Sub 2.30 marathon? Suits you sir!

smmoore79

yaboya1 wrote: »

Wouldn't worry about it either way if I was you. Getting to the start line fit & healthy is surely the main goal now?
Your training has been fantastic to follow and missing a session at this stage in favour of a (necessary?) rest day will probably do you as much good.

Can't wait to see how you go in Oslo. I'm sure I'm not the only one either

Not too worried about a missed session here and there; Its more of a worry when work hours/stress tire me mentally and could effect performance. Luckily I think Im over the mini hump(fingers crossed!) and bust out a solid session tonight!

smmoore79

Thur 3/9/15 - 2m wu; 3x1M(1 min jog rec); 3x1K(2 min jog rec); 4x400m(3 min jog rec); 2m wd
On the GAA pitches with a decent wind down 1 side


Tonight was a solid session. After a poxy day at the office which ended with me eventually sorting shtuff out I left relieved that got the reports out. After a 2 mile warm up I decided to take my frustration out on the SM park pitches!! Didn't really care about splits so stuck solely to the grass for this. With the wind on my back down 1 side I made the most of it and then on the turn tried to run controlled into the wind. After 2 mile reps I was happy to see the splits below 5 30. The 3rd one was consistent.


The K reps were hard as it took me a bit to adjust to the increase in pace. I hit a 3 02 and then a 3 04. I worried that the last k might slip(I know I said earlier that I didn't care about splits, but once on the go its all I thought about!). Luckily I held firm and knocked out a 3 04. Now it was time for the 400's.


For each of these I started off hard for the first 150m, then hold firm on the second 150m. So a straight hard 300m. The final 100m is a turn onto the width of the pitches and here Id hang on for dear life driving the arms and pushing the body to get the split low. I was over the moon that all were sub 70! In fairness the wind was on my back for 300m and in my face for 100m..Still, they were on grass so cant complain! So a decent session tonight and 10 miles total.


5 23,5 26, 5 24
3 02; 3 04; 3 04
69, 69, 69

TRR_the_turd

nice session, I like the look of that one actually. Might try something similar in a few weeks

smmoore79

TRR_the_turd wrote: »

nice session, I like the look of that one actually. Might try something similar in a few weeks

Yeah, its got a bit of everything from speed endurance to just speed! I found the k reps the hardest myself..

smmoore79

Fri 4/9/15 - 7 miles run

The endorphins from last nights session ensured it took me ages to sleep but with the added kick of a 6 am wake up :mad: So I made the most of it getting up early and getting a 7 mile run in. Nothing major to note, nice and easy out to the power station and then back towards the city via the canal..

smmoore79

Sat 5/9/15 - 22.28 miles (mostly grass and trail with a few miles path)

Had a couple of scoops last night which helped in waking me early but with a hazy feeling So had some breakfast, took a gel and headed out the door. Ran along the Grand Canal and turned towards islandbridge gate entering th Phoenix park. Took a quick stop, hiding my bag behind my usual tree and headed on.

From here I headed up the trail that runs alongside the Kyber road and swung a left at the top onto the Acres. A big group from Donore were there along with the Cru. Gave a quick hello to everyone, looped the Acres twice and ran out past the Popes cross. Around 7 miles had past and I was feeling ok so I sunk my 2nd gel and continued on along the trail that rounds the US ambassadors residence. This eventually lead to Chesterfield avenue.

The next 2 miles were nice and sunny with a slight downhill as I clipped along the trail parallel to the main road. Eventually just after the zoo I swung left to Garda HQ and for the next few miles hit the trail that follows the wall as far as Castleknock gate. This continues on after the gate and around here is my favourite spot to run in the park. 15 miles clicked. So far all my splits were sub 7. On now to the Furry Glen.

The legs were a bit achy now but the pace was holding steady. A nice downhill to chill a bit before the hard work of running up the Glen. Once out, I crossed the road and continued on more trail around the hospital and back to the Acres. By the time I got back to the tree, 17 miles had past so it was time to head home back along the canal to complete 22.28 miles in 2 hours 30

A decent session and I wasnt totally f"cked after it. But the brain keeps thinking how can I run 4 more miles at a minute quicker in 2 weeks?!?!? I guess on the day 5 45 pace will feel ok on flat road. Only drawback today was that i forgot to put the vaseline on the nether regions and now have some nice groin rash on both inside legs :eek: School boy error! Splits were..

