Sub 2.30 marathon? Suits you sir!

smmoore79

Thur 3 Nov 16 - 60 mins easy

The wee man got me up at 6.30 this morning so there was no excuses not to run! The body was a bit tired from yesterdays session and dehydration made the run all that more tougher. Glad to get it done though. Route was Eastwall to SM park/Nature reserve and back down dodder pathway to Shelbourne road/Landssowne/pembroke road and on the Baggot street bridge. From there it was a short run to Leeson st..

jamule

Try search for anything with laufen.

I find it very hard to find any running when i'm visiting Hamburg, ended up going to what should be the most popular spot and got talking to people (around the alster in hamburg). From what i've been told, the tiergarten is the place to run in berlin.

http://www.laufsportberlin.de

https://www.leichtathletik-berlin.de/start.html

http://running-in-germany.de/

Sacksian

A really good Berlin race (although it may conflict with the half in April if you plan to do that) that I've done a couple of times is the Big 25, a 25km race which is normally in the middle of May. It can get pretty hot but it's a fast course, so you should be finished before it gets too toasty! It starts outside the Olympic Stadium and finishes with a lap of the track.

Dennis Kimetto broke the world 25km record at it in 2012 and then came back to Berlin a couple of years later to break the marathon world record, so there's usually a pretty good field at the top! Although I think it thins out quite a bit after the very top guys.

In terms of training groups, you should be able to find all the Berlin clubs here: https://www.leichtathletik-berlin.de/vereine.html

smmoore79

Thanks guys for the links, very helpful. I'll be living temporarily in Charlottenburg for 3 months so Berliner SC could be a good shout. Plus they have cool black singlets

smmoore79

Sat 5th Nov 16 - 4.25m wu; 6 miles hilly tempo; 4.25m wd
Sun 6th Nov 16 - 90 mins lsr

At last, a solid week of training!! The little man had me up since 6 on Saturday so I headed over to the magazine hills for an earlier than usual session. Decided on 6 continuous Munich laps to build up some strength and stamina. I found it tough towards the end especially with the wind blowing down the gully as I heaved myself up it!

Sunday was a nice handy run around the nature reserve and power station with 2 clubmates. Didnt want to push it to 2 hours just yet so I finished with some in the tank after 90 minutes.

Hopefully I can keep the run of sessions going this week, Already did 18 minutes commute run this morning!!

smmoore79

Mon 7th Nov 2016 - PM - 20 min run
Tue 8th Nov 2016 - AM - 60 min run
Tue 8th Nov 2016 - PM - 18 min run

Ive the son to thank for my early start which allowed me to get a sneaky run in before work Headed out from Eastwall and past the Chimneys before turning and heading to Leeson Street. Felt ok, no real tiredness from the weekend sessions..

smmoore79

Wed 9th Nov 2016 - AM - 6 x 800m(60 secs rec) - 1 hour running total

Almost hit the snooze button for this one. Luckily little Franz decided it was time for me to get outta bed Headed to SM park for my warm up and then did the session on the 2 GAA pitches. Again I didnt time myself as this could have demoralised me! The legs felt tired after the 3rd rep but overall I was comfortable and knew Id get 6 done without blowing up. The only real tough part was the strong wind for half of each rep.

After that I did my warm down into work happy in the thought that I had another session under the belt. Slowly Im coming back

smmoore79

Thur 10 Nov 2016 - 60 mins run

Wasnt in work until 10 which gave me plenty of time to get a run in this morning. Ran 30 minutes out to Southwall and 30 minutes back. Think I've earned the free pizza and beer that the office have kindly provided coz of our move to a new shiny building

smmoore79

Fri 11 Nov 16 - 18 min AM run; 18 min PM run
Sat 12 Nov 16 - 4.25m wu; 6m hilly tempo; 4.25m wd
Sun 13 Nov 16 - 95 min LSR

Got me another solid week/weekend of training under the belt! Saturday was a tough one on the Munich lap with my continuous 6 mile Tempo. There was a dirty wind into my face going up the gully which reduced the hill part of the training to a shuffle :eek: But the offset was the wind on my back for the flat section:D I felt crap on the 3rd and 4 loops, then on the 5th I had a second wind and felt good! Come the 6th loop I was tired again and wanted it to end! Happy with the session, again I didnt bother with the watch but Id say the pace was 5 40's(hopefully). The warm down back to Eastwall was tiring but it was worth it for the cup of tea and doughnuts that awaited me

