Berlin or bust...

Emer911

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Look after yourself! Seems to be falling weather at the moment

You too? My OH reckons I either need to get my eyes tested or start wearing a head torch... :rolleyes:

Emer911

runrabbit wrote: »

Hi Emer just catching up on all your news now! And what a lot of news, a Birthday a fall and an upcoming marathon :eek:

I've fallen way back in fitness but slowly building it up now - I'd be no good to you for any proper runs but if you're ever planning an easy recovery run in the park let me know!

Poor you. Hope you're back to normal soon. Once you get back up to 6 or so miles give me a buzz and I'll join you for a trot around the locale.

Emer911

Thanks for all the good wishes.
My knee is up in a big lump today and is a wee bit tender for walking, so I'm taking my rest day today and will try the intervals tomorrow (or something a bit easier if the knee is still aching - yeah, yeah, I know I'm a wuss :P)

Emer911

Thursday 10th Feb
So after a HTFU chat with myself I went out into the crisp fresh evening to do my 9x400 mt intervals. The aim was to keep these all in or around the mile pace (which McMillan said is 07:22 :eek:)
So to give myself a bit of lee-way I set the watch pace target to between 07:00 /mi and 08:00 /mi. The legs were feeling heavy and the knee was still annoying me, but I kept going and finished all 9 - though I was very close to finishing up at the 6th. Really had to have a good talk with myself to keep it going.

Tough session. The paces were all a bit inconsistent. Didn't quite hit the desired 7:22 /mi but I did keep them all below 8:00, and only 2 were above the 7:30 /mi mark, so can't complain that much!? Needed about 2 mins rest between each set to recover. Warm up and cool down took me to just over 5 miles for the session.


No| Time (Seconds)| Avg Pace
1| 114| 07:40 /mi
2| 109| 07:20 /mi
3| 117| 07:53 /mi
4| 107| 07:11 /mi
5| 111| 07:26 /mi
6| 108| 07:17 /mi
7| 111| 07:29 /mi
8| 108| 07:17 /mi
9| 110| 07:23 /mi

Summary 5.36 miles in 00:55:01

Emer911

Friday rest day. Sat in, watched telly and ate too many oreo cookies:o

Saturday 12th Feb
8 miles LSR. My running partner of recent LSR's texted me at 7:30am to say she wasn't feeling well, so I was on my own for this. Brought my mp3 out for some company and listened to a bit of Born To Run.
After a bit of humming and hawing about which route I'd do, I decided to head towards Bray for a run along by Bray head.

What a lovely morning for a run - as perfect as you could ever get! It was bright and sunny, calm and mild. Beautiful. And the route selection was inspired as the views out across the bay were spectacular. When I got to my turnaround point I had to stop to allow myself to drink in the beauty of the scene. The sun was shimmering, almost blindingly, on the still crystal blue sea and the cliffs framing it all with an emerald glow. Gosh we live in a beautiful country!:rolleyes:

Initially I set out too fast and had to deliberately slow myself down, but that felt good too. Had a bit of a moment when I stopped at the turnaround - felt a bit 'woooh'. I think I was just wearing too much for the day that was in it and got a bit overheated once I stopped. Took off the hat and gloves, rested for a minute or two and was totally fine when I set off again.

Great run, even with the 'moment' in the middle.

Summary 8.05 miles in 01:19:36
Avg Pace: 09:53 min/mi

Emer911

Sunday 13th Feb
3 Miles at race pace. Felt very tired heading out for this one. Had to bring the smallie too as her normal minder (brother) was off playing footie and her dad was off doing some maniac long run...:rolleyes: She didn't mind though, she was my 'support crew' (bottle of water, shades and gloves in the bag) and had a book for when she got bored on the ropes / bars/ etc.
The park was a muck-fest so I stuck to the paths. The run was more of an 3x1 mile interval session rather than a pace run, cause I stopped to check in on each lap. Sure it worked out well enough. I had my run, she wasn't too bored.

Did the 3 miles (intervals) in 08:44, 08:39, 08:30, so well under the target 09:00. Can't really complain about that.

Very short warm-up, and the cool-down was the walk back home with the wee-one.