6 54
6 55
6 52
6 53
6 58
7 00
6 47
6 52
6 50
6 57
6 43
6 48
6 44
6 45
6 33
6 43
6 43
6 36
6 41
6 36
6 34
6 25
0.28 miles in 1. 49

smmoore79

Sun 6/9/15 - 65 mins easy (around 8 or 9 miles)


Met up with MOC for this at 10.30. Legs were a bit tired from yesterday but otherwise I felt ok. We tipped out to the start of Southwall before turning back and running the length of Sandymount promenade. He hadn't run this way in a while so it made a nice change for him. For me, it was the opposite, been there, done that and bought the t shirt! Can rest now and have a day off tomorrow which should have the body a bit fresher..

smmoore79

Right its the final 2 weeks so not long atall to go!! At this stage I guess the hard work is now done but theres still a couple of sessions to get through..

This week - 2m wu; 5 x 1k; 2m wd AND 2m wu; 3 x 2.5k(T pace); 10m wd
Next week - 90 mins easy AND 5 x 1k(T pace)


I dont want to leave myself not 100% for the big day. So from anyones experience should I stick with above or tail it back? In between theres the usual easy days with the runs for the 2 days before only 30-45 mins..

youngrun

smmoore79 wrote: »

Right its the final 2 weeks so not long atall to go!! At this stage I guess the hard work is now done but theres still a couple of sessions to get through..

This week - 2m wu; 5 x 1k; 2m wd AND 2m wu; 3 x 2.5k(T pace); 10m wd
Next week - 90 mins easy AND 5 x 1k(T pace)


I dont want to leave myself not 100% for the big day. So from anyones experience should I stick with above or tail it back? In between theres the usual easy days with the runs for the 2 days before only 30-45 mins..

Looks ok , any marathon pace running planned this week, just to get the feel of it ?

Last day or two 20-30 mins plenty . Wouldnt do the 5*1k too late in the week obviously , Tues /Wed latest

smmoore79

youngrun wrote: »

Looks ok , any marathon pace running planned this week, just to get the feel of it ?

Last day or two 20-30 mins plenty . Wouldnt do the 5*1k too late in the week obviously , Tues /Wed latest

No marathon paced runs this week or next though I would be tempted to do an MP session. Might actually look at the Jack Daniels final 2 weeks on the elite plan just to see if the sessions are similar to the ones Im down for.

Krusty_Clown

smmoore79 wrote: »

No marathon paced runs this week or next though I would be tempted to do an MP session. Might actually look at the Jack Daniels final 2 weeks on the elite plan just to see if the sessions are similar to the ones Im down for.

The Elite plan has:

Race - 2 weeks:
3 x 2 M@T + 10 Miles
3 x 2 M@T

Race - week:
7 days out - 90 mins easy
5 days out - 4 x 1200 @T w/2 mins easy
So pretty comparable to what you're doing (if I'm reading your post right).

smmoore79

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

The Elite plan has:

Race - 2 weeks:
3 x 2 M@T + 10 Miles
3 x 2 M@T

Race - week:
7 days out - 90 mins easy
5 days out - 4 x 1200 @T w/2 mins easy
So pretty comparable to what you're doing (if I'm reading your post right).

Jayzus, its tough training all the way to the marathon

smmoore79

Mon 7/9/15 - rest
Tue 8/9/15 - 5 miles run


Felt a bit under par so did 5 miles tonight instead of a session. That'll wait until tomorrow. Anyways, my route went from town, along the Grand canal to Beggars Bush and to SM park. Got a quick run on the bay and headed home. Nice weather anyway.

smmoore79

Wed 9/9/15 - 2m wu; 5x1k(2 min jog rec); 2m wd


I almost convinced myself not to do this session tonight. Usually I run straight from the office but laziness and fantom sickness made me walk home first. Luckily my other half had other ideas; she bought me a new pair of Asics DS racers:D So that was that, the least I could do was break em in. I already have a pair of these and put in a lot of the hard yards of training in em. Immediately on the warm up I noticed the extra bounce in the new fresh pair.

So I got to the park and the GAA pitches were hosting a competition of some sort which forced me to do the session on the trail. THis is usually worth 3-4 seconds compared to the flat pitches. I took the first 1 handy running within myself and getting the lungs used to the faster pace - 3 13. Not lightning fast but decent on the trail. 4 more to go so I opened up a little more on the second - 3 06, wow much better! I gave the 3rd rep a good bash and hit a 3 04 which I couldnt believe as that would have been a decent split on the pitches!

At this stage I was tiring bad and prayed that my 4th rep would be decent. I half expected a slip of maybe 4 seconds but when I saw 3 02 I couldnt believe it. It felt like I was going slower as the legs ached. The last k rep was just a grueller. I pushed the jelly legs on trying to regulate the breathing. I crossed in 3 03 - another solid rep.

