2012 4 Races for 4 PBs

statss

Do you eat anything before these 5am morning runs?

outforarun

statss wrote: »

Do you eat anything before these 5am morning runs?

Nope. Glass of water or I'll carry a bottle of water on the run, but no food. I try have some porridge or some scrambled/boiled eggs after the run before heading for work.

outforarun

Recovery 4 Miles

Enjoyed this morning's run in the cold and rain.

I'm so used to running fast on Saturdays that it was nice to stroll out this morning for 4 recovery miles. The main aim here was to keep to 9:20 pace or slower. This was easy enough to start with as I headed past the Hilton and over to Inchicore. Tipping away nice and relaxed. Down Emmet Road then up along the South Circular to Jame's. Down to Heuston along the Luas tracks then head out the main road back towards the Hilton. Quick check of the Garmin - oops 9:19 showing. I don't have a lot of road left so I really slow down. I know it's only a second faster than target but I want to hit all sessions on the button. Finish back home with 9:24 pace on the Garmin. Enjoyed that and happy with my discipline. Legs feel better for it.

M01 9:34
M02 9:17
M03 9:16
M04 9:26

Total 4.05M @ 9:24

P&D55 Week 1 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
13K with 6K Lactate Threshold @ 4:10 to 4:15| 13.05K [8.11M]| 4:44 [7:37] with 6.02K @ 4:11 [6:44]
General Aerobic 9M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 9.01 | 9:05
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 4.05 | 9:24
LSR 12M @ 8:30 to 8:45 ||


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
03 / 03 / 00 / 00 / 83 | 21.17 / 65.57 / 65.57

outforarun

LSR 12 Miles

I’d arranged to meet a friend at the Chapelizod Gate for Sunday’s run. He was running down from Castleknock. Whoever arrived first would either wait at the gate or keep running in order to meet the other en route to the gate. He arrived first but assumed I was running along the main road from town so off he went along the main road. I probably arrived about a minute later from the Chapelizod direction, didn’t see him and so took a diversion up Acre’s Road as far as the Phoenix roundabout. No sign of my mate, we’re usually out by just 3 or 5 minutes. Mustn’t have been able to make it. So I head back down Acres Road and continue alone up Glen Road to the Knockmaroon Gate, up Tower, down White’s, then Ordnance and Furze before heading down the length of Chesterfield and home via Islandbridge Gate. Great to see loads of people out running.

This was my first LSR targeting my new 8:30 to 8:45 pace. I knew hitting target pace wouldn’t be an issue but I was curious to see how easy it would feel over the last 3 or 4 miles. It felt very easy. Ok it probably helped that I had a long descent down Chesterfield, but I was consciously trying to slow down and average pace was holding right on the fast end (8:30) of target range all the way down.

So one week down and just 17 to go (plus 2 buffer weeks). First week was easy but then it was just a 4 day week and I avoided any early morning runs.

Weighed in after my LSR to see that I’ve added 100gs in a week. Weight at end of week 1 is 73.10KG

M01 8:25
M02 8:22
M03 8:38
M04 8:13
M05 8:15
M06 9:01
M07 9:00
M08 8:25
M09 8:28
M10 8:19
M11 8:36
M12 8:49

Total 12.10M @ 8:33

P&D55 Week 1 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
13K with 6K Lactate Threshold @ 4:10 to 4:15| 13.05K [8.11M]| 4:44 [7:37] with 6.02K @ 4:11 [6:44]
General Aerobic 9M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 9.01 | 9:05
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 4.05 | 9:24
LSR 12M @ 8:30 to 8:45 | 12.10 | 8:33


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
04 / 04 / 00 / 00 / 82 | 33.27 / 77.67 / 77.67

outforarun

General Aerobic 13K with 10 x 100m Strides

First early run of the plan and first strides in nearly a year. Anyone who doesn’t like reading about strides set-up as an interval session on a Garmin better skip this post.

I managed to get to bed (sofa) relatively early last night, 11pm. So it wasn’t too difficult to get up and out this morning. On the road at 5:45. Had ran around 750m when I realised I hadn’t switched on intervals on the watch. Stopped to switch to the intervals and would now have to run to around 12.25K. Too early for this.

I spent a nice long warm-up of 8K (with one ominous twinge from left glute) at GA pace and was busy trying to decide where best to run the 10 x 100m strides. I tried some of Con Colbert Road for the first time – not flat enough. I eventually decided to use the double bike lane along Inchicore Road, from the Hilton over to Memorial Road. This was wide, mostly flat and mostly straight. Traffic is one-way, so provided I stayed on the inside bike lane I didn’t have to worry too much about the few cars and buses that passed me. It actually worked out very well. One length allowed me complete 2 sets of strides.