Sunday was my long run with SC. The legs werent the freshest due to Saturday but I need to get these back to back hard days done in order to prepare the body for tougher days ahead. Route was SM park, nature reserve, Southwall, and Sandymount promende. Then back to Eastwall.

youngrun

smmoore79 wrote: »

Fri 11 Nov 16 - 18 min AM run; 18 min PM run
Sat 12 Nov 16 - 4.25m wu; 6m hilly tempo; 4.25m wd
Sun 13 Nov 16 - 95 min LSR

Got me another solid week/weekend of training under the belt! Saturday was a tough one on the Munich lap with my continuous 6 mile Tempo. There was a dirty wind into my face going up the gully which reduced the hill part of the training to a shuffle :eek: But the offset was the wind on my back for the flat section:D I felt crap on the 3rd and 4 loops, then on the 5th I had a second wind and felt good! Come the 6th loop I was tired again and wanted it to end! Happy with the session, again I didnt bother with the watch but Id say the pace was 5 40's(hopefully). The warm down back to Eastwall was tiring but it was worth it for the cup of tea and doughnuts that awaited me

Sunday was my long run with SC. The legs werent the freshest due to Saturday but I need to get these back to back hard days done in order to prepare the body for tougher days ahead. Route was SM park, nature reserve, Southwall, and Sandymount promende. Then back to Eastwall.

Thats a massive session Saturday, good pace too, are you running Nationals end month

smmoore79

youngrun wrote: »

Thats a massive session Saturday, good pace too, are you running Nationals end month

Dont think I'll be doing any races until I move to Berlin. WIll look up a new years or christmas run once there

smmoore79

Mon 14 Nov 16 - 45 min AM run; 18 min pm run
Tue 15 Nov 16 - 20 min AM run; 20 min pm run

Not much so far this week. After 2 weeks decent sessions Im taking an easy week. I know its meant to be every 4 weeks but I dont want to do too much too soon!! So handy mileage for the week

smmoore79

Wed 16 Nov 16 - AM - 20 mins; PM - 20 mins
Thur 17 Nov 16 - AM - 60 mins and planned PM of 20 mins

Not the greatest running yesterday as lethargy set in. So today, awake since 5.30 due to the baby I headed into the rain Bumped into clubmate Bob who was tempoing Ringsend park so jumped in for 1 loop of about 4 minutes! After that I headed to the Chimneys before turning and heading to work. I was naturally soaked and pretty cold getting there. Enjoying my nice warm cup of tea now

smmoore79

Fri 18 Nov 16 - AM 45 mins(planned PM 20 mins)

Weather was much better than yesterday, it was almost like Santa Ponza out Sandymount way Well, bar the fact that it was Baltic:pac:

smmoore79

The last while....
Ive been living with the wife and nipper in Berlin since December.  Between moving house twice, finding a creche for the kid, learning German and family life, Ive had little time for running.  Or at least Id put it to the back of my mind.  Recently I began running once a week, then that turned to twice, then three times.  Last week the Berlin marathon got me real excited and jelous, especially meeting some of the CRU afterwards.  It definitely got me thinking  that I still have some good years of training left in me.  Last week I ran 5 times,  4 of them 50 min runs through Tier garten to collect my son.  And yesterday I ran an hour in a local forest down in Saxony where my wife comes from.  The hour included 2 x 10 mins tempo pace on the forest trail.  6 of those minutes were on a gradual uphill through the forest.  Week 2 started today and an hour easy in the same forest.