Summary 3.3 miles in 29:38
Avg Pace: 08:59 min/mi

shazkea

You've been busy since I last caught up on your log. Happy belated b-day and hope you got a flash light as part of your pressies (or a specsavers voucher)

Seriously hope you've recovered ok and some nice running there so well done. When is SA half again?

Emer911

shazkea wrote: »

You've been busy since I last caught up on your log. Happy belated b-day and hope you got a flash light as part of your pressies (or a specsavers voucher)

Seriously hope you've recovered ok and some nice running there so well done. When is SA half again?

Thanks. The fall was after the b.day, so maybe I'll get the torch for next Christmas (if I 'm still in one piece by then!) It's all grand now. A few bruises still on the green side, but nothing permanent!

SA is on the Easter weekend - Saturday 23rd April. Ballycotton 10 mile is the more pressing target on March 6th. Busy busy. :cool:

shazkea

Oh Easter weekend - are you staying on for a few days afterwards to "recover"?

Emer911

Yeah, I might be persuaded to stay for a day or two!

Emer911

Plan for the coming week
Monday|Pilates
Tuesday| 5 mi run
Wednesday|6 x 800 5-K pace
Thursday|Rest
Friday|4 m run
Saturday|11 m run
Sunday| 5 m pace

Emer911

Monday 14th Feb
Lunchtime pilates. 45 minutes of HARD work! Thought my legs were going to fall off when I was driving back to work. Great fun though

No yoga this evening. Went for a short (romantic VERY cold) walk with the OH to loosen out the legs instead.

Emer911

Tuesday 15th Feb
Nothing. Doh! Wimped out

Wednesday 16th Feb
Tight for time so didn't get the full 6x800mt intervals. Managed to do 4 before I had to call it a day and dash off for a pick up (I was just a wee bit late, but they were just finishing up - phew!)

So not exactly to plan, but at least I got something done. Life really challenges the plans every now and then! :rolleyes:

Wet and dark out there tonight. I fecked up the workout too and had to stop and figure out my mistake after my warm-up mile. Eventually got myself sorted and got 4x800mt intervals with 1 mile warmup and about a half mile cooldown.

Interval | Duration | Pace / mi
1 | 00:04:19 | 08:39
2|00:04:11| 08:22
3|00:04:10| 08:21
4|00:04:13 | 08:28

Wasn't sure what my pace should have been so aimed to keep it about 08:30 or so, and was successful at that. But, when I checked the plan after I came home I realised I was supposed to be running at 08:13/mi - oops!

Ah well. Some miles under the belt and some fast(ish) longer intervals. All good.:D

Summary 4 miles in 00:38:54
Avg Pace: 09:42 min/mi

Emer911

Thursday 17th feb
Having alternative arrangements for the evening, I decided I had to fit my run in either before work or at lunchtime. I'm always a tomato head after a run, so hate having to do it during work hours, but when the alarm went off at 6.50 I decided it'd be ok to run during lunch after all!? Snooze...:p

I headed out at lunchtime. 4 nice easy miles. It's weird doing a daytime run during the week! Nice though. And as it was a short one, I even had time to cool down before the shower, so I wasn't too scarlet when I headed back to the desk.

Summary 4.25 miles in 40:43
Avg Pace: 09:35 / mile

Emer911

Friday 18th Feb
Rest day

Saturday 19th Feb
11 miles LSR. Decided to pick a hilly route this week, to challenge the legs and lungs. As the route is country roads only, with no shops for water stops, we drove out a bit and dropped some bottles at about mile 4. That was a good call, cause it was REALLY needed by the time we got there!

It was a great sunny morning for a run. Very calm too. The route was a doozy though with a gradual hill all the way to mile 4, the last mile of that was a 70 mt climb or a 3.7% gradient - lovely?!:eek: Downhill for the next 3 or so then another steep but short hill. By the time we got to mile 8 we were both wrecked. It was a real push to keep it going to the full 11. Finished it off in the local park, looking very tired and sweaty.:D

But it's done anyway. Not pretty, not speedy, but finished. Sure it'll stand me in good stead for Ballycotten (I hope!) :rolleyes:

Summary Hilly 11 miles in 01:49:34
Avg Pace: 09:57 min/mi

claralara

You make it sound so enticing...uh oh...:eek: Sure I'll worry about that next week!

