Raising the bar a little...

Abhainn · 01-03-2011 12:05am

thirstywork2 wrote: »

Just having a read up on your training there.You seem to have a very good base.Session wise im sure you will get some good tips in your new running club.
Are you doing any hill repeats?
what is your goal time for London?I take it you have ran a few marathons?
Sorry if you have answered these in your blog but id be reading it all night:p

Hill repeats? Hell no. Never done them. There are plenty of hills where I run

Goal for London... hmmmm ..well hopefully faster than 2:45.
Sat 50k was my 10th marathon / ultra

Abhainn · 01-03-2011 12:08am

Week of 21st – 27th Feb
This was the week of my first race since the Dublin marathon. I could have picked a shorter easier race but found myself lined up in the Donadea 50k trail Ultra. And it was good.

Ok week that was:

Mon:
This day found me in Wales, not for work thankfully. But while I was waiting for the return ferry I decided to take a trip to the lovely town of Beaumaris on the banks of the Menai Straits. Some 10 years ago I stayed in the “Ye Old Bulls Head Inn”. Great food and fab cask beers and it is certainly still is a fine spot.
Run wise I did an easy 6.1 miles at 07:15 pace up towards the village of Llangoed.
Very enjoyable in the evening sunshine

Tues:
Lunch 7.1 miles at 06:59 pace. HR 130
The legs still ached somewhat from the weekend but this was a surprisingly good economical run.

Wed:
Lunch time run of 8.1 miles with 4 x 1 mile progression intervals.
Legs feeling ok again, apart from the troublesome left foot I wanted a relatively hard interval session. But with the 50k race on Sat this was my excuse to hold back a little.
Progression miles were planned to start at 05:55 pace with the next 3 at – 5secs.
This went well though the breeze was nasty in sections.
Intervals were 05:53, 05:48, 05:42 & 05:36 with recoveries at just over 7min pace.

Thurs:
Rest.

Fri:
Early am run of 3.5 miles. HR 133

Sat: Donadea 50K trail race
In theory a 50k run wouldn’t be ideal preparation for a marathon less than 2 months away. A 31 mile+ isn’t on many marathon training plans either
But I intended to treat this as a long run and as long as I didn’t do anything stupid and go too hard. This was also the plan for Krusty Clown who was my car companion for the trip.
The setting was great and I knew a few of the 23 hardly runners and met a few new too.
My plan was to get around in 06:50 – 07:00 pace. I didn’t know how difficult the underfoot conditions were before hand, so I was out to enjoy the experience and hopefully this run would not have any negative effects on my London training.
The race consisted of 10 laps of a 4.967 loop the first lap started back to make up the shortfall.
There was little waiting round and before we knew it we were off. A few runners went off like the clapper including Wounded knee and his mate Jim. I was wondering at first if my pace was way too slow but still quite quick when I checked.
I was gladly soon joined by jaymack 75 and by lap 2 we settled into a nice pace. We were travelling along at about 04:15 pace and by lap 3 we 2 had become 4 and we had caught up to the two chaps ahead.
The course was certainly not flat. Between 1km and 2kn there were some nice hills which seemed to get higher with each lap. There was a fast section to 3.5 k so the pace was a little up and down because of this. Some muddy sections had also to be overcome but all in all not bad.
We four chatted occasionally interrupted by Wounded Knee’s heart rate beeps that indicated “burning too much diesel”. I was keeping my eye on mine HR also as I wanted to keep it inside aerobic burning zone too.
By start of lap 5 I was on my own but happy that I had company for 20 k of the race. Just 30k to go then. My pace increased slightly to 04:09/ km and then I was joined by Oisin 11178 who joined me for a lap. I was glad of the company again.
By lap 7 I was motoring along probably due to just consuming a gel. (Pace 04:05km)
So I had a little word with myself as I still had over an hour of running left.
I was carrying excess water so this was gladly relieved during lap 8 as I found the hilly section getting harder. I also started to feel the stones through my shoe. Pace was still a bit faster than planned at 04:06/km for laps 8 and 9.
My legs certainly felt lap 10 as I had only two long runs done recently but I sped up just before the finish when I saw Krusty and co, I too cheekily lapped them.

