Sub 2.30 marathon? Suits you sir!

KielyUnusual

Nice session this evening. That wind was strong down the far side of the pitch. You were doing really well to be hitting those paces.

Just a consideration but if I was doing them sessions, I'd be tempted to take them off the grass. They'd be a lot easier and more comparable to the type of running you'll be doing on the day in the marathon. I know there's no way I could hit those long marathon type sessions on the grass, week in and week out.

smmoore79

KielyUnusual wrote: »

Nice session this evening. That wind was strong down the far side of the pitch. You were doing really well to be hitting those paces.

Just a consideration but if I was doing them sessions, I'd be tempted to take them off the grass. They'd be a lot easier and more comparable to the type of running you'll be doing on the day in the marathon. I know there's no way I could hit those long marathon type sessions on the grass, week in and week out.

Yeah the wind was a killer. Was gasping for air pushing into it! I'll mix up the training a little, Might do half of Saturdays session on road, half grass..

smmoore79

We'd 5/5/15 - 5 miles at 6 50

Thankfully I was only down for 5 this evening after yesterday's session! Route took me from the Conrad out to Sandymount and on home. Felt loose and not too tired for this surprisingly. After that it was 20 minutes core work..

smmoore79

Thur - 7/5/15 - 10 miles at 6 50 pace


A bit of tiredness from yesterdays core but after 40 minutes I was feeling good again. Bit of a wind out there, weathers been very unsettled the last while. Hopefully its not as bad on Saturday where I'll be doing a big dirty marathon session!!!

smmoore79

Fri 8/5/15 - 5.25 miles at 6.50

Coach had me down for this today and I have to say Im relieved as 10 miles before work can be a killer! So hopped out of bed, had a banana and cereal bar, got ready and was on my way. As usual the first few minutes were wake up and remove the stiffness shuffles. After about 15 minutes I was feeling good as I headed to the nature reserve. After that it was a run into work along the canal.

So the rest of the day will be work and recovery. Then tomorrow its 15 miles with a lot of it at marathon or slightly faster than marathon pace... yikes :eek:

smmoore79

Sat 9/5/15 - marathon session on path ([EMAIL="2m@6.50"]2m@6.50[/EMAIL]; [EMAIL="4m@5.45"]4m@5.45[/EMAIL]; [EMAIL="1m@5.30"]1m@5.30[/EMAIL]; [EMAIL="4m@5.45"]4m@5.45[/EMAIL]; [EMAIL="1m@5.30"]1m@5.30[/EMAIL]; [EMAIL="1m@5.45"]1m@5.45[/EMAIL]; [EMAIL="2m@6.50"]2m@6.50[/EMAIL])


On paper this looked like an awful lot of hard work. I cycled out to the Phoenix park to meet up with the Cru who were all doing different types of sessions. But I had no takers for my marathon session I did the first 2 miles on grass and initially had decided on mixing the session between grass and path. But the wind was so strong down 1 side of the acres that I decided to hit the marathon paced stuff on the path going round. The loop itself is 1.6 miles path around all the pitches. I felt moany on the first 4 miles at MP, just mentally thinking this was ****. But energy wise I was fine.


I then had to up the pace on the 1 mile pick up. Half of this was into the wind and I found it tough. But I was keeping pace more or less. Now it was back to MP stuff. The pace of the last mile must have continued as the next mile was low 5 30's. The sun was starting to beat down now as I loped round and round. Towards the end of this 2nd mile tempo I started to tire. The wind was grinding me down. I reluctantly upped for another mile. This one unfortunately was mostly into wind so the pace was hard to get down. I really struggled here and was so tempted to jack things in.


I stuck with it though and found some respite getting to the section with some wind on my back. I managed to keep the pace in the 5 30's so not much different to the 5 30 aim. After that it was 1 more MP mile followed by 2 well earned 6 50 paced miles. So glad to get this done as I thought at the 11 mile stage I mightn't get the job done. It'll be sessions like this that get me to Oslo in great nick, definitely in a better place than Dublin 2013 Splits were


6 34
6 15


5 46
5 44
5 39
5 46


5 26


5 33
5 46
5 39
5 42


5 36


5 47


6 49
6 39

smmoore79

Sun 10/5/15 - 15 miles at 6 50


Headed out with JF today looping SM park and heading out to the Southwall. I felt tired from yesterday and understandably after 11 miles started to feel it. The wind was making things tougher aswell. But it was nice to get another 15 miles under the belt to bring my weekly mileage to 62 miles and my actual overall pace was 6 44...sweet!!!

smmoore79

Mon 12/5/15 - Rest
Tue 13/5/115 - 2m wu; 8 x 800m(400 active rec); 2m wd


This session was thrown in tonight to keep some speed in the legs and boy did it deliver! Some of the lads were down for 6 x 800 which would be the normal session so I had company for the bulk of the session. The only drawback to this would be that id be dragged faster than the 2 30 pace suggested on the plan.


