Berlin Marathon

T runner

Monday 2nd August

Easy run up The Glen River trail from Donard forest in newcastle. Lovely trail up a ravine and followed river till the trail started climbing steeply to Donard and Commedagh.

Ihr 7k.

Tuesday 3rd August

18k total. 49 mins @ 3.40 pace (13.4k)

Pace run 49 mins. Done at 3.40 pace grass/tarmac slight undulations. Challenging run.

Very good session. My quads were tired and sore after Sunday so i was apprehensive. Ran with a group including Paterx. The first 6 k were steady- had to cut evr larger corners to stay near a very strong relaxed Peterx after this. Great session. Tired now. ML run tommorrow I think and a couple of easy days before Streets of Galway on saturday evening.

Slogger Jogger

Great to read that Mournes training run. Loved the photo too. I'd like to join one of your training excursions at some point. Looks and sounds marvellous. On the downside you missed fine conditions weather and underfoot in the Galtees.

T runner

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Great to read that Mournes training run. Loved the photo too. I'd like to join one of your training excursions at some point. Looks and sounds marvellous. On the downside you missed fine conditions weather and underfoot in the Galtees.

Was sorry I couldnt do Galteemore. Great result there yourself. 10 minutes is a huge improvement on last year even counting for conditions.

The Mournes are really perfect for hill running. Deffo will do a few trips after marathon season. Garmin had discharged sneakily before I started so have no GPS data unfortunately.

T runner

Wednesday 5th August

Easy run 23k 4.48 pace 1hr 50 approx

Easy medium long run. There was a strong annoying wind into my face for most of the run. Although I was comfortable, I wasnt enjoying the run. At training one of the lads said as I neared the end of my pace run "keep the form". I have a habit of leaning forward when tired. I tried opening my stride for the run and the speed upped with no extra effort.
I tried standing tall on hills and running perpendicular to them and it helped too. I remember during the adidas 4.9 I was dropped by a large group on the Glen road climb who, almost to the person, put 30 metres on me.
Will have to do drills, form stretches (or any stretching!!) and concentrate on it from now on.

Will really concentrate on form in the 8k race on saturday too. A massage mightened go astray also. Im like a cripple every morning.

Drills tommorrow in prep for race so. Cant afford to miss circuits tonight also for strenght although Id love too.

I feel Im due a speed session soon. Ive a lot of strenght building up and it wouldnt take much to release some speed. Might do a P and D Interval session with Reps thrown in at the end.

T runner

Thursday 5th August

AM 6k recovery 4k, 2k and dart in between.

PM 11.5 k recovery a few circuits

Almost came to a stop during the 11.5 k run. Was dead on my feet. Need a rest day. I dont think I revered fully from my weekend long run and have been hanging on a bit since. A rest tommorrow should see me back in control again hopefully. Probably need to run a bit more within myself in the sessions. Concentrate on the mileage build up for strenght.

Have a bit of a conundrum to sort. Warriors run is 4 weeks pre marathon. National half is 3 weeks.

This week: sat: 8k race sun: long
M-7 long
M-6: long
M -5: sat: Warriors run
M -4: sun: National half
T1:
T2:
T3: marathon week

No point in doing a long between the 2 races unless i do an easy one the sun after warriors run. I wasnt fit for one last year but i could force it. Thinking of doing a fast paced one 2-3 days after National Half.

Total 17.5


121 k last week. 24k of it was on 4hrs of hill running so probably 140+ in flat terms

65.5 this week so far

Peterx

You're going really well T, very impressive stuff to be hammering out those sessions on top of all the other running and those hard long Sunday runs.
A full rest day today will have you pumping tomoro.
Best of luck in Gallaimh!

Races in the middle of a marathon training plan can become an annoyance, better to embrace them (if possible) and convince yourself they are part of the plan otherwise you may not get the enjoyment from them you might otherwise attain.
It is our leisure time after all, it's not supposed to feel like work!