I had the strides set up as 10 x 100m intervals with 200m recovery. I wasn’t going to go full pelt on these (I made that mistake last year). I would be happy if I was running a little faster than 5K pace and focusing on form.

These went very well, I think. I’d accelerate up to what felt like faster than 5K pace and then hold that. I wasn’t looking at the Garmin at all, I was just listening to the beeps. Head up, trying not to tense muscles and trying to keep the strides steady and smooth.

Checking the stats later I see that the average stride pace was 3:40 min/km [5:54 min/mile]. So I gauged these very well, a little faster than my 5K pace and certainly fast enough for that early in the morning.

Pleased with the run. Enjoyed the variety. And happy to have found a good place to run strides (best place is the long lane inside IMMA, but that’s shut before 7:00).

8.79K @ 5:43 min/km [5.46M @ 9:12]
10 x 100m strides @ average 3:40 min/km [5:54 min/mile]
1.69K @ 5:43 [1.05M @ 9:12 min/mile]

Total 13.09K @ 5:32 [8.13M @ 8:54]

P&D55 Week 2 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 13K @ 5:36 to 5:45 with 10 x 100m Strides | 13.09K [8.13M]| 5:32 [8:54] with 10 x 100m strides @ 3:40 [5:54]
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | |
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
LSR 21K with 13K @ PMP 4:43 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
05 / 05 / 00 / 00 / 81 | 8.13 / 85.80 / 85.80

outforarun

General Aerobic 10 Miles

Ran a 10 mile diversion home from work.

I didn't really enjoy this one. For the first 5 miles the legs felt wooden. My left hamstring ached a little and I normally hear nothing from my hamstrings. Left Achilles was also pinging a bit. I woke up this morning with a light head cold so that didn't help matters. The second 5 miles were better but all told I was glad to get this one over with.

Too much concrete along the canal as far as Dolphin's Barn. Ran through Rialto (passing around a dozen young locals on high stilts!) and over to Inchicore, then onto Chapelizod before coming back the main road to Islandbridge, a 3 mile lap of the block to finish off. Lots of runners out this evening. The pace hovered right at the fast end of my GA range, had to put the brakes on a little at the end to stay good.

M01 9:05
M02 9:14
M03 9:06
M04 8:50
M05 8:46
M06 9:02
M07 9:07
M08 8:46
M09 8:56
M10 9:22

Total 10.03M @ 9:02

P&D55 Week 2 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 13K @ 5:36 to 5:45 with 10 x 100m Strides | 13.09K [8.13M]| 5:32 [8:54] with 10 x 100m strides @ 3:40 [5:54]
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 10.03 | 9:02
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
LSR 21K with 13K @ PMP 4:43 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
06 / 06 / 00 / 00 / 80 | 18.16 / 95.84 / 95.84

outforarun

Recovery 5 Miles

From Phoenix yesterday I could clearly see the big plume of smoke rising from Ballymount and heading for the sea. Not a good day for the lungs.

I'm enjoying my Saturday easy runs. Five miles of focusing on not running too fast. I'm determined to stay at 9:20 or slower. If the faster sessions are challenging me to run fast, these recovery runs are challenging me to run slow. The legs felt better yesterday, left hamstring was fine. Left achilles is pinging a bit these days. I think I may need to pick up new insoles, the current set are probably past their best.

M01 9:29
M02 9:05
M03 9:27
M04 9:18
M05 9:22 (100 miles for the year)

Total 5.15M @ 9:20

P&D55 Week 2 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 13K @ 5:36 to 5:45 with 10 x 100m Strides | 13.09K [8.13M]| 5:32 [8:54] with 10 x 100m strides @ 3:40 [5:54]
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 10.03 | 9:02
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 5.15 | 9:20
LSR 21K with 13K @ PMP 4:43 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
07 / 07 / 00 / 00 / 79 | 23.31 / 100.99 / 100.99

outforarun

LSR 21K with 13K at PMP

Headed out into a blustery morning for this one. I wrapped up well with sleeveless base layer, t-shirt, jacket and gloves.

The opening 8K I held LSR pace, mostly at the faster end of the range, around 5:18/19 min/km [8:32/33]. This section was mostly uphill, including the Upper Glen Road and Tower Road. I found the pace easy to maintain, but the legs were niggling again. I've been largely niggle-free since the summer so it's a bit annoying that the niggles are back just at the outset of this marathon cycle. The most noise is coming from the left achilles.