The first few reps went fine. We took the first very slow at 2 40, the next was 2 32, then 2 28, followed by a 2 27. At the height of it we were going 2 25 and all on grass pitches!!! By the time I was on the 6th I was wrecked. The hips had tightened, the weekends mileage still in the body(hoping to get used to this). R+ was flying and dragged me round on the 7th. A gap opened but I upped the pace to close again.


The last lap for me was by far the hardest. 2 other lads joined me and R+, they had a bit more in the tank. I kept with R+ for 300m and then the wheels came off and a 10m gap opened. 1 of the other lads tore past me and was just behind R+. I flogged myself to keep the gap and with 200m to go shuffled the gap away and was about 5 metres off them. Id say the last rep was around 2 25/26.


So all in all a savage session. On my own, my pace may have been 2 35 but I seriously got dragged round with the group tonight. Definitely some speed in the legs now! Ps, if anyone knows how to use the lap function on a Garmin 15, let me know!!

smmoore79

We'd 13/5/15 - 6 miles run

not much to report on this except that I was starving! Weather was perfect and the views from the reserve were class. got home and did some core then.

smmoore79

Thur 14/5/15 - 10 miles including 5 x 100m strides


Another 10 miles chalked up. Legs felt ok, though my only worry is some tightness at the top of the left glute. Its something that always there so I'll have to manage it by stretching lightly and a bit of foam rolling.

smmoore79

Fri 15/5/15 - 6 and bit miles run

The banana and cereal bar strategy seems to be working for my early morning runs. Granted it takes me 10 minutes to get motoring but I dont feel hunger pangs or feel bloated and tend to finish strong on these runs. The bay was nice and cool this morning, not many people around. After that it was the usual run to work heading along the canal on the grass and getting stares from commuters walking in the opposite direction on the path! They probably think Im mad but at the same time they look like lemmings to me all marching in a line :pac:

smmoore79

Sat 17/5/15 - 18 miles(2m at 6 50; 3 at 5 30; 8 at 6 50; 3 at 5 30; 2 at 6 50)


Sun 18/5/15 - 10 miles run


This was the furthest I've run in a long time. Was a bit nervous beforehand but once the session started there was no turning back. Me and JF looped around the grass of the acres for the slower miles. But once the fast stuff kicked in JF would take off as his pace targets were down as 15 seconds quicker than mine. Again, the wind was a real killer as we struggled into a horrible headwind. So for this stretch Id hop on the path before hopping back onto the grass on the way back. 10 miles in and I tried out a gel. Not sure if it worked but I got through the session only getting really tired halfway through the second pickup. The splits I hit were mixed due to the conditions. The slower stuff was quicker overall than the 6 50 target as I was doing these with JF. But the 5 30 pace stuff wasn't quite there due to battling into the wind(would love to see how Id get on in normal conditions!). Depending on the mile my pickup ranged from 6 minute pace to 5 33!! Anyways, its job done and 18 miles under the belt


6 39
6 31
6 00
5 34
5 44
6 26
6 14
6 43
6 37
6 21
6 45
6 33
6 28
6 00
5 43
5 44
7 02
6 34

smmoore79

Mon 18/5/15 - Rest
Tue 19/5/15 - 16 miles
Wed 20/5/15 - 5 miles(not so handy with a bag on my back!!)

The main training on my "rest week" was the 16 miles run yesterday. Luckily JF met me for 9 of those miles which relieved the boredom and more than likely kept my pace averaging 6 50's. 2 of us took in Southwall and Sandymount promenade before he headed off. To kill off the run I headed for a loop of the reserve before bumping into the coach and a few of the lads in SM park. At that stage my stomach felt empty and hungry though this didnt effect the pace. So it'll be handy miles this week until Saturday where another 16 miles lies in store; but with a LOT of tempo miles :eek:

smmoore79

Thur 21/5/15 - 5 miles run
Fri 22/5/15 - 5 miles run

My "easy week" continues. A few beers on Wednesday evening had me run a sluggish session on Thursday. Woke up early today and got my next 5 miler out of the way. Felt good on this though the inside of the left knee felt a little niggley. Down for a 16 mile varied pace session(i.e marathonish and normal pace), with the wind out there the last few weeks its getting to be a pain running any pace session!

smmoore79

Sat 23/5/15 - Long MP session
2m wu; 4m at 5 30 pace; 4 min med pace; 3m at 5 30 pace; 3 min med pace; 2m at 5 30 pace; 2 min med pace; 1m at 5 30 pace; 2.15m wd - 16 miles total
Hard stuff mostly on grass, part on path


Well, that was the plan above anyway. A tough nut of a session lay ahead of me this morning and knowing that I needed to go solo made the task that lay a head that little bit tougher. I decided to get this done at SM park(my spiritual home :D). So ran out and did a few laps before it was time to get going. The weather was better than last week, sunny but still a bit of headwind down 1 side of the pitches. My initial couple of miles felt very sluggish, I had a porridge an hour beforehand and this sat in the pit of my stomach for the opening few miles.