Overall a really good session and solid splits on nature trail. Again on the way home I noticed the extra bounce in the new shoes which convinced me to wear them for the big day.

3 13; 3 06; 3 04; 3 02; 3 03

smmoore79

Thursday 10/9/15 - 7 miles

Felt a bit low on energy 3 miles in but like a light switch I felt great for the remainder! Although I didn't get much sleep and only had time for a small lunch which would explain the dip on mile 3. Made up for the lunch when I got home with a roast chicken and croquet dinner :-)

smmoore79

Fri 11/9 - 6 miles run

Woke up early..Again and headed out the door after breakfast. Same route as usual to the nature reserve and on to work along the canal. Nothing much to note on this one!

smmoore79

Sat 12/9/15 - 3m wu; 3 x 1.6m T(2 min jog rec); 6m wd = 14m total


Yesterday was a tough enough session. Strangely enough I found it quite warm and the wind was an absolute [EMAIL="f@cker"]f@cker[/EMAIL]! So much so that it messed my perceived effort up. I battled 0.6m of the reps into the wind; 0.4m with a side wind and a little relief of 0.6m with the wind on the back. I stuck to path for the tempo reps to get a good reflection of the pace as the grass would be harder work. My first rep was fast enough, but the second rep I hit the first mile of it in 5 16 Way faster than 5 30 target. The last rep was a bit slower but still faster than T pace. A good session but I may have hit it a little too hard. Lucky there weren't too many T reps so Im recovered enough now.


Need to get a proper feel of M pace at this stage. Im down for 5 x 1k at T pace early next week but I might try 1 or 2 of em at M pace on path. The last few weeks have had a lot of faster end stuff I guess to make M pace feel easier. Less than a week to go and the nerves are kicking in, going paranoid that I didn't peak at a higher mileage Splits today


1.6 miles in 8 39 (1 mile point in 5 26)
1.6 miles in 8 31 (1 mil point in 5 16)
1.6 miles in 8 45 (1 mile point in 5 22)

smmoore79

Sun 13/9/15 - 8 miles run

More miles today out to SM park and the nature reserve. Had to wait until the rain eased before I could leave so out at 4.20. Today's lunch weighed me down a bit but was ok after 3 miles. So that ends the 2nd last week of the marathon plan. It didn't feel like a taper for the last few weeks as there were sessions to be done all the way. But I guess the mileage has come down so hopefully I'm rested enough for next Saturday. Have 1 session Tuesday but wouldn't mind dropping it for max rest. Though I'm sure that session is there for a reason.....

smmoore79

Mon 14/9/15 - Rest
Tue 15/9/15 - 1m wu; 4 x 1M; 1m wd


When I got home this evening I put the feet up ready for a second rest night. I was due to do 5 x 1k at T pace but a long day at work and the thought of doing a session the same week as the marathon had me vegging like Al Bundy with the hand down the pants At 7.30 I started to google stuff about marathon tips and 1 site said that a session a few days before is good to eliminate staleness come the morning of the big day. So basically this guilted me into getting out at 8 this evening.


The dinner was in the stomach about 40 minutes when I started but it didn't effect me too much. In didn't feel like Tempo so decided on 4 MP miles. I started my session at what I felt was MP. I looped the path of SM park and took in the long path stretch out to the nature reserve. The garmin read 6 21. Jayz, that was way off After a minute jog I ran back the way I came 6 04. Better but still way off MP.


For my last 2 reps I stuck to the SM park paths as it was getting dark now. This paid off as I hit a 5 45 - great. Another rep in SM park had me hit a 5 41. A bit worried after tonights session but I guess it was late/getting dark and I have a feeling that the path to the nature reserve may have slowed my splits for some unknown reason!

Myles Splitz

Wouldn't worry too much about it. The fact your dinner was so close to the session the body would have been using energy to digest as well as do the session itself which most likely is why the effort levels were higher than usual for that pace.

It served purpose to keep ticking over. Your in good nick and that is not gonna magically disappear over the space of a week.

PaulieYifter

Marathon week I usually do 2 or 3 miles at marathon pace 4 or 5 days out - always feels way too difficult - so don't worry; it's normal.

All the best for the weekend - the hard work is done so go claim the reward.

TRR_the_turd

PaulieYifter wrote: »

Marathon week I usually do 2 or 3 miles at marathon pace 4 or 5 days out - always feels way too difficult - so don't worry; it's normal.