T runner

Peterx wrote: »

You're going really well T, very impressive stuff to be hammering out those sessions on top of all the other running and those hard long Sunday runs.
A full rest day today will have you pumping tomoro.
Best of luck in Gallaimh!

Races in the middle of a marathon training plan can become an annoyance, better to embrace them (if possible) and convince yourself they are part of the plan otherwise you may not get the enjoyment from them you might otherwise attain.
It is our leisure time after all, it's not supposed to feel like work!

Youre right. Im looking forward to all the races and a 10 miler and 13 miler will help with strenght too. Hopefully a PB at half marathon as a nice reward which will help.

T runner

Saturday 7 August

Race Streets of Galway 8k. Time 27.36

Poor enough race (for me). I was quite tired earlier in the week (thursday) so rested completely on Friday.

Was looking around the start of the race beside 2 styronger club mates and I felt each of us had a chance of a top ten position. Next thing a side door was opened at the front and in jogged 20-30 elites. A well!

Noticed the light wind is not blowiong afvourably for the finishing 2k.

Race started fast. I held back but still did a 3.19 first K. Legs felt sluggish and a wee bit tired but brething was quite comfortable. The second K was 3.20 and was between the bridge from Claddagh to Spanish Arch and the Bridge over to Cathedral talkning in the west side of Eyre Square.
Lovely part of the race flying and corralling around Galways streets. Nice crowds, good buzz. Dissapointingly I felt the slight uphill on the square. I kept with my group which was just myself and clunmate Jason now. Another clubmate Brian had eased off after a large group ahead. I noticed there were 5 women in the group, all looking strong and being pulled along by Maria Cambridge burning the road down.

This group would be a good target. 3rd kilometer and again I have to ask the legs to work hard to get up to teh hospital. Turning the corner onto Newcastle Road and i can relax slightly again. At Cookes corner (3k) we pass one of the 5 women, a Polish girl running for Raheny called Patricia, I think.

We pass a few more runners but are only making slow progress against the group ahead. We pas another female, Rosemary Ryan, at St Josephs school (I think its called) just before downhill to Taylors road junction.

I see that McCambridge is now well clear of the big group and the remaining two women and it looks like a case of what the margin of victory is there.

Im happy enough with how its going and reaching Kilometer 4 the last 2 have been run at 3.20 and 3.19. We have been suprisingly (to me) running into a breeze all along Newcastle road and Im hoping taht this means a wind change has occurred and well get the nice prevailing tailwind home.
Although we are going well we are working a bit harder than if we were in a group.

We turn off towards Devon Park and during the drag up Dr Mannix road Im forced to let J go. Weve caught another runner and Im seesawing with him: hes passing me on ups and Im passing him on the flats. K no 5 at Pearse stadium and 3.26 the slowest of the day but the wind and the climb could accoiunt for most of that.

I see that some in teh group have closed the gap on Mccambridge but her lead on teh two women is still substantial although they are not slowing for me to catch them!

Im tired now and Im forcing legs to turn now. Down to the sea and left into a strong breeze to seapoint! 3.22 for that one Im only about 4 secs behind Jason but Im struggling to close the gap.

I notice that the gap in the ladies race has closed and the demeanor of the two chasers makes me realise that the gap although large is not insurmountable now. McGloin in the blue singlet is clear in second and has only one runner (Brian, having a blinder) between her and Mccambridge now.
She looks like mshe has only one thing on her mind now.

Into the stiff breeze for second last kilometer Jason has caught the back remnants of the big group ahead and has wisely sat in. He has speed from track racing this year and he will finish first in that mini group.

This is a 3.33. kilometer and my worst one in every way.

I cant rationalise teh breeze for all of that, Im hurting and slowing. One kilometer to go and I try and turn the legs speeding up slightly. Im chasing down a guy who passed me during the last kilometer.

Brian has passed another few runners and Mcgloin is now only 20metres down on the leading female, the next runner ahead.