The first few miles were a mixture of the pitches and the trail but a after a few miles I decided to do all the hard stuff on the pitches to keep the splits quicker. So 3 miles in and I was not feeling great. I actually thought about pulling the plug so had to convince myself to keep moving. I copped on and realised that 1 more mile would finish the first rep. This gave me a nice mental boost to get rep 1 done. Plus my splits had come down by switching to the pitches.

My loop now was 3/4 on grass pitch and 1/4 on path. After 4 minutes at 6ish minute pace I now had to hit 3 miles at 5 30 pace. Physically I was tiring, but mentally I was growing as I knew the hard reps would be shortening in distance. So I kept looping around, took a gel halfway through rep 2 and kept going. This 3 miler was tough with the windy stretch on grass grinding me down but I got through for a 3 minute recovery at 6 odd pace.

After that it was my 2 miles at pace with 2 mins medium run. I dug in as the heat and wind were starting to tire me but the gel must have been kicking in as I kept the pace nice and even. After that I knew it was job done as I only had 1 mile at pace left, so mentally I spaced out and looped round until the Garmin told me to stop! It was sheer relief at this stage. I happily ran 2.15 miles warm down on my tired legs.

So glad to get this done and get the splits reasonably close to what the aim was for. Even better considering 3/4's of the session was on grass pitches which would obviously be a bit slower than all road! 2 of the early miles are a tad slower due to running part on trail but the rest are in and around the 5 30 target. So splits were..

7 20; 6 33
5 45; 5 35; 5 33; 5 42
5 21; 5 32; 5 27
5 25; 5 31
5 31
6 23; 6 22 and 0.15 miles at 6 18 pace
Other 2 miles are made up of the 4 min, 3 min, 2 min recovery reps(pace around 6 50)

Krusty_Clown

That's some savage running right there! Well done on sticking it out. Great session.

smmoore79

Sun 24/5/15 - 6 miles run at 6 50

Was only meant to do 5 miles but threw in 1 extra just for good measure. So thats the end of the "easy" week with 53 miles done and dusted. Next week will be ramped up to 67 with a tough 20 miler with tempo pace miles next Saturday :eek:

smmoore79

Mon 25/5/15 - Rest
Tue 26/5/15 - 2m wu; 8m at 5 45; 3m wd (pace stuff on grass pitches)

There was a glorious sunshine as I headed out to SM park to meet the clubmates. Nearly all were doing 6 x 800, some 400's and me on my lonesome doing a long tempo. Luckily Murphs was up for jumping into part of my session so I had company at various stages. My first mile was fast at 5 30. I purposely slowed it a bit for the next few just to get the pace closer to 5 45. After 4 miles I was feeling the session as it was pretty hot out there and also a dirty wind was blowing the length of the pitches. So half the session was tough and it got tougher as the wind picked up. With 2 miles left I was working hard and mentally had to dig deep to finish the job.

Cant complain with tonight's splits as all are quicker than 5 45. Plus the conditions werent ideal. If I can hit these splits on grass then in theory it should be handier on road Ive a big session on Saturday so will mix in some road to get the body used to that surface.. Splits were

2 miles warm up
5 31
5 36
5 37
5 41
5 39
5 38
5 44
5 37
3 mile warm down

dublin runner

Fantastic going. Essentially, would you call that a marathon paced session? Really enjoying reading your approach to the the marathon.

smmoore79

dublin runner wrote: »

Fantastic going. Essentially, would you call that a marathon paced session? Really enjoying reading your approach to the the marathon.

Yeah, I guess that pace is in and around MP. I think 5 42 on road will nail 2 hours 30 mins; anything quicker is bonus country. My approach is just doing what the coach tells me. So far its great in that im not thinking about what session to do or what pace to go. Also its good to get quality training in so early in the plan. 20 miles this Saturday which will be a serious test for me..

ThebitterLemon

That's some session to have done this early in your cycle.

8 miles at PMP on grass in tough conditions 15 weeks to go, seems pretty intense to me and how is the body feeling today?


TbL

TRR_the_turd

Just catching up on your log. Some impressive running of late. Any intermediate races lined up.