On Whites Road I start the PMP section. As soon as I up the pace my legs felt so much better and my stride felt so much smoother. I'm watching the Garmin quite a bit. I don't want to stray too far from 4:43 min/km [7:35] pace. I'll consider the session successful if final average pace is between 4:40 [7:31] and 4:43.

Down Ordnance and up Furze. There's a fair amount of downhill on the PMP section but this is balanced by the fact that most of the downhill is into a strong headwind. Up Chesterfield and onto the North Road, average pace is 4:40 and for a while 4:39. Down Acres with the wind trying to blow me up Acres. I can still see a plume of smoke from the smouldering Ballymount warehouse. Pace is comfortable enough and I spend time wondering how comfortable this would be after 20 miles. Just two weeks into P&D it's too early to be worrying about this, there's a lot of training to get in the legs before June.

Out ParkGate and up the Luas track by Heuston, finishing the PMP section with a loop around Old Kilmainham Road. For the majority of the run the average pace was showing 4:40 or 4:41. Final average pace 4:41 [7:33].

Overall I'm happy with how this felt and I keep telling myself that it's only January. I'd be happier if the achilles stopped pinging. Plus my right knee has been offering a few twinges during the day.

Two weeks down and the honeymoon period is over, 5 run weeks the norm for the next 14 weeks of P&D.

08.01K @ 5:18 [4.98M @ 8:32]
13.02K @ 4:41 [8.09M @ 7:33]

Total 21.03K @ 4:55 [13.07M @ 7:55]

Post LSR weight 72.70K

P&D55 Week 2 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 13K @ 5:36 to 5:45 with 10 x 100m Strides | 13.09K [8.13M]| 5:32 [8:54] with 10 x 100m strides @ 3:40 [5:54]
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 10.03 | 9:02
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 5.15 | 9:20
LSR 21K with 13K @ PMP 4:43 | 21.03 [13.07] | 4:55 [7:55] with 13.02 [8.09] @ 4:41 [7:33]


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
08 / 08 / 00 / 00 / 78 | 36.38 / 114.06 / 114.06

outforarun

General Aerobic 10 Miles

Early rise wasn’t too difficult this morning. On the road at 5:24, no rain falling. Two full laps of my Kilmainham - Inchicore – SCR – Heuston loop, plus one abbreviated lap (no SCR).

Legs felt better than I’d expected they would. Not a word from the achilles. I’m actually happier to be back on 5 day weeks, I think it keeps the muscles looser and doesn’t allow them time to tense up. At the end of the first lap the average pace is just a little too quick at 8:55. I slow down gently for the second lap and at the end of it I’m travelling at 9:00 pace. The rain starts to fall on the final lap. Always great to press stop at the end of 10 miler and realise it’s not yet 7:00 am. Final average pace is 9:03.

Two scrambled eggs and an oven-warmed bagel for breakfast before walking to work.

M01 9:20
M02 8:47
M03 8:38
M04 9:00
M05 8:55
M06 9:14
M07 9:13
M08 9:05
M09 9:10
M10 9:08

Total 10.05M @ 9:03

P&D55 Week 3 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 10.05 | 9:03
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
LT 13K with 6K @ 4:10 to 4:15 | |
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
LSR 14M @ 8:30 to 8:45 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
09 / 09 / 00 / 00 / 77 | 10.05 / 124.11 / 124.11

outforarun

Recovery 4 Miles

Recorded my slowest mile of the year this morning. A sloth-paced 10:15. Felt a bit guilty when I saw that split so of course I run the next two miles too fast. Slow it back down on the final mile and finish inside target pace.
No real complaints from the legs this morning.

I’ll be running tomorrow’s LT session after work. I won’t have to deal with an early rise but I may have to deal with traffic and a small rucksack on my back. I’m thinking maybe of running the LT section out and back along the road from Islandbridge to Chapelizod.

M01 10:15
M02 08:59
M03 08:56
M04 09:23

Total 4.02M @ 9:24

P&D55 Week 3 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 10.05 | 9:03
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 4.02 | 9:24
LT 13K with 6K @ 4:10 to 4:15 | |
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
MLR 14M @ 8:25 to 8:40 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
10 / 10 / 00 / 00 / 76 | 14.07 / 128.13 / 128.13

outforarun

13K with 6K @ LT

I haven't been paying close attention to the schedule. Only just realised that the Sunday runs in Mesocycle 1 are not LSRs, they are MLRs. Doesn't make much of a difference, I need to target 8:25 to 8:40 instead of 8:30 to 8:45. All the same I'm happy that the two Sunday runs I've done so far have come in at MLR target pace.