Finish time 3:29:09. 2nd Position. HR 154. Pace 06:43 mile / 04:10 km

Before the race I had secretly hoped to get under 3.5 hrs if I felt ok and conditions weren’t too bad. My foot and achilles held up well and was just stiff at the finish
What a fabulous place to run. Thanks Anto & Co. Great meeting all the old and new boards guys

Summary: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/70231271

Sun:
Afternoon recovery bike, around south Wicklow
33k at 26kph pace. HR 114. 75mins approx
The legs weren’t bad at all and I found this ride enjoyable and ideal recovery from yesterday

Weekly milage – 54.7

Abhainn · 08-03-2011 5:02pm

Week of 28th Feb to March 6th
This week was positive with no real after effects from the 31 miler the previous Sat. The legs recovered well though there was some soreness and DOMs in my quads for a couple of days. However I was feeling more tired than used this week even after relatively good sleeps.
The only real downside of the long run was that I didn’t risk any VO2 / interval sessions in.

Mon:
Rest

Tues:
Lunch 6 miles at 07:26 pace.
Just a very easy run to help repair the legs.

Wed:
Lunch 7.1 miles at 06:56 pace.
Legs felt relatively good and recovering well. Felt efficient and strongish.

Thurs:
Lunch 7.1 miles at 06:55 pace.
Took in new though busier route from yesterday.

Fri:
Rest
Took my second rest day of the week as I was still feeling physically tired
I felt it was needed as next 4 weeks I hope are going to be hard

Sat:
Morning 11.7 miles at 06:41 pace. HR 152
Didn’t want to push this run just steady she goes. My HR was much higher than expected though I felt ok apart from that

Sun:
Morning 18 hilly miles at 06:49 pace. HR 145
Intending 15 - 16 miles but this ended up longer as I kind of mis calcaluted the intended route. HR much better than yesterday but as this was very hilly I was happy with performance. Legs felt it a little though after 15 miles.

Summary:

Weekly milage – 49.9

Abhainn · 13-03-2011 10:10pm

Week of 7th to March 13th
If I were to give myself a rating out of 10 for this week it would be a 7.5.
I would have taken 1 point away for not pushing myself more on the Tues session 1 point for not finding that “in the zone session” this away. And that other .5 point? Well perfection can never be achieved.
But this was a reasonably good week, and I seem to be progressing, though time is running out.
In the recent weeks I am definitely sleeping more thanks to the kiddies sleeping better, though I still feel tired each morning. I think I should have arranged for my bloods to be checked many weeks back. Something is not right, I don’t seem to be firing on all cylinders

Mon:
Evening 6.7 miles at 07:24. HR 130
Easy run to ease legs out of yesterdays’ hills.
Seen my HR was at 42 BPM while waiting for Garmin satellites

Tues:
Evening club session at Charlesland. A 3k time trial at 5k pace was a preferred over the planned 400’s interval session.
I was happy on the track after many months and did the 3k in a steady 3:30/ km at 10k pace. Quads were still tight
Afterwards I was a bit pissed off with myself as I should have added a couple of laps or perhaps a further 1k to the session,

Wed:
Lunch 8.7 miles at 06:39 pace.
Still slightly annoyed with myself from last night I took a route around south Dublin and held a respectable pace on this route. That breeze was nasty in sections though

Thurs:
Rest (Brought forward)
Long hard day at work that began in Tallaght, then continued to Stockport, returned home for more late hrs of work but at least thankfully ended in our fab huge bed.

Fri:
Early am 8.7 miles at 06:47 pace. HR 145
Not too fresh on this one and headed out the door with nothing in the belly. Had to get this one in early as the evening wasn’t an option due to hard session Sat

Sat:
AM: MP session
Planned 11.7 miles with 1 WU at 7min pace and 10.7 at 06:10-06:15 / mile.
Actual 1 at 7 min and 10.7 @ 06:07 pace. HR 160
Needed at harder session this week and this went better than intended though it felt hard in last mile.

