2012 4 Races for 4 PBs

outforarun · 30-03-2017 12:35am

Recovery 5 Miles

I continue to juggle the sequence of these runs and start week 7 of the plan with a 5 mile recovery run. I feel it makes more sense after Saturday's efforts. Headed out in the evening after work, a little chill back in the air so I treated myself to a pair of gloves. To Chapelizod via Ballyfermot Road then all the way back to Heuston along the Chapelizod Road.

Don't watch the Garmin, just focus on really easy comfortable running. Lovely. It's great to be out in the evening and running in daylight. Only pity was the legs were heavy again.

Officially next up is a straight 38min tempo run. But instead I will run the 20min + 16min tempo from week 5 of the plan, this one I'd missed during my recent buffer week. That way I will have completed every session from the first 6 weeks of the plan, halfway there.

US work travel coming up soon which will interrupt weekend running. Another buffer week will be used I reckon, that's what they're for.

M01 8:38
M02 8:17
M03 8:24
M04 8:26
M05 8:31

Total 5.03M @ 8:28

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 7 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
Tempo 14K with 38mins @ 3:50 to 3:56 [6:10 to 6:20] |
Endurance 10 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | |
General Aerobic 13K with 10x100m Strides | |
Recovery 5 Miles @ 8:30 to 9:00 | 5.03M @ 8:28 | N/A
Progression 13 Miles with last 3M @ tempo | |

WTD 5.03M MTD 160.05M YTD 505.40M

outforarun · 30-03-2017 10:59pm

13K with 20mins & 16mins @ Tempo

Booked the track for this. Did some calculations beforehand and reckoned that 20 mins should equate to around 12 to 13 laps and 16 mins equate to a little over 10 laps. So plan was 13 laps, 4 minute jog recovery then 11 laps. I'd take manual 400m splits aiming for 1:32 to 1:34 per lap.

Ran around 4K warm-up before heading onto the track. Moved into lane 1 and started the evening's work. The first few laps were fine, the pace felt comfortable. But the laps seemed to take forever to tick by. A kilometre on the road feels like it passes quicker than a kilometre on the track. There are a few groups training this evening, travelling slower than me so some laps I needed to leave my lane to overtake. I don't mind, I'm happy with the company.

My splits are a little fast at first and I ease off consciously. But after around 8 laps or so I don't need to make a conscious effort to ease off, the effort levels are rising and I'm anxious for the laps to tick by. Around 10 laps done and I'm really looking forward to the 4mins recovery. I'm also wondering if 4 mins will be enough.

First tempo block completed, 13 laps in 20:09mins. Thats 3:52 [6:14] pace with an average 400m split of 1:32.99. Splits were as follows:

L01 1:32.24
L02 1:31.61
L03 1:33.06
L04 1:32.39
L05 1:31.83
L06 1:32.35
L07 1:31.57
L08 1:33.32
L09 1:32.81
L10 1:34.05
L11 1:33.70
L12 1:33.96
L13 1:35.95

I move into lane 8 for the 4 minutes of recovery. That was fairly tough near the end and I'm not hugely looking forward to another 11 laps of the same. Recovery passes quickly, move back to lane 1 and start the second tempo section. I start this block at the end of the back-straight. There's a moderate wind blowing tonight and for the second tempo block it's behind me for the final 100ms of each lap. For the first block it was against me over the last 100m. I definitely prefer the tailwind finish.

I misjudge the first lap, logging a 1:29.94. Ease off immediately. First maybe 3 or 4 laps are ok then it starts getting difficult again. Legs are tired and lungs are busy. Splits are slower than during the first tempo block. With around 6 laps to go I want to be finished. Countdown goes on forever. Just 5 more, just 4 more, only 1200m to go. Less than 1000m, it'd be nothing on the road. I don't check my splits for the last few laps. And then finally it's over.

I had to work for that, 11 laps in 17:18min. That's 3:56 [6:20] pace, so slow end of tempo. On the other hand I ran over 17 minutes at tempo instead of the prescribed 16. Average 400m split was 1:34.32, splits were as follows:

L01 1:29.94
L02 1:35.28
L03 1:33.28
L04 1:34.62
L05 1:34.82
L06 1:35.59
L07 1:35.35
L08 1:34.63
L09 1:36.08
L10 1:35.06
L11 1:32.41

Felt good after this, a proper work-out, the track definitely keeps you honest.

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 7 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
Tempo 14K with 38mins @ 3:50 to 3:56 [6:10 to 6:20] Tempo 13K with 20mins & 16mins @ 3:50 to 3:56 [6:10 to 6:20]| 5.20K @ 3:52 [3.23M @ 6:14] & 4.4K @ 5:56 [6:20]| N/A
Endurance 10 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | |
General Aerobic 13K with 10x100m Strides | |
Recovery 5 Miles @ 8:30 to 9:00 | 5.03M @ 8:28 | N/A
Progression 13 Miles with last 3M @ tempo | |

WTD 15.82M MTD 170.84M YTD 516.19M

outforarun · 30-03-2017 11:21pm

Endurance 10 Miles

Set this up as a work-out on the Garmin with five blocks of 2 miles each, gradually building up the pace to the faster end of prescribed endurance pace.

Nice evening for a run, fresh without being cold. Dry and very little wind. I start looping around my usual Cartrontroy loop but when I get to Garrycastle I decided to leave the road and I drop down to the old railway line. I turn right and head town-wards. This is a fantastic path. Black tarmac for a straight and flat 1.2 mile run back into town. The path in the other direction runs for 40K all the way to Mullingar.