Tonight's run was fun. I'm never too sure how the legs are going to be after a day sat at the desk. They weren't as stiff and heavy as I feared. I left Earlsfort Terrace and headed for Heuston along back-streets and down Jame's Street. Was lucky with traffic only having to hit pause once. From Heuston I cross the river and run down to Islandbridge Gate. So a longer than usual warm-up of 4.72K [2.93M]. Hit the lap button and start the LT section.

Speed and stride increase. I'm careful to watch the path in front of me as the lighting isn't the best in places but overall this route is very good for an LT session. A wide footpath with cycle-path. I only saw one cyclist on this side of the road. I start out far too fast with 3:40 [5:54 min/mile] pace showing on the Garmin and so begin a process of gradually slowing down. By the time I reach Chapelizod Gate the average pace is showing at 4:08 [6:39 min/mile]. Still too fast.

On my way out some large groups of runners had passed me heading toward town. I take a u-turn at the gate and now I switch into pursuit mode, couldn't help it. I catch a few stragglers first, then eventually shoot past the main group of around 8 or 10 runners. Great fun. Doesn't help my attempts to slow down though. I do another u-turn at Islandbridge Gate and run back toward the runners I'd overtaken earlier. Most of the way back to Chapelizod Gate is spent gradually dropping the pace. I'm working hard but I'm not dying a death nor wishing the 6K to be over. One more u-turn and back toward town again. I've dropped the pace just into LT range 4:10 [6:42 min/mile]. And I hold that till the end of the LT section.

Really enjoyed that. This is a good spot for faster stuff, no traffic to worry about and pretty much flat all the way, probably ideal when run in daylight. A cool down of 2.35K [1.46M] brings me right to my doorstep and completes 13.09K [8.13M].

Ran this with a small rucksack, weighed it when I got home; 2.30Kgs.

4.72K @ 5:18 [2.93M @ 8:31]
6.02K @ 4:10 [3.74M @ 6:43]
2.35K @ 5:21 [1.46M @ 8:37]

Total 13.09K @ 4:47 [8.13M @ 7:42]

P&D55 Week 3 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 10.05 | 9:03
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 4.02 | 9:24
LT 13K with 6K @ 4:10 to 4:15 | 13.09 [8.13] | 4:47 [7:42] with 6.02K @ 4:10 [3.74M @ 6:43]
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
MLR 14M @ 8:25 to 8:40 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
11 / 11 / 00 / 00 / 75 | 22.21 / 136.26 / 136.26

outforarun

Recovery 4 Miles

Opened February's account nice and early on Saturday morning. Tipped leisurely around the block. I’m still not used to easy Saturdays. Some strong winds blowing for this one. Happy to note that the legs felt fine after Thursday evening’s LT session.

M01 9:34
M02 9:14
M03 9:09
M04 9:30

Total 4.04M @ 9:22

P&D55 Week 3 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 10.05 | 9:03
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 4.02 | 9:24
LT 13K with 6K @ 4:10 to 4:15 | 13.09 [8.13] | 4:47 [7:42] with 6.02K @ 4:10 [3.74M @ 6:43]
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 4.04 | 9:22
MLR 14M @ 8:25 to 8:40 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
12 / 12 / 00 / 00 / 74 | 26.25 / 4.04 / 140.30

statss

I've to start doing some of my running in the early mornings before work as of this week....must read back through your many 5am jaunts for motivation :eek:

Incidentally, have you got any build up races earmarked or will you do some solo time trails again? Maybe a little too early in the plan, but there'll be 3 of us from here (me, Tom Joad, Dave McMahon) doing the Bohermeen half in March aiming for circa 1.30 (which I think you'd have a good chance of achieving) if that's of any interest.

outforarun

MLR 14M

Out at around 8:15 Sunday morning for my longest run of the year to date.
I’ve gotten into the habit of wearing a Skins base layer for these Sunday runs. Makes me feel nice and snug – plus it seems to ensure that I get zero nipple-chaff. T-shirt over this, jacket over t-shirt, gloves on and away I go. Pick up an orange Powerade in Kilmainham on mile 2.

So knowing that I can run that little bit faster than on an LSR I settle into 8:2X pace. Running just a little bit too fast as far as Chapelizod but confident that the ascent from Chapelizod Gate to the top of Tower Road will get me back on track. At the gate average pace is 8:23. When I check again turning onto Whites Road it has dropped to 8:28.

