. Rough work getting out of bed this morning after 5 pints the night before, but pulled through in what is a respectible half-marathon time in its own right.

Positives: all runs this week were outdoor; all involved hills; tiredness from previous runs could be overcome, as could sickness; most miles clocked up in a week ever by me (64.4).
Negatives: Niggling thoughts as to how I would do a back to back saturday run - will need to do 50 miles in one session; keeping motivation going over next few weeks.

All in all, a great week, running wise.

In New York City now (Manhattan) for 2 weeks with work - just flew down on Sunday afternoon. Probably will be consigned to treadmill work on the evenings and a few laps of Central Park on Saturday and Sunday. Unless I do morning runs - unlikely. Will be stepping it back tho to about 45-50 miles this week.

Total mileage this week: 64.4 miles
Total mileage this year: 375.8 miles

Killerz

8th-10th March

Tue: 8.14 miles in Central Park in the evening 1:05:42. Lovely evening for a run, nice to welcome back the shorts and t-shirt for a pleasant 13 degrees in NYC. I was taken aback by the amount of runners out - didnt realise the PArk would be so popular.
Wed: 14.3 miles in the Park, 1:47:27. Buoyed by Tuesday's run, went and doubled up (kind of) tonight in the Park. A good bit colder (9 degrees) but enjoyable nonetheless. Also discovered a shop selling Barry's Tea - Mrs Killerz will be delighted when I return to Toronto with the stash.

Plan to do another 8 miler tomorrow all going well, then c.20 miles on Saturday, maybe more. No Camelpak with me tho - could have implications!

Killerz

11th-14th March

Thu: 8.16 miles in the Park. 58:04:81. Tiredness catching up on me + very cold.
Sat: Total washout - no running. nasty hangover aswell (unexpected drinks)
Sun: 7.42 miles in the Park 57:10:84. Very wet and windy again. Disappointing weekend's work.

After a week that promised so much, the weekend delivered so little. Maybe it was no harm after going high mileage the week before.

Total mileage this week: 38.02 miles
Total mileage this year: 413.82 miles

Killerz

15th-16th March

Mon: 14.7 miles in Central Park. Wet, windy, but went well. 1hr :41:52
Tue: Same again: 14.7 miles. Beautiful evening. Tiredness in the legs though - 1hr 50:18

Rest day Wednesday (Paddys Day) - no doubt will be mental in New York, and Toronto, where I fly back to in the evening.

29.4 miles nailed in Days 1 & 2 this week. Fingers crossed for the rest of it - planning on really pushing it out there on Saturday.

Happy Paddy's day to all

actwithoutwords

Hey. Ah, I miss running in Central Park. Jealous. Though obviously a bit different now compared to the height of summer when I was there I'd say. Discovering where the water fonts are was something of a revelation after about 3 or 4 painfully dehydrating runs in there.

Macanri

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you and yours. Still bashing out them miles, good man. When's your first race?

Killerz

actwithoutwords wrote: »

Hey. Ah, I miss running in Central Park. Jealous. Though obviously a bit different now compared to the height of summer when I was there I'd say. Discovering where the water fonts are was something of a revelation after about 3 or 4 painfully dehydrating runs in there.

Ya, i found a water font the first night, but it was either frozen, off or broken, so didnt rely on it after that. had no camelpak, so just carried a 500ml bottle with me.

I really felt that running with all the people around me, and having no traffic stops meant my times improved big time. As you'll know aswell, the circuit is tough enough.

Great place to run - I would say it was heavy going in summer though alrite?

Killerz

Macanri wrote: »

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you and yours. Still bashing out them miles, good man. When's your first race?

Trying to bash them out alrite - some days better than others! I have three goals for the year, and my race plan is structured around it:

1) Ultra-marathon - 50 miles trail in May. Still not sure if this is a realistic goal. Race date 29th May.
As a build up to that, I'm doing Around the Bay 30k on sunday week (28th Mar) - the oldest road race in Nth America, apparently. Then I'm gonna follow that up with a taster for trail running - the Seaton Trail 26k (though I am contemplating 52k) in mid-April. Hopefully they will give me some idea of where I'm at. Aim for the 30k is sub 2.15 and really dont know what to expect from the 26k, but given the terrain, will probably be in or around the same as the 30k.
2) and 3) are interlinked - (2)Qualify for Boston - was 22 secs out at 3:11:21 last year at DCM. (3) Go sub-3. I'm doing the Toronto Waterfront MArathon at end of April. its supposed to be relatively flat, so i am hoping to qualify for Boston, and give the sub3 a good go. that will depend a lot on how training goes over what is predicted to be a hot summer here.

Roundabout answers to your questions! How ya getting on yerself?

pgmcpq

Killerz wrote: »

Ya, i found a water font the first night, but it was either frozen, off or broken, so didnt rely on it after that. had no camelpak, so just carried a 500ml bottle with me.