Nice one in any event!

Emer911

claralara wrote: »

You make it sound so enticing...uh oh...:eek: Sure I'll worry about that next week!

Nice one in any event!

it wasn't all THAT bad (maybe... )

Emer911

Sunday 20th Feb
Felt like a bag of wet dishcloths all day, so no running... Went to the cinema for a mid-afternoon kids matinée instead.
(Far more work than a run, I think!)

Emer911

Plan for the coming week


Mon| Pilates
Tue| 6 mi run
Wed| 10 x 400 mile pace (7:22 /mi)
Thu| 5 m run + strength
Fri| Rest
Sat| 11 m run (3/1)
Sun|6 m pace (9:00 /mi)

It's going to be a busy week, both with work and family commitments, so the plan as is might get squeezed!? We'll see...

Emer911

Monday 21st Feb
Lunchtime Pilates today. She was taking it easy on us, which is just as well, cause the thighs were still feeling the effects of the hills at the weekend.

Emer911

Tuesday 22nd Feb
5 miles around and about the village in the dark. Kept putting this off, but eventually got myself out the door. Plan was to do somewhere between 4 and 6 miles at a steady but manageable pace. Going out the door, I was just about going to cover 4, but I pushed on to the 5. Happy enough with that.

The pace was good too. Average of 09:12 min/mi. Went out a bit too fast (09:03 and 08:56) so slowed myself a touch to make sure I finished strong and wasn't feiced for the intervals tomorrow.

Summary 5 miles in 00:46:02
Avg Pace: 09:12 min/mi

Emer911

Wednesday 23rd Feb
Work Life Lame Excuses got in the way of running...
Got home later than normal, felt hungry and tired and grumpy, so talked myself into a night off.

Emer911

Thursday 24th Feb
Intervals tonight. 10 x 400 mt @ 07:22/mi pace :eek:
Have to be honest here, I was NOT looking forward to this one. But it was a lovely clear, calm(ish), warm (about 13C - in Feb?!) night that I couldn't not go out for a run.
So I did the 1 mile warmup and headed for my nice 400 mt loop around a local estate. Found it hard to get the feel of the pace initially so I was a bit all over the place. Had to walk between each 400 to get my breath back.
Even though I was wrecked after #3 I actually surprised myself by completing all 10 reps.
Pace on the watch was set to between 07:00 and 07:40. 3 of the reps were above that target, but the overall average pace over the 10 was about 07:28 /mi, which is fairly close to the plan. Look, I'm not going to beat myself up on this. I ran 10 400 mt sets at a pace I could barely hit at all this time last year so I'm happy out :cool: (and you perfectionists out there can just suck on that :P)

Rep | Duration (seconds) | Pace / mile
1 |113| 07:34
2| 106| 07:07
3| 114| 07:39
4| 111| 07:27
5| 116| 07:47
6| 114| 07:36
7| 115| 07:42
8| 111| 07:26
9| 116| 07:44
10| 105| 07:01

Summary 5.74 miles in 01:01:24
Avg Pace: 10:41 min/mi (lots of walking )

jcsmum

Well done, great going!

RubyK

Good work there Emer with the intervals. Great times

Emer911

Friday Rest day

Saturday 26th Feb
The repeat of last weeks 11 miler. After being almost crushed last week, I just had to tackle this one again.
ClaraLara joined me for a 'very slow' 11 miles with those lovely hills around Mine Hill lane and on up past the scalp. The route starts with a steady climb of 170mt over the first 3.5 miles, but the last mile of that is the killer with 100mt climb. From there on the route is downhill / flat, so the key is to get through the first 4 miles in one piece!
Following the debacle last week, I was determined to finish this feeling strong. I had a 3/1 planned, so took the pace slower than slow to get through the first section. And even though that hill was tough, I didn't feel totally mangled by the time we reached the water drop. Had a couple of jelly sweets at that point too, and on we went. All good so far!
The last two miles were in the park, and I took the pace up a notch for these. That felt great, knowing that I COULD pick up the pace at mile 9 after doing this route. Very happy with myself there.