Sun:
AM 20.7 miles @ 06:45 pace. HR 144.
Bit of a late one Sat night due to guests but not too many sins.
Legs certainly weren’t fresh. Out 10 miles @ at 06:54 return 10.7 @ 06:38.
I think this went well. Thought I was running low on fuel 5 miles from home but HR was steady so that was good enough for me. Held out well after yesterdays efforts

Weekly milage – 62.5

Week ahead
The FR Murphy 5 miler on Thur is the one of 2 tune up races on the agenda so I hope to get a good run there.

donothoponpop · 13-03-2011 10:20pm

You get a bonus point for those tough back-to-back weekend sessions, very impressive. 8.5/10.

Abhainn · 21-03-2011 4:42pm

Week of 14th - 20th March

Good and not so good
A week of mixed emotions to be honest. The 5 mile race on Patrick’s Day didn’t provide me with a huge level of confidence 4 weeks before a marathon. Ok it was my first distance I have raced since Oct but I had been expecting better.
The weekend brought better self-belief, however London is approaching too fast.

Mon:
Rest. Had to bring the rest day forward as work had me back in Southampton.

Tues:
Lunch 7.1 miles at 06:42 pace. HR 137
The very pleasant conditions seemed to have me up for this one.
For once the first run after a rest day run was good. After the 1st mile legs livened up and this was a nice and enjoyable run and legs felt good.

Wed:
Lunch 7.1 miles at 06:35 pace. HR 141
I wanted to sharpen the legs up before the 5 mile race the following day so I threw in 7 x 1min at 05:30-05:40 / mile in this session. It was probably not the wisest thing to do but I felt my legs would benefit somewhat the following day. Again this was a pleasant run

Thurs:
10 miles including Fr Murphys 5 mile road race
I never heard of Kildalkey before. Turns out it was a nice little town in the middle of Meath.
I met heffsarmy almost straight away and was also introduced to Misty Floyd for the first time. Heff mentioned as he was just back he was going to aim to get round in 05:30 / mile. Lovely I thought. I just wanted a good sub 28. Hang onto heff then.
I got off to a poor start. I would have been last out of the block if it were a 100m dash. I chased after the runners ahead and tried to tag onto a group but they were flyers. I realised I had to content myself to hoping that some runners may drop back from the 20 or so that had gone on ahead. The split at mile 1 was 05:22. So I had a few seconds in the bag but I was not feeling comfortable at all.
There was a group of 3 about 30 meters ahead and I slowly caught these just after mile 2 which was 05:43 but I there was a drag on this mile. The group became 2 as one lad fell back and another moved away. Mile 3 was slightly better at 05:39 but I was suffering. I was running along side with the other chap. We left the tarmac road and turned left onto “off road” fro mile 4. The track / road was were similar to many a bog road I know.
An under pressure me was suffering badly now and a poor 05:47 4th mile put end to my chances of a sub 28. Finally we moved onto the tarmac again and my partner slowly moved ahead. I felt as good as shot as I entered the final ¼ mile I heard some fast approaching feet from behind. Not wanting to get overtaken I somehow pushed ahead and found something to post at 05:42 final mile and finish for an equalling best time for the distance of 28:14.