I run strongly enough to the finish and hear the commentator describe a sprint finish in the womens race. I believe that announcement was the first time McCambridge became aware of any danger and she had to react to a very determined runner who had been thinking about beating her for the last 3k! A great womens race, best Ive ever seen from my roving reporter position.

I finished in a dissapointing 27.36. Last K was 3.31, and another 28 secs and .13 k saw me over the line.

Not happy with that at all.

As a race I thought it was fantastic and very well organised though.

Sunday 9th August

Long run. 32k

4.31 pace. Silly run for me. With 2 stronger runners. We started easy for 2k but pushed it up to 4-4.10 pace up hills and into wind. I was dropped and finished the run stopping and starting with the wind at my back in what should have been teh fastest section. The bright side is that I have clarity on waht I must do now. I am regimenting my long runs from now on.
The first 3/4 will not be quicker than 15-20% of race pace accounting for hills and wind.

Im happy with the speed of my pace runs. (3.40 pace).

The 2k session I do is too fast (for me). Hope the run them from 7:20 working down to 7:05. They will be tough (28-30k total running almost) but not too tough. That will allow me to have big mileage for the remaining weeks and to race well when required (well relative to how Im racing now)

Krusty_Clown

Love the blow by blow of the women's race! Will you slow down to my pace in Berlin, and give me a real-time account of how I'm doing?

Seres

well done , was dying to know how the female race had panned out , how you managed such a great time yourself and to keep track of battle of the women up ahead is beyond me , i normally cant even remember the route i have ran

T runner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Love the blow by blow of the women's race! Will you slow down to my pace in Berlin, and give me a real-time account of how I'm doing?

I mightened have to slow down at all the way youre going!

Seres wrote: »

well done , was dying to know how the female race had panned out , how you managed such a great time yourself and to keep track of battle of the women up ahead is beyond me , i normally cant even remember the route i have ran

They were literally in the group just ahead so everytime I looked up I could see the changing positions. I assumed I would catch all but McCambridge and was very impressed with how McGloin and O'Doherty held theyre hard early pace. That said I should have been concentrating on my own efforts a bit more!

seanynova

very good race report T runner...
over the next few week you will have more important races anyway, like the half and 10miler, they are worth more to berlin so even if you arent happy with the time above, you could see better performances in the longer distance races...more tempo based running like

T runner

Thanks Seany. I was probably more miffed about the long run on sunday. I messed a lot of these up for my last marathon and annoyed I havent learnt my lesson. Youre right do the longer races are more important, more close to tempo and marathon pace.

stmochtas

T runner wrote: »

Race Streets of Galway 8k. Time 27.36

Great to see you on Saturday night. Hopefully i wasn't to slobbery after a day of drinking with my future brother in-law. Looking forward to getting back on my feet now and getting a few XC runs in for the Autumn. The streets of Galway is a race I would definitely like to try out next year. Looked like a great event. Talk soon. I will keep you posted if I get back to some regular runs.

T runner

stmochtas wrote: »

Great to see you on Saturday night. Hopefully i wasn't to slobbery after a day of drinking with my future brother in-law. Looking forward to getting back on my feet now and getting a few XC runs in for the Autumn. The streets of Galway is a race I would definitely like to try out next year. Looked like a great event. Talk soon. I will keep you posted if I get back to some regular runs.

Do indeed Stmochtas. You werent slobbery at all for a man at a stag, you were quite lucid.

Was a great event. Good luck with teh return from injury, keep up the cross training and keep me posted

T runner

Tuesday 11 August

(Monday Rest)

Easy run 14k in 71 mins. Trails around Phoenix park.

Nice relaxing run. Kept it controlled and easy, kept form good. Some core exercises after.

Scheduled sessions for the week are: 52 min pace run, 10 by 2k, Long 35k

I was contemplating substituting the long with a hillrun to prepare for the Warriors run. However after my poor long run last week I am running out of oppurtunities. (racing 28th august and 6th september).