Finished with a nice slow jog to cool-down while waiting for ClaraLara to finish her (slightly longer) LSR.

The run was considerably slower than last week, but the difference in how I felt during and after was immense! Some good learning here, me thinks!

Nice to meet another boardsie too. Hope the run didn't break you too much ClaraLara!?;)

Summary total 11.9 miles in 02:01:47
11.02 miles in 01:52:57
Avg Pace: 10:15 min/mi

claralara

Thanks so much for yesterday Emer. I really hope I wasn't too slow for you! I can feel those hills in the bum big time today!

claralara

BTW what's a 3/1? Sounds like some good running lingo I need to understand!

Emer911

claralara wrote: »

Thanks so much for yesterday Emer. I really hope I wasn't too slow for you! I can feel those hills in the bum big time today!

If you remember, it was me doing the slowing down!:D

claralara wrote: »

BTW what's a 3/1? Sounds like some good running lingo I need to understand!

3/1 is where you run the LSR at the "S" pace for three quarters of the run, and then the last quarter at a faster pace (I think it's officially supposed to be at your race pace, but I may stand corrected on that)
So when I ran away from you in the park, I ran my last 2 miles at around the 9min/mile pace. Simples!

Emer911

,Sunday 27th Feb
Not really a run, but I'm logging it anyway. 2 and a bit miles at an amazingly slow pace, while accompanying the wee one on rollerblades. Interesting, and actually fun. As I said, more a leg loosener than a 'run' but sure at least we got out?

Lovely day for it too.

Summary 2.27 miles in some embarrassingly long time, at apace only slightly faster than walking pace

Emer911

Plan for the coming week


Mon| Pilates
Tue| 30 min tempo
Wed|3 x 800 5-K pace
Thu|Pilates & 2 m run
Fri|1-2 m run
Sat| Rest
Sun|Ballycotton 10

Big race week!!:eek::P

RacoonQueen

Have you a goal for Ballycotton Emer? Looks like training is going well, marathon is what? 8 weeks away now? :pac:

Emer911

Hi RC, my goal is to beat the 90 minutes for the 10 mile. Current PB is 1:40:xx from the one and only 10 miler I've done. Not too enthusiastic about that last hill though :rolleyes:

Yeah, the Half Marathon in Capetown is in 8 weeks. No marathon for me until Chicago in October...

Emer911

Monday 28th Feb
Pilates lunchtime. Good class. I can feel the core muscles getting stronger every day All good. I'll have a fab flat tummy for the summer... I'm sure :rolleyes:

xebec

Emer911 wrote: »

Plan for the coming week

Mon| Pilates
Tue| 30 min tempo
Wed|3 x 800 5-K pace
Thu|Pilates & 2 m run
Fri|1-2 m run
Sat| Rest
Sun|Ballycotton 10

Best of luck down in Cork. If your goal is 90 mins then we won't be too far apart, based on my recent training it looks like somewhere between 85 and 90 for me - if I manage to finish at all!

RacoonQueen

Emer911 wrote: »

Hi RC, my goal is to beat the 90 minutes for the 10 mile. Current PB is 1:40:xx from the one and only 10 miler I've done. Not too enthusiastic about that last hill though :rolleyes:

Yeah, the Half Marathon in Capetown is in 8 weeks. No marathon for me until Chicago in October...

I'm sure you were originally doing the full. You're good to go for the 90 minutes based on your training...

Emer911

xebec wrote: »

Best of luck down in Cork. If your goal is 90 mins then we won't be too far apart, based on my recent training it looks like somewhere between 85 and 90 for me - if I manage to finish at all!

Well if I were you I wouldn't be waiting around for me... When I say 90 mins, that's somewhat optimistic, especially with that lovely last mile!

Good luck with your race too. Might catch you after - along with the other (really fast) Boardsies, assuming anyone hangs around the finish long enough

Emer911

Tuesday 1st Mar
30 minute tempo run. Krusty came along for company, and so I ended up going a lot faster than I would have if I was solo :rolleyes: Good for me, I guess?
Cold night out there too, so the breathing was a bit tight at the end.