So where does this leave me?  Well I have a hunger to do the Berlin half next April followed by the full marathon next year.  And maybe I'll search for other races around Berlin.  So the plan is to base build until December followed by half marathon training until April and then try to train for the full one next September.  Well thats the plan anyway,  I cant believe Ive been in the running wilderness for so long!  Ive a long way to go to get anywhere near sub 2 30 shape but at least Ive put it down on the boards training log so I have to follow through

El Caballo

smmoore79 wrote: »

The last while....
Ive been living with the wife and nipper in Berlin since December.  Between moving house twice, finding a creche for the kid, learning German and family life, Ive had little time for running.  Or at least Id put it to the back of my mind.  Recently I began running once a week, then that turned to twice, then three times.  Last week the Berlin marathon got me real excited and jelous, especially meeting some of the CRU afterwards.  It definitely got me thinking  that I still have some good years of training left in me.  Last week I ran 5 times,  4 of them 50 min runs through Tier garten to collect my son.  And yesterday I ran an hour in a local forest down in Saxony where my wife comes from.  The hour included 2 x 10 mins tempo pace on the forest trail.  6 of those minutes were on a gradual uphill through the forest.  Week 2 started today and an hour easy in the same forest.

So where does this leave me?  Well I have a hunger to do the Berlin half next April followed by the full marathon next year.  And maybe I'll search for other races around Berlin.  So the plan is to base build until December followed by half marathon training until April and then try to train for the full one next September.  Well thats the plan anyway,  I cant believe Ive been in the running wilderness for so long!  Ive a long way to go to get anywhere near sub 2 30 shape but at least Ive put it down on the boards training log so I have to follow through

Best of luck with it Smmoore! They used to always have a thing on letsrun called "Talent Never goes away". The ability is still there for sure. look forward to seeing how you get on.

Wottle

Love Berlin, best of luck for the half, I'll see you on the start line!

AuldManKing

Good to see you back. Best of luck with the training and German life.

Testosterscone

Great to see you bask S, hope the family are well

Christ I think there will nearly be more boardsies doing the Berlin half that the Dublin one next year at this rate:p

smmoore79

From the last post to today(14 Oct 17)

Well Ive been keeping it consistent.  Last week, did a few 50 min runs, an 80 min run and an hour with 3 x 8 mins tempo pace in Tier Garten.  This week, Ive already decided on an easy week running just 4 times so far(tomorrow will make it 5).  Today I got an hour in, heading to Grunewald which is a forest sitting on the western edges of Berlin.  Im about 15 minutes run from there so decided to take a gander.  Also theres an athletics club in the area, Berlin SCC.  They are the guys that organise the Berlin marathon, so I was curious to see their set up.  Theyve a lovely stadium, roughly the size of Morten stadium with the stands.  When I got there it was closed and the track was all torn up with a few JCBs dotted about.  Looks like it wont be in use for a fair while yet.  So after that I took in some of the forest.  Its pretty damn big.  Looks about 3 times bigger than the Phoeno on a map!!!

The reason I took it handy this week is due to the fact that there is an 11k cross country next Saturday in North Berlin.  Think I'll head out and give it a shot at maybe Tempo pace!!  Might try and find out more while Im there on the Berlin XC and road race scene...  Im back baby!!!

smmoore79

Sunday 14 Oct 2017 - 80 mins LSR
Decided to hit Grunewald again today.  40 minutes out and 40 minutes back.  The first 15 mins involved getting to the forest and the remainder getting as far into the forest as possible.  By the time 40 mins was up I google mapped where I was, not even half way through the forest!  It'll definitely prove a valuable training facility for any future marathons!!

smmoore79

Mon 16 Oct - Sun 22 Oct

It all started off ok with an easy run of 45 mins last Monday.  Unfortunately I caught a little chest thingy so I aired on the side of caution.  Tuesday to Friday resulted in nothing

Yesterday though I felt better so decided on a session.  60 mins with the middle 20 mins at Tempo.  I hit this in Grunewald again.  Really like the fact that theres this massive forest with trails on my door step!  The 20 mins Tempo felt hard enough but I could have gone at once I hit the 20.

Today I ran 90 mins LSR.  The first and last14 minutes were to and from the forest but the rest was on the trails.  For this reason I ran in light race shoes.  Usually when I run in the heavier shoes my knees are a bit sore.  This doesnt happen with the race shoes; plus different muscles feel tired after.  So gonna run in lighter shoes for a bit to see if my knee thing goes completely. 

Not the best week but not the worst week.  Rome wasnt built in a day..

smmoore79

Mon 23 Oct/Tue 24 Oct 2017
45 mins easy
50 mins easy

Legs were a bit sore from the weekends running but nothing too bad.  Today was the first time since I moved here that a teenager called me "Forest"!  I thought it was funny in a German accent   Nice route down Kaiserdamm and then through Tiergarten and finally on past Potsdamerplatz.