Dry but chilly this morning and my bottle-hand is uncomfortably cold, even with gloves on. I head down North Road and down Acres Road Road and the average pace creeps back up to 8:25. I’m happy though that the pace feels fine I’m not tiring. Out Park Gate and home.

Week 3 completed without issue. Highlight of the week was definitely the LT lengths of Chapelizod Road. First 40 mile week of the year.

Surprised to weigh-in after Sunday’s run at 73.3KG. My heaviest weigh-in to date.

M01 8:43
M02 8:06
M03 8:08
M04 8:34
M05 8:18
M06 8:30
M07 8:36
M08 8:48
M09 8:08
M10 8:14
M11 8:29
M12 8:18
M13 8:29
M14 8:35

Total 14.11 @ 8:26

P&D55 Week 3 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 10.05 | 9:03
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 4.02 | 9:24
LT 13K with 6K @ 4:10 to 4:15 | 13.09 [8.13] | 4:47 [7:42] with 6.02K @ 4:10 [3.74M @ 6:43]
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 4.04 | 9:22
MLR 14M @ 8:25 to 8:40 | 14.11 | 8:26


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
13 / 13 / 00 / 00 / 73 | 40.36 / 18.15 / 154.41

outforarun

statss wrote: »

I've to start doing some of my running in the early mornings before work as of this week....must read back through your many 5am jaunts for motivation :eek:

Incidentally, have you got any build up races earmarked or will you do some solo time trails again? Maybe a little too early in the plan, but there'll be 3 of us from here (me, Tom Joad, Dave McMahon) doing the Bohermeen half in March aiming for circa 1.30 (which I think you'd have a good chance of achieving) if that's of any interest.

Just make sure you get to bed early - that's really the secret (and putting your alarm at the far side of the room, and having your gear ready at hand).

Thanks a mill for the Bohermeen HM invite. I've just been over to their site to check it out. 2nd of March though is I think probably a bit soon. Keep me posted though on any other races you might be planning in say April. I'd definitely be interested.

I plan on repeating my series of 10K TTs in the Park, I thought they worked out well for me, and I really enjoyed them. However I do have two weeks buffer before Cork and if I could use it to fit in a HM then that could be ideal.

outforarun

outforarun wrote: »

I do have two weeks buffer before Cork

Up at 4am this morning as the little one had fever. I'm sitting at work now sipping on a Lemsip hoping the mild headache and light shivers I'm feeling don't escalate.

outforarun

Manflu :eek:

outforarun

Monday night was hard work. Long and feverish. At one point during the night I had 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome' going over and over in my head. I was convinced that if I could get to the centre of the song I'd get better

Tuesday felt better. Temperature had dropped. I called to GP to check if I had picked up the little one's throat infection. Nope - man flu.

Diet of Lemsip and Ibuprofen since. Muscles ache a bit less. Temperature is mostly under control. Dry cough.

I'm anxious now to get better. I'd like to get some easy runs in at the weekend before commencing week 4 of P&D next week. Glad I factored in 2 weeks buffer.

outforarun

First 4 hours of last night was like sleeping in a furnace. The around 5am I suddenly felt much better. Nursed a sore throat and general feeling of fatigue for the morning but since midday I've felt nearly back to my normal self. Sick leave expires today so back to work tomorrow. Even if I feel recovered tomorrow or Saturday the earliest I'll lace up will be Sunday. I don't think I've ever had flu before - really hit me for 6.

outforarun

So Friday I felt better. Went to work and just had a cough at this stage.

Saturday morning the cough had gotten worse and I hadn't slept great because of it.

Sunday cough had improved, nose has pretty blocked.

I did no running over the weekend - I didn't want to risk it. I've decided to resume training Tuesday and see how it goes. Did a weigh-in on Sunday all the same - 73.45Kg. The heaviest I've been since starting P&D.

Today the cough is more of a tickly cough than a chesty one.

I'm just going to dive back in tomorrow and start week 4 as if nothing had happened. 8 General aerobic miles with some strides to stretch the legs.

outforarun

General Aerobic 13K with 10 x 100m Strides

On the road this morning at 5:39. I’d fallen asleep around 10:30 last night so it was no bother getting up for this one. Got the gear on, coughed a bit and headed out.