So a long run on tarmac it must be. I have decided to modify the pace run instead. Plan is warm up-15-20 minutes marathon race pace, Maulin ride climb by 3, 20 minutes marathon pace, warm down. Continuous run to get endurance benefits.

The climbs will help warriors run as will the fast running on legs tired from hillrunning.
Also the 20 minutes at the end will be good marathon pace practice on tired legs. Its a better compromise than sacrificing the precious long run I think.

T runner

Wednesday 12th August

AM Core work in gym

PM 18k

Pace run/Warriors Run prep:

Started from Crone wood. Warmed up by jogging out onto teh tarmac road and running (up the valley) on the road for 15 minutes easy.

Then marathon/tempo effort for 5k back to car park and up to turn off for Maulin Ride climb.

3 times climb: 6:54, 6.58, 6.48

Then 5.75 k at marathon/tempo effort, easy run back to carpark to finish

Good session. First climb was the hardest. For the third climb I relaxed more and did more of a loping run up which worked well. I came down easily for the first 2 descents but quickened pace for the thir so that my legs would have to pick up the road pace after a fastish downhill which is what theyll have to do in Sligo. Uncomfortable for a while but kept the pace and legs improved after 10 minutes. That means tehres no point in in waiting for my legs to sort themselves out in Sligo, Ill be waiting 10 minutes. Will force them up to pace early.

seanynova

T runner wrote: »

Wednesday 12th August

AM Core work in gym

PM 18k

Pace run/Warriors Run prep:

Started from Crone wood. Warmed up by jogging out onto teh tarmac road and running (up the valley) on the road for 15 minutes easy.

Then marathon/tempo effort for 5k back to car park and up to turn off for Maulin Ride climb.

3 times climb: 6:54, 6.58, 6.48

Then 5.75 k at marathon/tempo effort, easy run back to carpark to finish

Good session. First climb was the hardest. For the third climb I relaxed more and did more of a loping run up which worked well. I came down easily for the first 2 descents but quickened pace for the thir so that my legs would have to pick up the road pace after a fastish downhill which is what theyll have to do in Sligo. Uncomfortable for a while but kept the pace and legs improved after 10 minutes. That means tehres no point in in waiting for my legs to sort themselves out in Sligo, Ill be waiting 10 minutes. Will force them up to pace early.

interesting session, mixing tempo and hill repeats...strenght and pace endurance really is a strong point of your running

T runner

seanynova wrote: »

interesting session, mixing tempo and hill repeats...strenght and pace endurance really is a strong point of your running

Thanks. I wanted a run of maximum benefit to Warriors run without doing a long hil run (cant afford to lose a long road run now). Also wanted to get a pace/tempo run in for Berlin so hopefully killed two birds with one stone, or injured them atleast!

Slogger Jogger

Super session T. Keep it going. I'd offer to join you but there'd be no keeping up with you

T runner

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Super session T. Keep it going. I'd offer to join you but there'd be no keeping up with you

Hope to do plenty more in the Autumn and Winter. No marathons till at least Dublin next year after Berlin so plenty of time for hillrunning and shorter road races!

T runner

Thursday 12 August

Circuits 6 laps.

Felt good here, nice and strong. Easy run 5k also. Meant to do more but busy.

Bought a pair of Columbia Ravenous runners for warriors run.

Light enough 310 gr, great cushioning and excellent traction for grassy downhills. Going to test them for the 2ks tonight. They feel responsive enough.

My old Nike zoom trail were slipping a bit coming down the Maulin Ride. Great pair of shoes they are though. Theyll do for training and trail races now. Grip too worn for steep grass.

2ks tonight: Will start at 7:20s and work down. Imperative to get all 10 done so thats the main objective.

On Sundays long run of 35k may do first 27k averaging 4.25-30 perk and last 8k accelerating to 4.0 - 4.10.

This is in line with the P and D suggestion of running most of the session at 20% race pace with the last 8k at 10%.

Have only 3 long runs left If I can successfully do them all in this format it will be valuable indeed.