I really felt that running with all the people around me, and having no traffic stops meant my times improved big time. As you'll know aswell, the circuit is tough enough.

Great place to run - I would say it was heavy going in summer though alrite?

Hey, just seen this unfortunately. Central park is one of my current stomping grounds ! My last half marathon was two loops of the park (part of the NY RR HM Grand Prix which is a set of 5, one in each borough ). It's a tough route - particularly if you run anti-clockwise as you then go up the steeper side of Harlem Hill. I'm back there again on Sunday for the NYC HM.

I've been thinking of the around the bay race one year ( this is the race that's the oldest road race in North America IIRC ?) when I have nothing else going on so I'll be curious to read how you get on.

Good luck.

actwithoutwords

Killerz wrote: »

Great place to run - I would say it was heavy going in summer though alrite?

Indeed it was. Plus I had a 4 mile run just to get to Central Park. It broke up the runs nicely though. My weekend runs were a heady combination of dehydration, sunstroke and fatigue. Toughened me up though. When it came to some cooler weather in September, the runs felt amazing. Though somewhat less so when I got back to Ireland...

Killerz

pgmcpq wrote: »

Hey, just seen this unfortunately. Central park is one of my current stomping grounds ! My last half marathon was two loops of the park (part of the NY RR HM Grand Prix which is a set of 5, one in each borough ). It's a tough route - particularly if you run anti-clockwise as you then go up the steeper side of Harlem Hill. I'm back there again on Sunday for the NYC HM.

I've been thinking of the around the bay race one year ( this is the race that's the oldest road race in North America IIRC ?) when I have nothing else going on so I'll be curious to read how you get on.

Good luck.

I went clockwise on most of my runs alrite - Harlem Hell Hill as i liked to call it - cursing my way to the top of the hill. highlight tho was seeing a raccoon (not Raccoon Queen mind you) going about his business beside the running route.

you're right about Around the Bay - looking forward to it. I'll post a race report up here afterwards for those who may be interested.

Best of luck with NYHM - would love to be there for it myself. I'll be back in NYC in late april for a few days on business methinks, will test myself against Central Park again. and hope against hope i may get for NYC marathon lottery in a cupla weeks.

Macanri

Killerz wrote: »

Trying to bash them out alrite - some days better than others!
Roundabout answers to your questions! How ya getting on yerself?

Hah didn't mean it like that. Fair play to your legs - able to all that high milage.

Gettin on alright meself. 1st sprint tri coming up this day 3 weeks. Will do a few more and hopefully get the swimming good enough to be able to try my hand at 1 or 2 olympic dist before the end of the season. On the running front I will be completing the local Raheny Winter Race Series, And may do the Great Ireland Run as I haven't run a 10km since this one last year and would like to improve on my PB of around 42mins. I'ld love to give DCM another go this year but don't think I will have time to train for it. We'll see.

Killerz

Macanri wrote: »

Hah didn't mean it like that. Fair play to your legs - able to all that high milage.

Gettin on alright meself. 1st sprint tri coming up this day 3 weeks. Will do a few more and hopefully get the swimming good enough to be able to try my hand at 1 or 2 olympic dist before the end of the season. On the running front I will be completing the local Raheny Winter Race Series, And may do the Great Ireland Run as I haven't run a 10km since this one last year and would like to improve on my PB of around 42mins. I'ld love to give DCM another go this year but don't think I will have time to train for it. We'll see.

Good luck with the GI Run - its a tough 10k (as you'll know), so i'd say u'd knock a bit of time off the 42 mins on a flatter course. i'm sorry to be missing DCM this year myself, but it'll be there again in future... i'm sure.... best of luck with it all anyhow

Killerz

17th-21th March

Thu: 11.7 miles, back in Toronto. Warm night - 16 celsius, surprised at the heat. 1:29:36.
Sat: Had planned on doing 20+ today, but failed miserably. Wasnt feeling the best going out (headache, a bit light-headed aswell), coupled with heading into a headwind, and much colder temperatures than the last week. At 10 miles, my left foot was niggling at me, so decided to call it a day and maybe give it a rest. 10 miles, 1:18:30.
Sun: Not feeling much better today. Foot pain even worse. Somewhat similar to that i was getting on the right foot last month. In the evening, said i'd head out and see how it was. Was on my 3rd mile and the pain became more sharp and pronounced. Took it easy on way home, had to hobble it in parts. 5 miles 45:40.

Quite worried about the foot now, may just rest up for the week ahead, perhaps do some bike work, ahead of the 30k on Sunday.

Once again, a very disappointing weekend after a promising early part to the week (which saved me, mileage-wise). Beginning to question whether the idea to do an ultra was a good one or not, and if I do decide to proceed with it, what my expectations should be.