Like TBL your sessions look intense this early in the programme to me. How will they progress? have you been able to manage running this hard, this early in previous cycles. Just wondering because personally I'd fall apart.

Also are you following a club programme or your own?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just a nosy bastard

smmoore79

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

That's some session to have done this early in your cycle.

8 miles at PMP on grass in tough conditions 15 weeks to go, seems pretty intense to me and how is the body feeling today?


TbL

Its definitely intense, no doubt. But my body feels ok today. Id struggle with a tough session but easy miles later should be no bother. I should be well recovered come Saturday!

smmoore79

TRR_the_turd wrote: »

Just catching up on your log. Some impressive running of late. Any intermediate races lined up.

Like TBL your sessions look intense this early in the programme to me. How will they progress? have you been able to manage running this hard, this early in previous cycles. Just wondering because personally I'd fall apart.

Also are you following a club programme or your own?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just a nosy bastard

I have no idea how the training will progress as the coach updates the plan on a weekly basis so every Monday I open my Excel file and wince at what will lay in store!!

This week Im running about 67 miles or 90% of peak mileage. 75 miles will be 100% or maybe 80 if I throw in some extra miles

There seems to be more structure this time round than Dublin 2013. Back then I peaked at 60 I think and didnt do as many long intense runs. I remember completely bonking on a 23 miler which was the highest mileage week and that was October 4th or 8th. I reckon I didnt do enough 20 milers last time or hard mid week sessions. So far Im handling the sessions(last week was a rest week of 53 miles compared to 62 the week before). This Saturday will be my first 20 mile session so am a bit apprehensive. Gels will definitely be taken!

Myles Splitz

Serious training going on here. Kudos.

I see mentions of the progression. This looks like an approach which has been getting popular in marathoning over the past few years starting off at target pace and building the volume at that pace rather than the more traditional keeping volume high and increasing the pace.

I would imagine as the training goes on the short marathon pace run will get longer (probably working up to 12-16 miles straight at Marathon Pace) while the other longer marathon paced session will become less segmented. (probably building to 4 times 4 miles off very short recovery)

It's definitely tough but easy runs will get easier and the hard runs harder. This is just speculation though as I don't know the OP or indeed the coach.

smmoore79

Myles Splitz wrote: »

Serious training going on here. Kudos.

I see mentions of the progression. This looks like an approach which has been getting popular in marathoning over the past few years starting off at target pace and building the volume at that pace rather than the more traditional keeping volume high and increasing the pace.

I would imagine as the training goes on the short marathon pace run will get longer (probably working up to 12-16 miles straight at Marathon Pace) while the other longer marathon paced session will become less segmented. (probably building to 4 times 4 miles off very short recovery)

It's definitely tough but easy runs will get easier and the hard runs harder. This is just speculation though as I don't know the OP or indeed the coach.

Id say more than likely you could be correct. But Id say every 3 or 4 weeks a speed session will be thrown in to replace the shorter of the 2 hard sessions.

smmoore79

Wed 17/ 5/15 - 5 miles

After a lousy day at work I was happy to leave the office behind and head out along the canal. Did a bridge loop from the barge to baggot bridge and then on to the nature reserve and home. Again the wind was strong which has been the story of May so far. .

PaulieYifter

smmoore79 wrote: »

Wed 17/ 5/15 - 5 miles

After a lousy day at work I was happy to leave the office behind and head out along the canal. Did a bridge loop from the barge to baggot bridge and then on to the nature reserve and home. Again the wind was strong which has been the story of May so far. .

I actually can't remember the last time I ran on a calm day.
You seem to be going well with the training despite the conditions - I'm sure Oslo gets its share of wind and rain too so no harm

smmoore79

PaulieYifter wrote: »

I actually can't remember the last time I ran on a calm day.
You seem to be going well with the training despite the conditions - I'm sure Oslo gets its share of wind and rain too so no harm

Its driving me mad at this stage!! Better check Oslo weather conditions as a lot of that course is along the port :eek:

smmoore79

Thur 25/5/15 - 10 and a bit miles


More miles under the belt. And more wind blustering all over the place! Headed straight from the office again out to the Southwall and back through SM park for a few loops. The lads were getting into their session when I got there, Id say half their splits were class, the other half not so class with that wind!! I continued on home feeling ok, no tiredness from Tuesdays long tempo

smmoore79

Fri 29/5/15 - 5 and a bit miles

The usual run to work via the nature reserve and the canal. Mentally was a bit tired but the body felt ok. Plus my bad was smaller and lighter than last week which made a big difference!