To be honest, that 90 minute 10 miles is starting to look more like a pipe dream after that run! I got up to a speedy 08:42 min mile and it felt like I was going to keel over

Summary 3.35 miles in 00:30:35
Avg Pace: 09:07 min/mi

claralara

You'll fly it! An easy week this week to recharge the legs and you won't know yourself on Sunday. I have faith after seeing you belt off after those hills

rainbow kirby

Emer911 wrote: »

To be honest, that 90 minute 10 miles is starting to look more like a pipe dream after that run! I got up to a speedy 08:42 min mile and it felt like I was going to keel over

Summary 3.35 miles in 00:30:35
Avg Pace: 09:07 min/mi

Seriously, you'll be grand! Once that adrenaline starts flowing it'll be fine

runrabbit

Best of luck at the weekend Emer - just enjoy it and I know you'll do great!

Emer911

Ah gee, thanks for all the support guys. Sure I'll go out and just enjoy it and see how it goes. If I don't get the 90 mins I won't be crying (too hard!)

shazkea

+1 on the good wishes for Ballycotton. Training is going great for you and the hill work will stand to you on the day.

Emer911

Thursday 3rd Mar
Lunchtime - Pilates: good session - as always.

Evening - 2 miles in the cold (boy it's cold out there these nights)
Almost didn't bother with this - 2 miles? Hardly worth getting the gear on! But seeing as I took yesterday as a rest day, I really had to get out there.
...I had a wee bit of a sore throat yesterday, so thought it best to mind myself (I'm a bit too precious maybe!? :rolleyes:)

Summary 2.02 miles in 00:18:11
Avg Pace: 09:01 min/mi

RubyK

Hey Emer, best of luck for Sunday, all that hill work will really stand to you. See you down there

Emer911

Loved it! Had a ball! Got a PB and beat my goal time.

Headed to Ballycotton aiming to be there between 11 and 11:30, expecting to be stuck in traffic for a bit getting into the car parks. But we flew in. Lots of stewards, marshals and direction signs and the whole thing was really well organised.
KC and I were driving in from the cork side and were directed to a car park just about a mile from the start. Cool!
Strolled down to the HQ and met up with xebec, and said hi to a few other boardsies along the way. Never got to see RubyK thought - just too many people to pick out someone you've never met. :rolleyes: Pity about that!
Wandered around for an hour and a half. It was a wee bit cool and I was very reluctant to strip off the outer layers and leave my bag. But with about 30 minutes to the gun, the clothes were discarded and we wished each other luck and trooped off to our respective start points.

I was really nervous about 'the hill' and the pace, and the goal I'd posted on the Ballycotton thread. But we kicked off and the pace was in or around the 9 min/mi mark from the first mile - even with the congestion. So I decided to keep it at or around there for as long as I could. I actually found it ok. Passed LOTS of people over the first 4 or so miles and by mile 5 I was comfortable and enjoying myself. Fell in step with another girl around then. She was running at about my pace and I thought the company might keep me on track as the last few miles went by. She had done this one twice before but wasn't on for any goal time. We kept in step right up until about 8.5 and I think the hill got to her, 'cause she just disappeared behind me as I plugged on at a steady pace.
Funny thing - I barely noticed the hill!? I guess my training hills are good for me after all? :cool:
The run into the finish line was tough - not the terrain, but the speakers calling out finishers names are audible from about 800 mts out and it feels like forever to cross that line. Elated when I did though, in a time 89:12!! Woo Hoo! (that's a PB by over 10 minutes)

Great race, great organisation, great spectators (worthy of a mention!). And a lovely souvenir mug for my troubles. Happy out!

Summary 10.04 miles in 01:29:12
Average Pace: 08:53

RubyK

Hey Emer, great running! Delighted you got a pb, and what a pb Well done.

Pity I didn't get to say hello. It was pretty packed! Hopefully another time!

jcsmum

Well done Emer, fantastic running!

claralara

Well done Emer! Knew you had it in you. Brilliant running

xebec

Great stuff Emer! Sorry didn't see you guys after the race (and sorry for tapping you on the head as I passed you)... Brilliant result and an amazing amount of time to knock off the PB!