The missus has registered me for a 10km this Sunday in her home state of Saxony.  Its on a mix of road and trail so shoild be fun.  Havent raced since Jan 2016 and the only speedwork done has been the odd tempo here and there.  So not expecting any pb.  Still, if I can tempo the whole thing Ill get a reasonable time..

smmoore79

Wed 25 Oct 2017
30 min E; 5 x 800(1 min R) on trail; 15 min E

The thought of any type of speedwork was grand earlier this week; but come today when push came to shove the feeling of dread engulfed me   I spent 30 mins running out to a trail spot in Tiergarten thinking of the impending pain.  When I got there, there were 2 dodgy looking gypsy girls hanging around so I opted to do this with my rucksack on my back.  Purposely I didnt time myself but I reckon 2 40's maybe.  The first 2 were ok, the 3rd was tough.  4 and 5 were just a slog round as my muscles began to tire.  I was happy enough after this and I think that was the fastest session Ive done all year!!!!  Its probably not gonna make me any faster this Sunday at the 10k but Im treating this race as training too so nothing really to lose.

Long term after this race I'll return to Berlin and look for upcoming races.  Hopefully that way I can ease myself into the running scene here and see which club will suit me best.  Running alone is ok but it would be nice to train in a group from time to time..

seanynova

Good that you're back at it! I'm on a similar situation myself. I remember reading your blog from the start and seeing your progress, you are a real natural and will be back in full swing in no time.
What are your PB's by the way? I haven't always been reviewing the boards but I've always been curious of your progress.

smmoore79

seanynova wrote: »

Good that you're back at it! I'm on a similar situation myself. I remember reading your blog from the start and seeing your progress, you are a real natural and will be back in full swing in no time.
What are your PB's by the way? I haven't always been reviewing the boards but I've always been curious of your progress.

Hopefully I'll be back in shape soon.  My pbs are 2 32 57 for the marathon; 1 12 for the half; 32 for the 10k and 15 50 for the 5k

smmoore79

Thur 26 Oct 17 - Tue 31 Oct 17
Thur 50 mins; Fri 50 mins; Sat 30 mins; Sun 65 mins(10k cancelled!); Mon off; Tue 62 mins

Headed down to the in-laws for a long weekend of relaxing and general running.  Hit the nearby forest taking it handy for Sundays 10k.  This would have been my first race since Jan 16 so I was really excited about the thought of putting my toe to the line.  Unfortunately there was a big storm which cancelled it, regardless I went out for a run and I have to say it was pretty scary as I spent most of the run looking up at overhead wires and trees!! Lesson being I wont be running again in storm winds!!!!

Back in Berlin now and Im making an excel plan for the Berlin half.  It'll be 18 weeks long and hopefully have me in good shape come April.  December 4th is day 1 on it   Though if I see any cross country/10k races in the interim I'll adjust the plan accordingly..

smmoore79

Wed 1 Nov 17 and Thur 2 Nov 17
60 mins including 20 at Tempo
45 mins run

The weather was just miserable yesterday and I almost convinced myself to stay indoors.  Luckily common sense prevailed and I got the running gear on and headed out the door.  Decided to hit Grunewald forest for the tempo part.  Felt ok and the pace wasnt hurting as much as previous attempts.  Still far off 2 30 marathon shape but getting out every day will get me there!!

smmoore79

Fri 3 Nov 17 - 52 mins run

The family Moore are all down with a bug, especially the little fella who's running mad temperatures    Im feeling a bit run down but nowhere near as bad as the others.  To get some fresh air from the house I headed out to Schloss Charlottenburg.  The grounds here are really nice for tipping around.  It was fresh but sunny so I decided on 2 loops. 
Also these runs give me time to think on other things.  The wife has a job as she speaks both German and English.  I, on the other hand am finding it difficult as I dont have strong enough German for most accounting roles.  Literally there are only a hand full of roles in only English.  So I was thinking what else I could do.  Then the idea of running and possible earning potential crossed my mind.  Then the idea of running tours pinged into my head!  Looking online there are 2 other providers of running tours so perhaps theres room for an English language running tour. hmm, its an idea anyway so need to look a lot more into it.