The first 2 miles or so involved a fair bit of coughing and hacking and dry hacking. Then, once I settled into GA pace the coughing mostly passed. I tried to assess my energy levels, to be honest I didn’t feel particularly tired so that’s a plus. I was unhappy to be running into a cold wind at times, fingers crossed the lungs will survive. Just did four laps of my shortest loop (Kilmainham Lane – St. Johns Road - Miltary Road) then headed onto ‘my’ bicycle lane from the Hilton to Memorial Road for 10 x 100m strides.

Ran these by feel aiming for a little faster than 5K pace. Focused on controlled acceleration and on holding form for the end of the 100ms. Ran 200ms recovery between each set of strides. They felt ‘ok’ maybe just a little more demanding than last time out, but turns out I was running them a little faster than last time out. Average stride pace was 3:35 [5:46]. Legs felt good, and feel good now.

Ok, one run at a time. I feel better now than I did 24 hours ago. Fingers crossed I'll continue to mend.

8.78K @ 5:46 min/km [5.46M @ 9:12]
10 x 100m strides @ average 3:35 min/km [5:46]
1.63K @ 5:39 [1.01M @ 9:06]

Total 13.01K @ 5:31 [8.08M @ 8:53]

P&D55 Week 4 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 13K @ 5:36 to 5:45 with 10 x 100m Strides | 13.01K [8.08M]| 5:31 [8:53] with 10 x 100m strides @ 3:35 [5:46]
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | |
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
MLR 15M @ 8:25 to 8:40 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
14 / 14 / 00 / 00 / 72 | 8.08 / 26.23 / 162.49

outforarun

Recovery 5 Miles

Wasn’t in the mood for this one. Reluctantly got up and into gear. I was lucky with the weather, it wasn’t as bitingly cold as last night, plus I managed to get this done before any rain started falling.

Again the first 2 miles involved a lot of hacking and coughing and spitting. You could hear me arriving from over 100ms I reckon. Once any build-up from the night had been expelled (lovely) I felt better.

For once on a recovery run I never threatened to run faster than target pace.

M01 9:46
M02 9:08
M03 9:00
M04 9:44
M05 9:36

Total 5.03M @ 9:27

P&D55 Week 4 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 13K @ 5:36 to 5:45 with 10 x 100m Strides | 13.01K [8.08M]| 5:31 [8:53] with 10 x 100m strides @ 3:35 [5:46]
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 5.03 | 9:27
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | |
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
MLR 15M @ 8:25 to 8:40 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
15 / 15 / 00 / 00 / 71 | 13.11 / 31.26 / 167.52

outforarun

General Aerobic 10 Miles

Ran home from work yesterday. Didn’t get much enjoyment out of this one, just happy at the end to tick the box.

I had an ache in my lower back for most of the day so I was prepared to bail on this one if that started to act up. Carrying a 5.35Kg rucksack on my back for this probably wasn’t wise. Throw in a large amount of pavement, a sprinkling of traffic lights and a strong headwind, and this run had me very underwhelmed. That said I actually felt ok over the 10 miles and was mostly focussing on keeping the pace down. I was also hacking and spitting less.

I'm dreaming these days of sunny weather running with just a t-shirt on top and the warmth of the sunshine on neck legs and arms. Patience.

M01 8:58
M02 8:42
M03 8:58
M04 9:02
M05 9:04
M06 9:08
M07 9:29
M08 8:46
M09 8:53
M10 9:24

Total 10.07M @ 9:02

P&D55 Week 4 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 13K @ 5:36 to 5:45 with 10 x 100m Strides | 13.01K [8.08M]| 5:31 [8:53] with 10 x 100m strides @ 3:35 [5:46]
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 5.03 | 9:27
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 10.07 | 9:02
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
MLR 15M @ 8:25 to 8:40 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
16 / 16 / 00 / 00 / 70 | 23.18 / 41.33 / 177.59

outforarun

Recovery 4 Miles

Sunshine on Saturday. Just 4 miles at lunchtime and more coughing and hacking, but at least it was in the sunshine. Did this as 4 gentle laps along Kilmainham Lane and through IMMA. Legs felt ok, I’m just so fed up with this post-flu cough that refuses to go away.

M01 9:23
M02 9:19
M03 9:24
M04 9:18

Total 4.09M @ 9:22

P&D55 Week 4 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 13K @ 5:36 to 5:45 with 10 x 100m Strides | 13.01K [8.08M]| 5:31 [8:53] with 10 x 100m strides @ 3:35 [5:46]
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 5.03 | 9:27
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 10.07 | 9:02
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 4.09 | 9:22
MLR 15M @ 8:25 to 8:40 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
17 / 17 / 00 / 00 / 69 | 27.27 / 45.42 / 181.68

outforarun

MLR 15 Miles

Wrapped up well ahead of this one. Frost on the roofs outside so wore two pairs of gloves, I hate cold hands when running. Delighted to see the sun shining for a second day in a row. Decided to keep the route simple, headed to Phoenix via Parkgate, then two anticlockwise laps of the Park following the main road, each lap including a trip up and down to the Castleknock gate. back home via Parkgate. Had a bit of lower back ache for this one so I reckon it might be time to have another attempt at some core work.