Total mileage this week: 56.1 miles
Total mileage this year: 469.92 miles

pgmcpq

Killerz wrote: »

I'll be back in NYC in late april for a few days on business methinks, will test myself against Central Park again...

Late April I'll be in taper mode (NJ Marathon on May 2nd) but if you're in NY and are interested in a running partner for a Central Park run feel free drop me a PM.

Killerz

22st-27th March

Off the feet, running-wise, for the full week. Did 2 x 40 min bike sessions during the week, which were quite intense, but overall, this is the most relaxed taper for a race i've ever done - mostly forced!

No running miles Mon-Sat.

Killerz

Around the Bay 30k, March 28th, 2010

Chip time: 2:08:08
Gun (show) time: 2:08:32
Place: 207
Pace: 4.18 min/km

Background: This race is the oldest road race in North America, felt i should do it while here.
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, about an hour drive from Toronto.

And so, to my first race on Canadian soil (or for that matter, on soil that isn't Irish).

Not a great run-up week for this, really painful left foot when out running last weekend - had to curtail my long run. Stayed off the feet (running-wise) this week, just getting a couple of gym-bike sessions in. The foot felt ok (altho untested running) on Saturday, so I was hopeful that i'd be okay.

Ideal conditions (c. 6 celsius, no rain, little wind) - wasnt sure whether shorts would be sufficient, or tights would be necessary. Chose to leave the tights behind. Good decision. Had gloves and hat - possibly could have done without these too, but was happy to have them all the same.

And so, we were off (me 24 seconds behind gun-time). Great atmosphere at start, cowbells, woodland fairy etc.... even the police were getting in on the act. First km went ok then - bang - foot pain back. Next 2km were absolute agony, and i thought i would need to drop out early. was on a decent pace, so took it back a notch for a couple of kms, putting a bit more emphasis on the right leg/ foot. thankfully, the pain retracted to a manageable level for a while at least.

got chatting to a local guy from Hamilton. We talked thru Ireland's unfair exit from the soccer World Cup at the hands of Thierry Henry. I moved onwards from him after we had chatted for a while. starting feeling a little better on the foot. My 10k split was 41:49, and I was feeling good. so far so good. everything going to plan.

Next 10k, felt a little bit more of a breeze as we were going close to shoreline - a lot of long stretches of road here, but good neighbourhood support. 15km - 1:03:29. Powered on, and under a couple of road bridges where i met another fellow runner coming up to 19km, he was aiming for at least a sub-2:10 (as I was also was at this stage). We chatted for a while, and he filled me in on what to expect for the last 10km (ie hills).

20km split: 1:24:47.

And then, lo and behold - rolling hills. These took it out of me, and i felt my pace wavering. I had two gels with me, but decided against using them, relying instead on gatorade and water. Kept going - good cheering at points here - even passed by a barbeque - what I wouldnt have given for a burger! (I did make up for this later on).

Then caught up with the dude from 19km again (he had passed me by when i stopped for water). We ran side-by-side again, where he advised me of the forthcoming monster hill, but more importantly, the midget that comes just before it. Midget was great, i high-fived that bad-boy - that spurred me on and up the hill. When I saw that hill coming, it did look a bit nasty, but i pushed on up, and it was over before i knew it.

The hill obviously took more out of me than I thought, as i slowed a little in the next km or so - seeing the grim reaper (yes, a dude dressed as grim reaper - telling runners they werent going to finish!) didnt help either. But then the Coliseum (ice-hockey stadium that you run into to finish.... ice is obviously covered over) came into view, and the final 2km. Downhill all the way - opened up the legs and let fly down the hill, and into the Coliseum where i waved my hands totally-uncoolly as the announcer called my name. Great to finish in a stadium - first time i've done that. Some water, gatorade and catching of breath later, and I was heading back to the hotel for what was a fantastic shower!

Bumped into a couple of people after and chatted with them - the Ireland shirt was good in that respect!

And so, on the bus and back to Toronto. Burger, fries, pints. Awesome!

Great day, foot worked out ok in the end. Well organised race, great experience.

Learning points:
1. You can take a week off running and still do okay - rest is important.
2. Its okay to experiment a little - bagels were good!
3. Know your body - I felt I was able to carry on, but I do know my limits.
4. Its okay not to wear mp3 player for a long race (first time - quite enjoyed it).
5. Drinking water from cups is just not as good as getting bottles.

Could I have run faster? Possibly, I think I could have got close to 2:03/ 2:04 (or better) if i had pushed it, and this was my goal race.
Should I have run faster? Definitely not. Given the foot issues, this was not my time to take a risk.
Was this a worthwhile experience? Yes

Killerz

Total mileage this week: 18.6 miles (race was only running this week)
Total mileage this year: 488.52 miles .... nearing the 500 mile mark!!!