Anyways, back to training, theres a 10k trail race this Sunday in Kreuzberg(south city).  I might do it if Im feeling better, will see..

smmoore79

.....................m

smmoore79

Wed 9 Nov 17 - 50 mins run

Was grounded with a bug for a number of days, so far my comeback isnt going according to plan.  My first 2 races were cancelled due to weather and Sundays race due to me being sick!!! Will I ever get to do a race in Germany?!

Anyways, I headed out to the nearby schloss(castle) and did 2 loops of the ground.  So far Ive done all my runs in racing flats,  and I found that my knee pain has almost gone.  Probably due to me using different muscles and landing mid foot instead of on heel with the heavier training shoe.  I guess it works for me so I'll continue training in light shoes and see how it goes.

Also looking into getting a run tour company going over here.  It looks very doable though may take a good 6 to 8 months to get going.  Sounds like a better lifestyle than working in an office!!

smmoore79

The last few days - just 1 45 minute run yesterday

I was grounded with a nasty sinus infection with a slight flu feeling so didnt get out til yesterday.  Ran to Tiergarten and on to my sons creche.  Today Im airing on the side of caution as Im still not feeling great.  My big come back has stalled!!!!  Hopefully I can shake this soon and get back running or dare I say even get a race i?!?!?!

smmoore79

Thur 23 Nov 17 76 min run(with a heavy bag on my back!)
Ive felt like crap the last 2 weeks so running took a knock.  Im feeling better so decided to run from language school in south east Berlin to my apartment in west Berlin.  Route took me through Templehoferfeld which is an old airport converted to a park, Gleisdreick park which is an old railyard also converted to a park.  From there I headed through Potsdamerplatz(financial area), Tiergarten and on to my place.

This Saturday theres a half marathon around Grunewald forest so Im gonna do that.  Since I havent really trained much lately, I'll just tempo it and maybe get under 1 25..

smmoore79

Fri 24 Nov 17 - 25 mins handy

Decided to loosen the legs and run out to the Charlottenburg place grounds with my son(who was in his pram!).  Legs felt a bit tender from yesterday, lucky Im not trying to pb tomorrow .  Race is at 9.30am but Im not sure what the surface is like, whether is road or trail.  Doesnt really matter  I guess as I'll just be tipping along at a training pace.  The bonus thing will be that I'll have a new half marathon loop to train on after tomorrow!!

smmoore79

Sat 25 Nov 17 - Grunewald half marathon

So I woke up this morning to be greeted by a dark sky and "down for the day" type rain.  God, why did I register for this with feck all training:(  So I sat at home debating what to do.  It was then that the wife shamed me into going suggesting that the weather would not have stopped me 2 years ago!!  So on my bike and off to Brandenburg sports club I went.  Getting there I was already soaked and I counted maybe a turnout of a couple hundred doing the marathon/half marathon.  So after registering and with no time for a warm up (which ties in nicely with my lack of training) I toed the line on the athletics track.

After a countdown from 10 we were off.  I started at the back and gradually made my way to the top.  Luckily the pace wasnt crazy and I felt comfortable.  The first 5km were through the forest on some nasty muddy trail.  There were 5 of us at the top of the pack and for the first while we focused on not slipping and avoiding puddles as much as we could.  After this there was a road stretch along the edge of the forest where we could zone out looking at motorway traffic.  Here I started to worry about whether I had the endurance to continue at this pace. 
8km and 1 lad upped the pace. I drifted off him a little, then another lad passed me.  I decided to keep behind the other lad and before I knew it we were back with the breakaway fella.  By now we were on path covered in slippy leaves and puddles as the rain continued to pour.  To our left was a lake snaking along the forest edge.  11km in and I started to tire a little.  The lead lad injected pace but me and the other fella went along.  From here, the road continued to go up and own and these hills were wearing me down.  Here we briefly talked, the guy that liked to inject pace was doing the half and the other lad was doing the full marathon!!