First lap is fine, takes a little while to loosen up fully but pace-wise I’m straight in at the fast end of the range. I hold pace more or less at 8:25 for the first lap. Some icy spots to be careful of. Lap 2 I don’t pace very well. As I’m going down the Upper Glen Road, squinting into the sun, a group of 8 or so runners, travelling slightly faster than I am, passes me. I speed up a bit as they pass by, picking up some of their momentum and getting caught in their wake. Then there’s another group of runners ahead travelling a little slower than I am. So either I slowly work my way through their group or I speed up a little to overtake. I go with the latter, I should really have just hung 10ms behind them and tipped along at their pace. Anyway the last few miles of the second lap were run too quickly so I had to put the brakes on near the end to stay on target.

Coughing and hacking was less frequent, but each time I'd cough and hack it would increase the ache in my lower back, didn't make for a very comfortable run. In the afternoon my legs ached a bit; in hindsight I wish I’d run this a little slower, especially as P&D week 5 promises to be the toughest one yet.

M01 8:16
M02 8:29
M03 8:36
M04 8:27
M05 8:21
M06 8:31
M07 8:20
M08 8:27
M09 8:23
M10 8:33
M11 8:20
M12 8:15
M13 8:17
M14 8:06
M15 8:55

Total 15.37 @ 8:26

Post MLR weigh-in = 72.5KG

P&D55 Week 4 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
General Aerobic 13K @ 5:36 to 5:45 with 10 x 100m Strides | 13.01K [8.08M]| 5:31 [8:53] with 10 x 100m strides @ 3:35 [5:46]
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 5.03 | 9:27
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 10.07 | 9:02
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 4.09 | 9:22
MLR 15M @ 8:25 to 8:40 | 15.37 | 8:26


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
18 / 18 / 00 / 00 / 68 | 42.64 / 60.79 / 197.05

outforarun

14K with 8K @ LT

Finish my session before 6:50am this morning and I’ve a satisfying feeling that I’ve already broken the back of this week’s running: but it was tough going.

Managed to get on the road for 5:36 but wasn’t feeling enthused by the task at hand. A slow warm-up brings me from Kilmainham over to Chapelizod along the Chapelizod Road. Not too much hacking and coughing and spitting, getting better. I turn around at The Mullingar House and continue my warm-up back to the Chapelizod Gate. Then reluctantly I hit lap on the Garmin and get stuck into 8K at LT pace.

The first K is fine, I find target range fairly easily and settle into 4:13 pace [6:47]. The second K isn’t so fine and the pace drops slightly to 4:14 [6:49]. I take a u-turn at Islandbridge Gate and head back out toward Chapelizod. There’s a slight headwind (more of a head-breeze) when running toward Chapelizod, plus it feels like there is a slight incline in this direction. The third kilometre feels tough. I’m anxiously glancing at the watch to ensure that I’m staying on target. Usually when I run LT I start too fast and then have the luxury of slowly decelerating through-out the run. No such luxury this morning, I had to work at not dropping the effort. Another u-turn at Chapelizod Gate and I head back toward Islandbridge. The u-turns are upsetting my rhythm. I complete 4K but I’m starting to question whether I can keep this going.

When I take my next u-turn at Islandbridge I tell myself that I’ve only 3 point something K to go. Back into the head-breeze and ‘perceived’ incline.
Garmin is mostly showing 4:14, sometimes 4:13. Legs are sore. I’m wishing this was over. One more disruptive, jarring u-turn. Come-on this is the last straight.

I’m checking the Garmin, 1500ms to go, 1K to go, just a slow 800m interval to go, just a lap of a track to go. And finally it’s over. A huge hack and cough attack ensues; but after 400ms or so I’m composed again.

Really pleased I hit target on this one, I wasn’t sure between 3K and 4.5K if I was going to. Why was this one so difficult? I guess a combination of 3 things: my first sustained speed session since being out for a week with a nasty flu, Sunday’s 15 miler still in the legs, and the fact I started the LT section at the stroke of 6:00am. Toughest session in P&D to date.