Peckham

T runner wrote: »

On Sundays long run of 35k may do first 27k averaging 4.25-30 perk and last 8k accelerating to 4.0 - 4.10.
....

Have only 3 long runs left If I can successfully do them all in this format it will be valuable indeed.

Savage session (although I had to get the calculator out to put all that into imperial measurements!).

When I read you only had 3 long runs left I thought you were slacking off, but then checked my own schedule and realised that's how close we're getting to the big day.

T runner

Friday 13 August

24k Session: 10 by 2k off 2 mins.

Average about 7.10-15

Ran slower than usual for these. Wanted to get them completed.

Leg strenght was tested at the end. Very good session. Maybe one of my last before Berlin at his volume.

Tried the runners I bought for warriors run. They are light 310gr but a little clunky. Will us them for long offroad races instead. Veering towards speedcross I's which are light, and flexible and close to the ground for descending.

Saturday 14th August

10.5k easy pace.


72.5k this week so far, 112k last week.

T runner

Peckham wrote: »

Savage session (although I had to get the calculator out to put all that into imperial measurements!).

When I read you only had 3 long runs left I thought you were slacking off, but then checked my own schedule and realised that's how close we're getting to the big day.

Yep*thats right a 3 week taper is only 3 weeks away! I have a 10 miler and a half marathon in between so may miss one long run.

Slogger Jogger

Great to read about your progression T. Keep it going, be positive and you'll get the outcome you deserve.

seanynova

T runner wrote: »

Tried the runners I bought for warriors run. They are light 310gr but a little clunky. Will us them for long offroad races instead. Veering towards speedcross I's which are light, and flexible and close to the ground for descending.

what shoes will you wear in Berlin?
im thinking of getting a pair of flats, but ill assess my foot strike in the next week or so, with the increase in cadence im becoming more of a forefoot striker and such dont pronate as much...wearing mizuno inspire 6s at the mo, would be nice to be able to wear a lighter shoe for the race.

another good 2k session T runner, all you have to do now is keep the mileage up mid week with the races coming up and you should find a balance with racing and mileage

T runner

seanynova wrote: »

what shoes will you wear in Berlin?
im thinking of getting a pair of flats, but ill assess my foot strike in the next week or so, with the increase in cadence im becoming more of a forefoot striker and such dont pronate as much...wearing mizuno inspire 6s at the mo, would be nice to be able to wear a lighter shoe for the race.

another good 2k session T runner, all you have to do now is keep the mileage up mid week with the races coming up and you should find a balance with racing and mileage

Hi Seany

Im wearing Nike Lunar Racers. They are very light (<200gr) but have cushioning like a heavier trainer.

They were great for Paris. I dont know if the Lunar Racer IIs are as good.

They might suit. The flats have less cushioning at the back so youll have to work your lower calves more. Takes getting used to. The Lunar Racers solve this as they are as light as any racer but have the cushioning. They come into their own late in the race.

T runner

Sunday 15/8/2010

Long Run: 35k

Good run. Ive pulled back the intensity of my sessions and recoveries this week as I felt I was losing control of the training. I have regained control somewhat. Havent got the kilometrage I want but happy apart from.
This period (6-3 weeks before race) can be used for big specific sessions with light recovery days in between. Considering running 10-12 miles easy before the Frank Duffy and trying to run race pace (61 mins accounting for hills). We'll see.

5k Split paces for today.

05k 4.30
10k 4:35
15k 4:26
20k 4:22
25k 4:23
30k 4:12
35k 4:01

Pace for the first 2 hours was 4:26 (7:08) and final 31 mins was 4:06 (6:36)

Roughly in line with P and Ds 20% PMP and 10% PMP guidance so glad to have finally got a long run right. Finally showing the patience of a marathoner in these long runs.10 times bitten, shy at last!

Peterx

Great session T. A mighty marathon awaits!
That's a fantastic effort to take into the warriors run too, very positive and controlled with a super final 5k.