I was disappointed at the time but I gave it my all. But on reflection I shouldn’t have expected much when I had very few 05:30 miles or frig all speedwork done in training

Well done to heffsarmy. A fine 26:30 was some run from a jack who just started back from injury. He had even the cheek to say he wasn’t even pushing himself at the end. :rolleyes:
Misty Floyd had a very respectable 30:30 also. Not bad for a man who had many a strong Chang beer in the past month.
Finally a nice and interesting course, I might be back again

Fri:
Early am 8 miles at 06:55 pace. HR 136
Sort of recovery run. Legs felt ok

Sat:
AM: 11.7 miles with 5.7 at MP
Planned: 11.7 miles with 6 @ 7min pace and 5.7 @ 6:10 pace
Actual: 6 at 06:59 and 5.7 at 06:02. HR 147
I wanted a get in a few MP miles this week also so I decided on 5.7 in this run. The legs and body didn't feel great until well into run but as soon as upped the pace the legs felt better.
Coming though Ashford I was feeling good and over took a group of about 20 cyclists from Wicklow tri club who were just settling off on a group ride. The pace was about 05:45 but it felt good. After a mile they caught up and overtook me (on a downhill section). The last few miles were not silly and this was a good session. Faster pace is starting to feel easier.

Sun:
AM 22 miles @ 06:45 pace. HR 145.
Overall the legs weren't too bad though not totally fresh from yesterday. I didn’t eat much of a breakfast before I set out as I didn’t fell like much
The first 11 miles were done in 06:50 and return 11 in 06:40 / mile. The outward miles were fine apart from the fact that 4 bloody dogs had a right go at me. I thought my legs were going to be cut to shreds. Some terrible language was thrown at the owners caravans (I hope I woke them). I made sure though I had a fine long thin rod on my return. I was hoping they would be out again so I could belt them if they came near me. But lucky for them they missed me.
The run was fine until mile 17 or so, then the tank started slowly running low on fuel.
I maintained a good pace until the end but the last mile was bloody hard.

Weekly milage – 65.9

Week ahead
The Wicklow town 10k is down for Sunday. I’m unsure of my target time yet as the course is very hilly especially from 1-3k.
I may move the interval session from the Tues (with the club) to Wed as my legs will probably need an extra day.
No long run planned for this week .

BeepBeep67 · 21-03-2011 5:39pm

Abhainn wrote: »

Week ahead
The Wicklow town 10k is down for Sunday. I’m unsure of my target time yet as the course is very hilly especially from 1-3k.
I may move the interval session from the Tues (with the club) to Wed as my legs will probably need an extra day.
No long run planned for this week .

Ryan is planning a track session on Weds - I'll put you in touch.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi · 21-03-2011 6:24pm

What is the target time for London? Have you ran there before if so what is the course like.

misty floyd · 21-03-2011 8:33pm

Abhainn wrote: »

Misty Floyd had a very respectable 30:30 also. Not bad for a man who had many a strong Chang beer in the past month.

ha ha! that really is a great beer.
Jasus you didn't hold back at the weekend, fair play.
Good to meet ya and good luck in the race next weekend.

Abhainn · 22-03-2011 9:48am

Celeste Rotten Tile wrote: »

What is the target time for London? Have you ran there before if so what is the course like.

First time London for me. Course is flat.
Target time? Right now my form would indicate region of 2:43. We'll see

Krusty_Clown · 22-03-2011 11:22am

Lunch 7.1 miles at 06:42 pace. HR 137

Wow, that's pretty impressive. Did you ever do a physiology lab test?

Abhainn · 23-03-2011 12:57pm

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Wow, that's pretty impressive. Did you ever do a physiology lab test?

Yes running economy and efficiency improves when I throw in those harder sessions
Not done the lab test yet. Are you referring to an aerobic endurance test i.e. VO2max test and blood lactate ? I hope to do it at some point in UCD alright

Abhainn · 29-03-2011 12:41pm

Week of 21st - 27th March

Getting there
Thankfully my speed seems to be improving again.
A promising 1k interval session on Wed and then a tough 10k hilly race on Sunday is making my perspective of a good time in London all the more promising.

Mon:
Lunch 5.25 miles at 07:26 pace. HR 125
Leg muscles a bit shook after the weekend so this easy run was a welcome

Tues:
Lunch 7.1 miles at 06:46 pace. HR 138
Felt strong in this, body wanted to go faster but head said take is easy.