Somehow the coaches plan has corrupted/deleted from google docs so on his orders Im down for the session I did 2 weeks ago(18 miles). Depending how I feel tomorrow I may tack on 2 extra miles but more than likely I'll be happy enough with 18

smmoore79

Sat 30/5/15 - long session (mostly grass and some road/path)

the plan - 2m at 6 50; 3m at 5 30; 8m at 6 50; 3m at 5 30; 2m at 6 50 = 18 miles

Actual - The coach initially has me and JF down for 20 miles but decided to bring it back to 18. This sounded good to me This was to be the same session as 2 weeks ago so in theory I should be ok today. Got up at 9, wolfed down my porridge and headed out the door at 10. JF unfortunately couldnt make it so I had to push myself alone today. Nerves began to kick in.

Headed to SM park and got my first 2 miles in before starting the first tempo 3 miles. My tempo was gonna be 2/3's on the GAA pitches and 1/3 on the adjacent path. I have to say its hard going straight from easy pace to tempo straight off the bat, personally I would have rathered maybe a 5 45 pace mile before hitting even faster stuff; but how and ever I wasnt going to deviate from the plan. The first tempo felt the hardest of the whole session as I adjusted to the pace and the breakfast still needed to settle down. First tempo mile was hit at 5 36 with the next 2 a little faster. So mission 1 complete. Pace was close enough to 5 30 and considering 2/3's was on grass the pace would have been quicker if all on road. Next it was time for 8 miles at 6 50 pace.

This route was a mixture of trail and pitches with some of that path thrown in on each loop. I was actually starting to get into the session now and wasnt tiring just yet. So with 9 miles gone in total I took a gel. I continued to loop around the park. At this stage, RD had shown up to do an 8 x 200m session so I could talk briefly on each loop which mentally helped me. With 13 miles now under the belt I headed back to the pitches/path for my next 3 miles of tempo. I started conservatively not trying to push the pace. But I must say I felt good. There was a little wind out there but not enough to grind me down thankfully. So mile 1 done and garmin read 5 39; a tad slow but still in the correct ballpark. So I up the pace slightly.

2 weeks ago I was in a heap at this stage, just counting down the miles. Perhaps the wind had played a part then. Today I was still feeling like I had some in the tank. So the next 2 miles were a little quicker with no heroics. At last I hit 16 miles. All that was left was 2 miles. But I kept going and ended up running 19.2 miles :rolleyes: So all in all a good session, maybe the body is acclimatising! Slits were

7 05; 6 26;
5 36; 5 32; 5 26
6 03; 6 07; 6 15; 6 27; 6 27; 6 26; 6 26; 6 28
5 39; 5 32; 5 34
6 35; 6 25; 1.2m at 6 30

smmoore79

Sun 31/5/15 - 15 miles run

Met up with CD and RML for a handy few miles and headed out to Blackrock. The sun was splitting the sky on the way out and there was no sign of wind. I even decided to whip the running jacket off for a while! Passed the DART station going by those lovely homes overlooking the bay and then decided to turn back. As soon as we did the wind just smashed us which coincided with it getting very dull. It was like 2 different runs on 2 separate days. So we needed to battle all the way back to Irishtown.

RML finished his session and we parted company. With 50 minutes left to kill me and CD took in the trail leading out to Southwall and back. Again the sun was beaming down on the way out and the wind battered us on the way back. I definitely did tire over the last 4 miles. It felt more difficult than yesterdays session!! I guess yesterday was still in the legs. I got the run outta the way anyways and thats an extra 15 miles ticked off.

So Im resting at home now happy enough with the week of training. 2 hard marathon sessions and a decent long run today - that totals 67 miles approximately this week for me. Which is also the most miles Ive ever run in a week

smmoore79

Mon 1/6/15 - Rest
Tue 2/6/15 - 3m wu; 8m tempo; 3m wd(2/3s GAA pitch, 1/3 path)


Glad I did this session tonight as I really had to give myself a kick in the @rse to get out the door; the reason being a heavy hangover yesterday which rolled into tiredness today! Conditions in the park were not ideal as a strong wind blew down 1 side. "bugger" I thought to myself as my warm up was nearing its conclusion.


It took me a couple of miles to get into the session and after 3 miles I was thinking the worst. Once I got 4 miles done I started to feel ok and continued on; the wind on my back down one way, a horrible wind in the face the other way and a side wind on both widths of the pitches. As the miles went by I did get tired with the consistent wind battering me. But compared to a similar session 2 weeks ago I was feeling better.