Happy to see a sliver of blue on the horizon as I headed home on my cool-down.

Warm-up 4.12K @ 5:48 [2.56M @ 9:20]
LT 8.04K @ 4:14 [4.99M @ 6:48] (bringing up 200 miles for the year)
Cool-down 1.86K @ 5:52 [1.15M @ 9:27]

Total 14.02K @ 4:54 [8.71M @ 7:54]

P&D55 Week 5 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
14K with 8K at 4:10 to 4:15 | 14.02K [8.71M]| LT section 4:14 [6:48]
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | |
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
PMP 26K with 16K @ 4:43 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
19 / 19 / 00 / 00 / 67 | 8.71 / 69.50 / 205.76

outforarun

Recovery 5 Miles

Tough enough to get up and out this morning, but once I got going I was grand. One loop over to Inchicore plus one loop round HSQ. Very mild out. The amount of hacking and coughing was greatly reduced, fingers –crossed I’ve nearly shaken off this cough.

Legs felt tired but good; it was as if I could feel every muscle and every tendon, no pain, no aches, no discomfort, just very aware of all the bits and pieces doing their job. Kept the pace nice and slow, if I went hard yesterday morning I certainly went easy this morning. Enjoyed this.

M01 10:08
M02 09:17
M03 09:09
M04 09:28
M05 09:27

Total 5.05M @ 9:30

P&D55 Week 5 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
14K with 8K at 4:10 to 4:15 | 14.02K [8.71M]| LT section 4:14 [6:48]
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 5.05 | 9:30
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | |
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
PMP 26K with 16K @ 4:43 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
20 / 20 / 00 / 00 / 66 | 13.76 / 74.56 / 210.82

outforarun

General Aerobic 10 Miles

Thursday continues to be my one run-home-from-work day. My 10 mile route takes me from Leeson Street along the canal to Dolphins Barn, through Rialto, over to Inchicore, across to Chapelizod, back to Islandbridge, up to the Hilton and one big loop back through Inchicore and home via Heuston. I love GPS. This is my third or fourth time running this same route and everytime the Garmin sounds 5 miles while I’m on the boardwalk crossing the bridge in Chapelizod.

No heavy rucksack for this one just 2.25Kg, no lower back ache. Legs felt kind of like on Wednesday, taut but good. Only coughed and hacked maybe three times in total so really happy about that. Had the face stripped off me by killer hail during mile 5. All and all a good run. Getting curious now to see how Sunday’s 16K at PMP will go.

M01 8:56
M02 9:06
M03 9:16
M04 9:08
M05 9:02
M06 8:51
M07 9:21
M08 8:48
M09 8:55
M10 9:10

Total 10.05M @ 9:04

P&D55 Week 5 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
14K with 8K at 4:10 to 4:15 | 14.02K [8.71M]| LT section 4:14 [6:48]
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 5.05 | 9:30
General Aerobic 10M @ 9:00 to 9:15 | 10.05 | 9:04
Recovery 5M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |
PMP 26K with 16K @ 4:43 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
21 / 21 / 00 / 00 / 65 | 23.81 / 84.61 / 220.87

Sharkey47

Hiya, nice to see you bouncing back from illness. Reads like the P&D programme is going well so far. Any thoughts on prep races ahead of Cork at this stage to test the progress?

outforarun

Sharkey47 wrote: »

Hiya, nice to see you bouncing back from illness. Reads like the P&D programme is going well so far. Any thoughts on prep races ahead of Cork at this stage to test the progress?

Thanks, I'm hoping for a cough free run on Sunday.

Prep races? For better or for worse I'm trying to follow P&D to the letter, so I'm not really thinking about prep-races at the moment. I'll think about them once they make an appearance in Mesocycle 3. At that point I'll check what races are on and whether or not they are within the prescribed P&D distance. I'll almost certainly repeat some of the solo 10K TTs that I did last year. I enjoyed these a lot and felt they helped me progress. Also I plan on focusing on 10Ks in the second half of the year (going to try that 8 week McMillan 10K key workouts schedule) so I'd like to get some feedback as to where I'm at 10K wise.

I still have one week buffer left to play with. I'd like to keep it free as long as possible. If I still have it around late April or May then I'll probably try slot in another race.

I don't have the P&D book at hand but if I remember correctly their prescribed race distance is from 8K to 15K. I don't think they cater for a HM as a prep race (I could be wrong about this). A prep HM is almost a given for most runners getting ready for a marathon - but like I said, I'm set on following P&D to the letter, for better or worse.