Wed:
Lunch 6 x 1k Interval, and fitness test
Time for a good interval session again to test my fitness and see where I am at.
Session comprised of 6 x 1k & 1 x 500m @ 5k pace (03:20-03:25) with easy 400m between. The circular route is slightly over 500m with perhaps 125m on uneven ground and grass.
Last time I did this was shy of 3 weeks before Dublin marathon. In breezy conditions the reps returned then were:
3:26,3:21,3:22, 3:21, 3:22,3:22, 1:36.
HR max was 173 and average 145.

This time around in good conditions 3.5 weeks from London the reps were
3:22, 03:20, 03:19, 03:20, 03:19. 03:18 & 1:37.
HR max was 177 and average 149.

Yes getting there.

Thurs:
Rest

Fri:
Lunch. 10.2 miles at 06:42 pace. HR141
Route Tymon and Tallaght
Just a steady outing, again slightly faster than planned

Sat:
Easyish 6.2 miles at 07:02 pace with strides. HR 134

Sun:
10 miles with 10k Wicklow Race
Wicklow town is bloody hilly. That is good and bad, good for training but bad for racing. The route comprised of 4 climbs / long drags and some fast desents. To be honest I didn’t know what time would be possible, but after the recent two weeks sessions somewhere in the 35’s would be satisfying.
300+ started out and I made no mistake this time and set off with the leaders from the gun. The first 600m was fast before we tuned onto the Marlton rd and faced into 1.6k long drag and climb up to the new road. Though we went through 1k in 3:17 I wasn’t worried it was too fast. The family were shouting support as I soon passed my house just after the km.
What was perhaps 10 runners now was reduced to about 5 as the drag turned into a climb. 3 others had gone ahead.
The new road was welcome but 3k was hilly also. Around now there were 3 of us running together (positions 5-7th). I tucked in behind the taller runner as the moderate breeze was directly on our faces.
The next 2k were fast on this downhill section (03:14 & 03:18) as we hit half way in 17:30. Soon after we faced the 4th hill. It is maybe 500m but the pace was still fast (03:34). During the 7th km my legs began so feel effects of the recent hills. The Wed reps may also be a factor. My breathing was ok but I was gradually slowing as the two chaps began to move ahead slowly. Through 8k in approx the same time as the recent 5 mile race which was assuring. However the last brut of a climb was just beginning. 800m of a slog – my legs were in pain. A 4:01 km split was not pretty but a relatively respectable 03:32 final km to finish was better.

Time 35:43. HR 170. Position 6th

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/75796183

Conclusion: Happy with performance. HR tells it that if legs were fresher I had more to give even on this course.

Weekly milage – 47

Week ahead
3 weeks out and the last week of hard stuff lies ahead.
800’s track intervals on Wed , 12 at MP Sat and 20 long run Sunday. Wish me luck.

theboyblunder · 29-03-2011 12:56pm

some super training and races there recently abhainn.

Just wondering - are you following a particular training plan?

Good luck over the last few weeks

Krusty_Clown · 29-03-2011 1:18pm

Abhainn wrote: »

Wish me luck.

You've made your own luck Joe. Super training.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi · 29-03-2011 1:57pm

Impressive interval splits on Wednesday not to mention a super effort and a great finishing position in the race. London will not know what's hit it:)

Abhainn · 29-03-2011 9:24pm

theboyblunder wrote: »

some super training and races there recently abhainn.

Just wondering - are you following a particular training plan?

Good luck over the last few weeks

Cheers boy

No I'm not following any particular plan. Though it is maybe loosely based on Hal Higdon Advanced II. I know there are a number of plans out there on the www but I haven't even studied any to be honest

For my first marathon I used his intermediate plan. Even since then I have twecked the plan from marathon to marathon.
Hopefully at some point I would like to focus totally on a good 12 week marathon plan, coming on the back of a good 10k speed period

Abhainn · 04-04-2011 1:07pm

Week of 28th March to April 3rd

Done and dusted again
Another marathon preparation completed. This was probably the hardest week and had 3 tough sessions in there. I was a bit concerned this hard week was a bit too close to the race but hopefully I can recover well and complete a good taper.