So another decent session under the belt and happy with the splits considering the conditions(again!!) Splits were


7 06; 6 28; 6 30
5 37; 5 38; 5 38; 5 34; 5 30; 5 31; 5 31; 5 34
6 55; 6 45; 6 46

smmoore79

Wed 3/6/15 - 45 mins easy


Thankfully the coach put me down for an easy week this week. I'll deffo take it anyway!! So tipped out to the nature reserve not pushing myself in any way

KielyUnusual

smmoore79 wrote: »

Mon 1/6/15 - Rest
Tue 2/6/15 - 3m wu; 8m tempo; 3m wd(2/3s GAA pitch, 1/3 path)


Glad I did this session tonight as I really had to give myself a kick in the @rse to get out the door; the reason being a heavy hangover yesterday which rolled into tiredness today! Conditions in the park were not ideal as a strong wind blew down 1 side. "bugger" I thought to myself as my warm up was nearing its conclusion.


It took me a couple of miles to get into the session and after 3 miles I was thinking the worst. Once I got 4 miles done I started to feel ok and continued on; the wind on my back down one way, a horrible wind in the face the other way and a side wind on both widths of the pitches. As the miles went by I did get tired with the consistent wind battering me. But compared to a similar session 2 weeks ago I was feeling better.


So another decent session under the belt and happy with the splits considering the conditions(again!!) Splits were


7 06; 6 28; 6 30
5 37; 5 38; 5 38; 5 34; 5 30; 5 31; 5 31; 5 34
6 55; 6 45; 6 46

That's an incredible session in those conditions. I'd struggle to hit that on the road in a race on a good day. You'll be flying come Oslo time.

demfad

smmoore79 wrote: »

Sat 30/5/15 - long session (mostly grass and some road/path)

the plan - 2m at 6 50; 3m at 5 30; 8m at 6 50; 3m at 5 30; 2m at 6 50 = 18 miles

Actual - The coach initially has me and JF down for 20 miles but decided to bring it back to 18. This sounded good to me This was to be the same session as 2 weeks ago so in theory I should be ok today. Got up at 9, wolfed down my porridge and headed out the door at 10. JF unfortunately couldnt make it so I had to push myself alone today. Nerves began to kick in.

Headed to SM park and got my first 2 miles in before starting the first tempo 3 miles. My tempo was gonna be 2/3's on the GAA pitches and 1/3 on the adjacent path. I have to say its hard going straight from easy pace to tempo straight off the bat, personally I would have rathered maybe a 5 45 pace mile before hitting even faster stuff; but how and ever I wasnt going to deviate from the plan. The first tempo felt the hardest of the whole session as I adjusted to the pace and the breakfast still needed to settle down. First tempo mile was hit at 5 36 with the next 2 a little faster. So mission 1 complete. Pace was close enough to 5 30 and considering 2/3's was on grass the pace would have been quicker if all on road. Next it was time for 8 miles at 6 50 pace.

This route was a mixture of trail and pitches with some of that path thrown in on each loop. I was actually starting to get into the session now and wasnt tiring just yet. So with 9 miles gone in total I took a gel. I continued to loop around the park. At this stage, RD had shown up to do an 8 x 200m session so I could talk briefly on each loop which mentally helped me. With 13 miles now under the belt I headed back to the pitches/path for my next 3 miles of tempo. I started conservatively not trying to push the pace. But I must say I felt good. There was a little wind out there but not enough to grind me down thankfully. So mile 1 done and garmin read 5 39; a tad slow but still in the correct ballpark. So I up the pace slightly.

2 weeks ago I was in a heap at this stage, just counting down the miles. Perhaps the wind had played a part then. Today I was still feeling like I had some in the tank. So the next 2 miles were a little quicker with no heroics. At last I hit 16 miles. All that was left was 2 miles. But I kept going and ended up running 19.2 miles :rolleyes: So all in all a good session, maybe the body is acclimatising! Slits were

7 05; 6 26;
5 36; 5 32; 5 26
6 03; 6 07; 6 15; 6 27; 6 27; 6 26; 6 26; 6 28
5 39; 5 32; 5 34
6 35; 6 25; 1.2m at 6 30

That's a great session you're in great shape.

I've one bit of advice for you to take or leave and it relates a little to what TRR previously said. These are tough sessions but each has a purpose.

The 8 easy miles after the first 3 mile tempo were due to be run at 6:50, but I think you've averaged 6:19. That makes the session a little harder and it may also deplete you more than intended.

If thats a session for a sub 2:30 marathon then I'd be inclined to do the session exactly as prescribed. In fact, if some of it was on slower than road Id probably average a few seconds per mile slower. We all have a tendency to try and beat the session but with the marathon you have to be careful to avoid
a) wearing yourself down and
b) burning too much glycogen in those sessions and youll train yourself into great 20 mile shape but you'll run out of fuel too early in the marathon.

If the sessions feel to easy when run as prescribed, then Id pad the week out with more mileage, which will help too.

Not a criticism at all, youre running super sessions, but if you think its worth it might be one to double check with your coach.

smmoore79

demfad wrote: »

That's a great session you're in great shape.