I managed to hold on until at 16km the other half runner injected serious pace and opened a gap.  I was hurting here as I struggled uphill.  The marathon lad(who was a Scot) passed me.  I considered letting him go but stuborness kicked in and I hung on to him.  At the top of this hill we turned back into the forest trail.  The last few km were very hilly and very muddy.  I almost fell a couple of time!  About 200m ahead of me and the marathon runner we could see the lead lad.  I was happy that I could still see him:)

By the time I reached the 18th km my left knee started to hurt.  My lack of strength and endurance was starting to show.  But I kept going ignoring the dull pain.  At last we were off the muddy trail and back on the athletics track.  I upped the pace and for some pride finished about 20m ahead of the marathon guy!! 

So my time was 1 hour 24 mins and 2nd place in the half marathon.  Not bad considering the ****e conditions and hilly course that was about 40% trail.  Its a real eye opener but at least I know where I stand.  I guess a flat fast course in good conditions might have got me 1 15 maybe today. 

So now that December is approaching I want to do half marathon training for the Berlin half in April.  At least I know I'll be quicker than today

OOnegative

That's a decent time off limited training for you, well done. Sounds like a pig of a route.

Singer

Some of us would murder for a 1:24 HM - sounds like a decent effort anyway! What was the first finisher time?

smmoore79

Singer wrote: »

Some of us would murder for a 1:24 HM - sounds like a decent effort anyway! What was the first finisher time?

I got 1 24 25; the winner was 37 seconds ahead in 1 23 48.  I thought he'd be further ahead but Im happy I only lost a half minute on him

smmoore79

Sun 26 Nov 17 - 1 hour run
Mon 27 Nov 17 - 40 mins run
Tue 28 Nov 17 - 45 mins run

The legs have felt battered since Saturdays race so the last 3 days have been handy miles.  Sunday was in the Charlottenburg palace grounds, Monday in my local park around the lake in pissing rain and today was from my German language classes to a U Bahn station 3/4 way home(the last 1/4 being on the train!)

Next week I want to start half marathon training,  Im not in great shape but I guess thats what training is for!!!

Duanington

So is the target the Berlin half then S?

Good to see this log back up and running. Hoping to head over for the half there myself, currently waiting to get the green light to ramp the training up.

smmoore79

Duanington wrote: »

So is the target the Berlin half then S?

Good to see this log back up and running. Hoping to head over for the half there myself, currently waiting to get the green light to ramp the training up.

Yeah the target is the half next year although I havent applied for it yet.  Must check later to apply!!  From there if all goes well, I can hopefully apply and run the full marathon in September.

AuldManKing

Congrats on the 2nd place - A hilly trail course and you run 1.24
Obviously you were running on your own too for a large part of the race (or with only 1 or 2 around you).
A larger pack to work with will also help you.

In terms of your training - how does this work for you? Self coached, from a book or ???

Great to see you back running & logging.

smmoore79

AuldManKing wrote: »

Congrats on the 2nd place - A hilly trail course and you run 1.24
Obviously you were running on your own too for a large part of the race (or with only 1 or 2 around you).
A larger pack to work with will also help you.

In terms of your training - how does this work for you? Self coached, from a book or ???

Great to see you back running & logging.

Great to be back running! I was in a pack of 5 that became 3 including myself.  The weather was just miserable, cold, wet and slippy.

In terms of training, Ive done out my own plan based off the PD book, basically a half marathon version of the full marathon plan.  Im also thinking of joining a club, maybe the guys who organised that half marathon last Saturday - Brandenburg SC.  Though club training sometimes doesnt fit well with set half/full marathon plans.  Will see how it goes..

smmoore79

Wed 29 Nov 17 - 45 mins run

Keeping up the mileage on my "recovery" week.  Ran through Tiergarten to collect the nipper from creche.  Nice, bright and fresh day..

smmoore79

Thur 30 Nov 17 - rest
Fri 1 Dec 17 - 50 mins
Sat 2 Dec 17 - Rest
Sun 3 Dec 17 - 90 mins run

So today I headed to Grunewald forest.  Man its great to be living close to this amenity!  Hit a few nice inclines, taking in the beautiful nature before I had an abrupt call of nature:O  After this setback I continued on, passing a random massive sand pit in the middle of the forest.  After 40 minutes I made it to a part that reminded me of the back of the Phoenix park where the gully is, ah memories!  After that I U turned back home.  Nice run, though my calves are a bit tight.