+1 I usually do 3 miles at MP 2-3 days out and nearly always feel fcuked. In fact if I don't feel fcuked I start to worry.

Krusty_Clown

Very best of luck on Saturday. Took a look at the weather forecast for Oslo and it looks like some heavy rain tomorrow, but clearing just in time for the race on Saturday, so hopefully one less thing to worry about. Remember, the marathon's all about staying comfortable for as long as you can at your target pace and then suffering through the discomfort of whatever lies between you and the finish line, without slowing down. Either that or race the cr@p out if it! Either way, very best of luck, and hopefully your time is the one you deserve.

smmoore79

Cheers all, decided on rest yesterday so might do a light run later on. A bit tired from the taxis, planes, trains and walking today. Hopefully a good nights kip will have me sorted! Expo maybe this evening but might just leave it til tomorrow...

ThebitterLemon

Best of luck.

Enjoyed this log.

When it starts getting tough just think that you're back in your local park with the strong wind down one side

You've done some savage sessions, tear it up.

TbL

dintbo

Best of luck. There's been some great running going on here, hope you get the result you deserve.

Notwork Error

All the best man! Your training has been savage over the last few months, Really looking forward to hearing how it goes for you. Give it socks!:)

smmoore79

Thursday 17/9/15 - 40 mins including 6 strides

It was starting to get dark as I left the hotel and headed to the grounds of the royal palace. Not to many punters around due to the rain so I could run in peace. Kept the pace handy though the grounds are hilly. Pretty boring after a while as the park was about 1k squared so looped a fair few times!! Towards the end I saw the changing of the guards in the dark with barely a sinner around, a little surreal but cool none the less!!

So right now I'm chilling in the room after breakfast. Had the traditional norwegian breakfast of flahavans microwaveable porridge oats :-) washed down with a Lyons tea!! Gonna head to the expo soon and maybe do 30 mins at snails pace later. Raining again today so hope it clears for tomorrow. Thanks for all the wishes, hopefully I'm feeling good on the day; either way I'm happy with the training cycle which will stand to me on the shorter stuff

jebuz

Best of luck Stephen, echoing a lot of the above but I really enjoyed following your training, some serious work done and I've picked up a few bits and pieces myself from reading. You've all the hard work done now, some terrific sessions bagged so I really hope you get what you deserve on the day.

paddybarry

One of my favourite logs on here. Your training has been stellar (as usual). Very best of luck.

Ososlo

a secret lurker to your log here. Really enjoy following it and love your attitude. You deserve a great one. Best of!

ultrapercy

The very best of luck. Your training has been savage over the last while and you will give 2.30 a good rattle.

smmoore79

Fri 18/9/15 - 30 mins including 6 strides

Went to the palace grounds again and took it slow. Humid enough here so might carry a small water bottle for first few miles. So that's the marathon plan almost over, just 1 run left - 26.2m at MP :-)

AuldManKing

Best of luck, give it socks. When it gets tough, think about the constant laps of SM park

TRR_the_turd

AuldManKing wrote: »

Best of luck, give it socks. When it gets tough, think about the constant laps of SM park

you tell him good luck and tell me not to fcuk it up. Just as well I'm not a sensitive soul

Best of luck tomorrow. Hope it's a good one and you run the time your training deserves.

yaboya1

+1 again to most of the above.
The very best of luck.
Hope it all goes to plan for you. Look forward to hearing about it afterwards.

Myles Splitz

Best of luck S. Your training has been great and have to say the sessions really show how hard you can push the body in training.

The work is done, now , with a bit of luck it's time to reap some serious rewards

Tom Joad

Very best of luck. Hope you have a great race.

cgooner

Best of luck.....grt training and blog, hope u get the time u want!

dintbo

Half-way in 1:14:44, seems to be working in a group of three. Great going so far.

Krusty_Clown

Incredibly even splits. He's looking great for a super time.
Here's the [F5] link!

dintbo

His chip mustn't have registered at the 26.1 km mark, I was starting to wonder. Super stuff.

Itziger

Hope he can pick it up for the last few km again now. Fingers crossed for ya.

yaboya1

5th place in 2:32:57.
Awesome performance.
Really well done.

Krusty_Clown

2:32:57 for 5th overall. Get in you beauty! Was worried for a while when his chip hadn't updated at the finish, but never in doubt. 5th Place in a big city marathon, just behind the Kenyan!

Bulmers74

Well done - excellent result & time

ultrapercy

Great run well done.

paddybarry

Well done, superb.

TRR_the_turd

great stuff, great run

dintbo

Excellent stuff, well done!