I've one bit of advice for you to take or leave and it relates a little to what TRR previously said. These are tough sessions but each has a purpose.

The 8 easy miles after the first 3 mile tempo were due to be run at 6:50, but I think you've averaged 6:19. That makes the session a little harder and it may also deplete you more than intended.

If thats a session for a sub 2:30 marathon then I'd be inclined to do the session exactly as prescribed. In fact, if some of it was on slower than road Id probably average a few seconds per mile slower. We all have a tendency to try and beat the session but with the marathon you have to be careful to avoid
a) wearing yourself down and
b) burning too much glycogen in those sessions and youll train yourself into great 20 mile shape but you'll run out of fuel too early in the marathon.

If the sessions feel to easy when run as prescribed, then Id pad the week out with more mileage, which will help too.

Not a criticism at all, youre running super sessions, but if you think its worth it might be one to double check with your coach.

I think with the 8 middle miles, it can be hard to slow down with the momentum of the previous 3 miles in the 5 30's. That said, its something I'll watch out for. I deffo wouldnt want to burn the glycogen down!!

demfad

smmoore79 wrote: »

I think with the 8 middle miles, it can be hard to slow down with the momentum of the previous 3 miles in the 5 30's. That said, its something I'll watch out for. I deffo wouldnt want to burn the glycogen down!!

That what I thought. Its a big drop I guess, 80s per mile, would feel like slow jogging! Youre well on course anyway. Enjoy the easy week.

smmoore79

Thursday 4/6/15 - 60 mins easy and 5 100m strides

Calves were a bit sore from me using the foam roller yesterday so I ran easy with no garmin. Not sure of the pace but maybe 7ish. Stomach almost went towards the end but luckily I made it home :-)

smmoore79

Friday 5/6/15 - 45 mins easy

Nice enough morning for a run, cool wind a slight bit of rain. It felt a bit eary running past the power station as there was no one around and the thought that the whole building is empty these days! After that I turned and headed towards work along the canal.

smmoore79

Sat 6/6/15 - 10 miles run
Sun 7/6/15 - 5 miles run

Saturdays one wasnt too great, stomach was a bit dodge and had to make pitstops! Today was nicer and stomach back to normal. Did this one in the Phoenix park in my new Asics DS racer 10's. These are a lot lighter than the older version which I also have so enjoyed the feel of em, though not as much arch support. So thats the end of an easy week and it'll be more mileage and tough sessions next week!

smmoore79

Mon 8/6/15 - Rest
Tue 9/6/5 - 2m at 6 50; 2m at 5 45; 8m at 5 30; 2m at 6 50
2/3s of faster stuff on pitches, 1/3 on path


Was on a half day with the other half and splurged a bit on food and icecream and other non essential running foods The weather was lovely and by the time I got home I had zero interest in running. I knew I had a tough session to do but tried to convince myself to run easy and maybe do the session Wednesday. But luckily I remembered that im down for a tough faster session on Saturday and doing tonights training on a Wednesday might still be in the legs come Saturday. So I headed out to SM park worrying that todays excess might be an issue.


I needn't have worried. On my first mile of the 5 45 stuff I was in the low 5 30's!! Wow, that felt handy so I slowed the pace again and hit the right pace for the second of the 5 45's. Next was the 8 miles at 5 30. Conditions wise, it was nice and warm, a little wind down 1 side but compared to last month it was ideal. My first 2 miles were in the 5 20's. Holy cow, Im feeling ok and hitting tasty splits! I continued hitting sub 5 30 splits mile after mile. Towards the end I tired a little but felt more energy compared to similar sessions over the last few weeks.


With 2 laps to go 1 of the Cru looking at me suggested running relaxed. I thought about this for a moment and came to the conclusion that I was relaxed and not forcing the pace; the splits were coming naturally. So I finished the session on pace, actually ahead of pace. Also my garmin said I knocked out a 10k of 33 41 within the session So overall very happy with tonight and I wasn't knackered, just thirsty after it. Splits were;


7 05; 6 40
5 33; 5 46
5 26; 5 26; 5 25; 5 26; 5 28; 5 22; 5 26; 5 27
6 59; 6 54 and 0.1 miles at 7 01 pace

smmoore79

Wed 10/6/15 - 5 miles easy

Ended up doing 6 miles instead, such was the weather out there. Right calf felt a bit tight as a result of yesterday but hopefully it should loosen. A nice easy run all the same..

smmoore79

Thur 11/6/15 - 5 miles
Fri 12/6/15 - 5 miles
Sat 13/6/15 - 2m wu; 8 x 1k(2 min jog rec); 3m wd

Got a decent session done today. Decided to get an extra hours sleep and head to SM park by myself instead of the Phoenix park where the rest of da Cru would be. I was aiming to hit the 2 GAA pitches for a relatively flat course but when I got there there were 2 kids hurling matches on with parents randomly standing everywhere. I even g-mapped a km out to be exact here! There was nothing I could do but go across to the trail and guestimate a k.