Mon:
Lunch 6 miles at 07:23 pace. HR 127
Easy recovery after Sundays race

Tues:
Lunch 8.1 miles at 06:45 pace. HR 139
Steady run, felt good

Wed:
Evening track 800’s Intervals
I didn’t believe it but it was Sep 2009 since I last did track 800’s
The plan was 6-8 x 800 at 2:35 -2:40 pace. I knew Sundays race would be still in my legs so I didn’t want to overdo it. The weekend’s 2 hard sessions also were close.
In the end I completed 6 x 800 at average 2:35 rep with 400m jog and 2 x 400 in 74 sec with 200 m jog.
Happy enough . Total miles 7.1

Thurs:
Rest

Fri:
Lunch. 6.6 miles at 06:43 pace. HR140
Was at the H/W dept going away do night before. I wasn’t too late getting home (1am) but I needed these miles to pure myself for the weekends sessions.
The nasty gale force wind was very challenging in places.

Sat:
MP Run
Plan was 12.7 miles at 06:10 / mile pace.
Had a magnificent 8 hrs deep sleep night before. This set me up nicely for this one.
I hit mile one in 06:09 and didn’t look back after that. Felt strong in this.

Summary 12.7 miles at 06:05 pace. HR 160
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/76613456

Sun:
20.7 miles at 06:43 pace. HR 141
I was somewhat tired setting out and reached mile 10 and turnaround at 06:50 / mile average.
Around mile 14 and for the second time recently I again started running low on fuel.
My efforts from yesterday probably meant my glycogen stores were probably not replenished. I spotted a familiar face coming through Ashford (the referee for the Rock Duathlon taking place) stopped for a chat, drank most of his Lucozade :rolleyes:and skipped off happily.
Legs felt strong even at the end.

Weekly milage – 63

I’m feeling confident about doing well in London now. Looking back at lead up to Dublin marathon and now I seem to be not far off that form
I wish I had a couple more speed sessions and a half marathon race behind me, as that would give me a better idea where I am.
But the MP session on Sat has given me some positive assurances.
The long runs have also been good with 7 including a 31 miler.

All in all I’m happy especially with the last 4 weeks efforts.

BeepBeep67 · 04-04-2011 8:32pm

Abhainn wrote: »

Sat:
MP Run
Plan was 12.7 miles at 06:10 / mile pace.
Had a magnificent 8 hrs deep sleep night before. This set me up nicely for this one.
I hit mile one in 06:09 and didn’t look back after that. Felt strong in this.

Summary 12.7 miles at 06:05 pace. HR 160
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/76613456

Solid week - good luck with the race if we don't speak.
Thought I seen you on the old N11 alright - not sure if you heard me beep from the motorway.

TheRoadRunner · 04-04-2011 9:36pm

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Solid week - good luck with the race if we don't speak.
Thought I seen you on the old N11 alright - not sure if you heard me beep from the motorway.

You should have beepbeeped

Nice weeks training. Hard work done, enjoy the taper.

Abhainn · 05-04-2011 8:51am

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Solid week - good luck with the race if we don't speak.
Thought I seen you on the old N11 alright - not sure if you heard me beep from the motorway.

Cheers BB67. I do now remember a beep beep alright:)

Izoard · 05-04-2011 10:49am

Abhainn wrote: »

Week of 28th March to April 3rd

Done and dusted again
Another marathon preparation completed. This was probably the hardest week and had 3 tough sessions in there. I was a bit concerned this hard week was a bit too close to the race but hopefully I can recover well and complete a good taper.