I went to book the Berlin half today but to my dismay its fully booked  But I could do the Leipzig half a week later, though the quality up front would be nowhere near Berlin levels.  The full marathon next September is also fully booked.  SO Dublin may be on the cards instead..

smmoore79

Mon 4th Dec 17 - 4.7 miles run

So day 1 of my plan and a nice handy few miles through Tiergarten.  Nothing much to report, dull weather, nice scenery!  My first week will be like this;

4.7 miles
7 miles(2 at 10k)
10 miles
5 miles
8 miles
5 miles
14 miles LSR

smmoore79

Tue 5 Dec 17 - 7 miles(2 at 10k pace)
Wed 6 Dec 17 - 10 miles
2 solid days of training now under the belt.  The son was sick so I had to wait until yesterday evening to get out for my pace session.  It was already dark when I got to the Charlottenburg palace grounds.  So with 1 mile under the belt I bit the bullet and increased the pace to my perceived pace.  I still dont have a Garmin so I went by feel on my pre-planned route.  For the first mile I felt great as I pelted around the creepy lonely grounds.  1.5 miles gone and I started to feel it but I could still manage.  Managed to get the 2 hard miles done before I tipped along for the remainder of the run.  It was only when I was relaxing from the hard part that I realized that it was a bit too isolated as it was now proper dark and I could just about see 50 metres ahead.  Still, the plan called for 7 miles total so I just kept going til the end.  Happy with this session as the 10k element didnt hurt too much..

Today I got 10 miles done with a light bag on my back looping twice around Tiergarten.  It was more boring than anything else but I was content that the pace felt comfortable and I was not b0lloxed at the end.  In fact I felt good and full of energy for the whole thing!  Got it done in 75 minutes, not bad considering the bag slowing me a little..

So a good start to the plan, hope I can continue..

smmoore79

Thur 07 Dec 17 - rest
Fri 08 Dec 17 - 5 miles
Sat 09 Dec 17 - 8 miles
Sun 10 Dec 17 - 14 miles

Just missed out on a 5 miler this week, so not the end of the world.  Felt good on the 8 miler around the Schloss grounds and could have gone on.  Todays 14 miler was a 7 mile out and back into Grunewald forest.  There were large stretches of mud here which were pretty tricky and as a result I felt it in the glutes.  So a strength workout included in my run!!  Overall I felt good and got the job done in about 1 hour 45 mins so happy I could average 7.5 min miles!!!

Next weeks session should be tough, as theres a 14 miler with 6 at half pace thrown in!!! Onwards and upwards now after hitting 48 miles this week.

smmoore79

Mon 11 Dec 17 - 5 miles
Tue 12 Dec 17 - 6 miles(incl 10 x 100m strides)
Wed 13 Dec 17 - 10 miles
Thur 14 Dec 17 - 5 miles

So far so good this week.  All runs have been through Tiergarten on the way to collect the nipper just past Potsdamer Platz(financial area).  On the 10 miler I felt crap for the first 4 miles as my stomach wasnt right after eating some pasta/pesto.  Passing a sisha bar, the smell almost made me throw up!!!  But I managed to get through the hump and cover the remainder of the miles.  Ive a nice 2.5 mile loop in Tiergarten which is great for my long runs plus its mostly trail!

Today is a 9 miler.  Theres sleet outside and Im feeling pretty lazy!!! It'll be some job getting myself up and out the door   Sunday brings 14 miles(including 6 at HM pace).  Hope my body can hack such a run, also it'll be tricky gauging the pace without a Garmin(will be getting one of those of Santa!!!).  I guess faster than Tempo ...

smmoore79

Fri 15 Dec 17 - 9 miles
Sat 16 Dec 17 -5 miles

It was a sloppy affair yesterday as I did the guts of this in Tiergarten.  Plenty of muddy puddles and generally cold, dull weather.  Took me a few miles to find my mojo but was grand after that.  With 1 mile left I headed towards the sons creche to pick him up.  A train ride home followed, hope I didnt stink the train out

14 miles tomorrow with 4 at HM pace.  I initially thought it was 6 at HM but thankfully I got that one wrong!!  Might do this session in Charlottenburg mansion grounds.  Its only a 2 mile loop but its not covered in mud like Tiergarten or Grunewald forest..