A few months ago I did a similar session so knew roughly how much a k entailed. So I started off on my first rep. On the sharp U turn at the end of the trail I was hit with a decent headwind. I gritted the teeth and bulled down the trail. Getting the first km done I saw 3 09. And I must admit it was a body shock, I would have taken 8 of those at that pace at such an early stage!!!!! On to the next rep.

The pace felt uncomfortable, all the marathon training had conditioned the body for 5 30 pace and this was beyond my comfort zone. But the pace was quicker for the 2nd which was a relief. I kept the head down and managed to get 4 reps done which mentally was a huge boost. So I hit the 5th rep confident that a decent session was on the cards, even if I stopped after the 5th.

I was beginning to tire with the heat and headwind down 1 side but I only had 3 reps to go. On the 6th rep I came tearing past a girl jogging with earphones on; i glazed her hand but it frightened the bejayzuz outta her I couldnt stop to apologize so kept going. At last I made it to the final rep where my legs were just damn tired. The lungs were working, the glutes, the legs, the arms were pushing. On the final U turn into the windy trail I was tempted to stop but I kept going, and after a final U turn I ran the last 200m with the wind on my back to keep the splits even.

Glad to get a speed session done, I guess every 4 weeks on a marathon program I need some speed for no other erason than to break up the monotony of marathon pace! I gmapd my route when I got home, 0.975km so about 2 seconds Id say per rep short; not the end of the world. Plus with the km's done on trail with sharp U turns, some roots to navigate and wind/sun Im happy out. Maybe on the pitches I would have been a bit quicker(or even quicker on a track!) Splits were..

3 09, 3 04, 3 03, 3 03, 3 03, 3 03, 3 04 ,3 05

yaboya1

That's a great looking session.

How quickly could you run the beer mile if you showed up tonight?

smmoore79

yaboya1 wrote: »

That's a great looking session.

How quickly could you run the beer mile if you showed up tonight?

Im a lightweight on the drinking aspect of the beer mile. On my stag in Hamburg I was given a stein to down, but didnt even get a quarter into it before giving up

smmoore79

Sun 14/6/15 - 15 miles run

Perfect conditions for running today. Met up with team mate SC in the usual SM park and headed out to Blackrock park. From there we headed up Fosters Avenue and ended up in Deer park so a nice mile of incline. From there we took in a loop of UCD where we saw Joe Sweeney out training. Last park on the way home was Herbert park to finish off a nice 15 miler.

So another decent week of training at 75% distance of what is to be my peak week of marathon training mileage. Couch suggested a race soon so Ive entered the race series 5 miler. Not the fastest course in the world but should be a good training race for Oslo in September.

smmoore79

Mon 15/6/15 - Rest
Tue - 2m wu; 6 x 1k(2 min jog rec); 4 x 400m(3 min jog rec); 3m wd

A nice little speed session in the legs tonight. Thought that the weekends exerts would be in the legs and after about 2 k reps I thought I was tiring. But that thought passed as my splits continued to be even. The meet and train group were also on the trail and at 1 stage I ran into the back of 1 of the girls, oops!! On another rep I had to squeeze between 2 of the girls coming towards me. So after 5 reps on the trail which Id averaged 3 05 I went up to the pitches for the last k rep. I knocked this out in 3 03 :pac: Now it was time for 400's.

Funnily on the last k rep which I was hitting a fast pace, my mind was looking towards and dreading the 400's. So now there was no hidng and I got straight into them. The first 1 felt ok along with the 2nd. The 3rd felt tough as I tired. The saving grace on these was the 3 minute jog recovery which helped keep the splits level and on target. The last rep I actually felt ok again as I knew that I was almost finished. So I gave the last 100m a nice effort and finished strong averaging 70 second splits.

Overall a solid session. My targets set by the coach were 3 10 k's and 75 second 400's, all of which I was a chunk faster. And all on either trail or the pitches. Plus my k reps were done on km routes, last Saturday was just shy of the k mark so technically they were faster tonight!!!


3 07, 3 07, 3 05, 3 05, 3 06, 3 03 (5 on trail, last on pitches)
70, 71, 69, 71 (all pitches)

smmoore79

Wed 17/6/15 - 6 miles run

Legs felt a bit tired from yesterday's hard session. So ran comfortably at around 6 50 - 7 pace out to the nature reserve. Have 10 miles tomorrow and then 20 tough miles on Friday morning. Hopefully the legs will be rested by then..