Mon:
Lunch 6 miles at 07:23 pace. HR 127
Easy recovery after Sundays race

Tues:
Lunch 8.1 miles at 06:45 pace. HR 139
Steady run, felt good

Wed:
Evening track 800’s Intervals
I didn’t believe it but it was Sep 2009 since I last did track 800’s
The plan was 6-8 x 800 at 2:35 -2:40 pace. I knew Sundays race would be still in my legs so I didn’t want to overdo it. The weekend’s 2 hard sessions also were close.
In the end I completed 6 x 800 at average 2:35 rep with 400m jog and 2 x 400 in 74 sec with 200 m jog.
Happy enough . Total miles 7.1

Thurs:
Rest

Fri:
Lunch. 6.6 miles at 06:43 pace. HR140
Was at the H/W dept going away do night before. I wasn’t too late getting home (1am) but I needed these miles to pure myself for the weekends sessions.
The nasty gale force wind was very challenging in places.

Sat:
MP Run
Plan was 12.7 miles at 06:10 / mile pace.
Had a magnificent 8 hrs deep sleep night before. This set me up nicely for this one.
I hit mile one in 06:09 and didn’t look back after that. Felt strong in this.

Summary 12.7 miles at 06:05 pace. HR 160
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/76613456

Sun:
20.7 miles at 06:43 pace. HR 141
I was somewhat tired setting out and reached mile 10 and turnaround at 06:50 / mile average.
Around mile 14 and for the second time recently I again started running low on fuel.
My efforts from yesterday probably meant my glycogen stores were probably not replenished. I spotted a familiar face coming through Ashford (the referee for the Rock Duathlon taking place) stopped for a chat, drank most of his Lucozade :rolleyes:and skipped off happily.
Legs felt strong even at the end.

Weekly milage – 63

I’m feeling confident about doing well in London now. Looking back at lead up to Dublin marathon and now I seem to be not far off that form
I wish I had a couple more speed sessions and a half marathon race behind me, as that would give me a better idea where I am.
But the MP session on Sat has given me some positive assurances.
The long runs have also been good with 7 including a 31 miler.

All in all I’m happy especially with the last 4 weeks efforts.

Bit light on the swimming and biking if you ask me....:)

All the best with it, looks like you are in great shape.

Abhainn · 14-04-2011 11:09am

April 4th to 14th

London here I come
I’ve followed pretty much identical the last 2 weeks of Dublin taper with this London one.
Right now I’m not feeling nice and fresh or anything but if I was I’d be worried. The anticipation is keeping me focused.
I only started thinking about the race yesterday as work is nuts so I’m really looking forward to it now.
Predication? I know I have a sub 2:40 in me, but a lot of things will have to come together on Sunday to make this possible. As long as I run a good race that I am happy with then that will be ok for now

Mon: 4th April
Lunch 4.5 miles at 07:24 pace. HR 126
Legs were stiff on this one.

Tues:
Lunch 7.1 miles at 06:52 pace. HR 134
Breeze made this a bit nasty. But not a bad run though. Still in recovery mode after last week

Wed:
Rest

Thurs:
6 MILE Progression 6 mile
Plan was progression run -10sec per mile
I intended start from 07:00 / mile but ended up at 06:50 and finished with 05:58. Legs felt good and they wanted to let go at a go clip.
Average 06:24 /MILE. Hr 145

Fri:
Lunch. 6.miles at 06:57 pace. HR132
Aimed for easy 7min pace. Was warm out there

Sat:
MP Run
Plan was 8.7 miles with 6.7 miles at 06:05 / mile pace. HR 154
This didn’t feel fantastic. Should have been easier

Sun:
13 miles at 06:44 pace. HR 142
Again warm out there. Didn’t enjoy the first 5 miles but there after all felt good

Weekly milage –45.3 miles

Mon: 11th April
Rest

Tues:
Lunch 6 miles at 06:42 pace. HR 135
Good enjoyable run.

Wed:
Lunch:
6 miles with 3 at 06:02 pace. HR 146.
Average 06:26 / mile
1mile at 7min then 3 at 06:02, then 2 at 06:50 approx. The wind was very bad in spots but overall in favour on those MP miles.

Last night got a long overdue deep tissue massage. Jaysus I am sore today, seems that I badly need it in a few places.