I work my way up through the paces, all very gentle. I notice some feedback again from the left knee at the start of the run. As mentioned before I'm going to shortly use another buffer week to coincide with a work trip to the US. This is probably fortunate timing allowing me to give some rest to the knee.

Finish feeling good.

2.00M @ 8:07
2.00M @ 7:55
2.00M @ 7:46
2.00M @ 7:39
2.00M @ 7:29

Total 10.04M @ 7:47

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 7 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
Tempo 14K with 38mins @ 3:50 to 3:56 [6:10 to 6:20] Tempo 13K with 20mins & 16mins @ 3:50 to 3:56 [6:10 to 6:20]| 5.20K @ 3:52 [3.23M @ 6:14] & 4.4K @ 5:56 [6:20]| N/A
Endurance 10 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | 10.04M @ 7:47 | N/A
General Aerobic 13K with 10x100m Strides | |
Recovery 5 Miles @ 8:30 to 9:00 | 5.03M @ 8:28 | N/A
Progression 13 Miles with last 3M @ tempo | |

WTD 25.86M MTD 180.88M YTD 526.23M

outforarun · 06-04-2017 5:26am

Easy 5 Miles

Update from buffer week number 2. Had one hundred and one things to do on Saturday and then spent all of Sunday travelling to North Carolina. I now need to navigate a tricky week of early work starts, late(ish) work finishes and afterwork meals and drinks out.

Managed to get out Monday evening here. A storm had been brewing overhead and about 10 mins into the run the heavens opened and I was soaked to the bone inside 30 seconds. Streams of water gushing along the road side before being swallowed up by storm-drains.

Turn around after a little over 2 mile and head back to the hotel via an open air shopping mall.
I'm running a little faster than intended but the effort is very low. Too much pavement running.

M01 7:40
M02 7:29
M03 7:17
M04 7:27
M05 7:24

Total 5.27M @ 7:28

WTD 5.27M MTD 5.27M YTD 531.50M

outforarun · 09-04-2017 1:48am

Mixed feelings about March, but mostly good.

The two 'failed' progression runs rankle a little. But I know the conditions were against me and I'll focus on the fact that while I didn't hit my pace targets I did hit my effort targets, I was pretty much dead on my feet at the end of both of these runs.

Compensating for these two runs were my two most recent speed sessions, a solid 20min + 16min tempo session on the track, but even moreso the 6x1K VO2 session on the last Saturday of March. I hadn't run at 3K/5K speed in weeks and was concerned I'd really struggle here, that I'd have lost sharpness at the faster paces. Instead I nailed the session, first time doing 6x1K and I completed them at 3K pace. Really good to exit the month with fresh confidence from this session. My best run of the month.

The other run that stands out was my longest run of the year an 18 miler down to Dun Laoire and back, I was starting to blow-up on this one.

And March also saw a welcome return to running without jackets and gloves.

Went past the 500 mile mark before month-end so still on track for 2000 in the year.

Month | Monthly Miles | Daily mileage for month | Weekly Mileage for month | Daily mileage for year | Weekly mileage for year | Predicted yearly mileage
January | 182.66 | 5.89 | 41.25 | 5.89 | 41.25 | 2151
February | 162.69 | 5.81 | 40.67 | 5.85 | 40.97 | 2136
March | 180.88 | 5.83 | 40.84 | 5.85 | 40.93 | 2134
April | | | | | |
May | | | | | |
June | | | | | |
July | | | | | |
August | | | | | |
September | | | | | |
October | | | | | |
November | | | | | |
December | | | | | |

outforarun · 10-04-2017 11:20pm

Easy 7 Miles

Last week I managed another after-work 7 miles in the States. There were tornado alerts midweek and the weather in general was very grumpy. Wet roads and raining when I got back to the hotel. Threw on the runners and headed outside. I decided better to stay away from the bigger roads and stick close to the hotel. There's a convenient loop measuring a little over a mile just outside the hotel. So opted for laps of this. Completed 7 in total. Felt comfortable although the lap is run on a little too much pavement. Rain had passed by the time I'd finished.

M01 7:53
M02 7:50
M03 7:37
M04 7:41
M05 7:37
M06 7:32
M07 7:24

Total 7.23M @ 7:40

WTD 12.50M MTD 12.50M YTD 538.73M

outforarun · 10-04-2017 11:52pm

General Aerobic 13K with 10x100m Strides

Landed back in Dublin Saturday morning having got maybe 5 minutes sleep somewhere south of Greenland. I napped for 3 hours as soon as I got home and then I just had to get outside on a glorious glorious Saturday. Felt a little sluggish as I tipped along the towpath toward Chapelizod under cloudless blue skies. Turned into the park at Chapelizod Gate and up to the 15 Acres. Did the strides clockwise and the Garmin says they were faster than they felt.

Continued home along the S-bends. Feeling much more awake after this run than before it.

Total 13.72K @ 4:49 [8.53M @ 7:45]

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 7 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
Tempo 14K with 38mins @ 3:50 to 3:56 [6:10 to 6:20] Tempo 13K with 20mins & 16mins @ 3:50 to 3:56 [6:10 to 6:20]| 5.20K @ 3:52 [3.23M @ 6:14] & 4.4K @ 5:56 [6:20]| N/A
Endurance 10 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | 10.04M @ 7:47 | N/A
General Aerobic 13K with 10x100m Strides | 13.72K @ 4:49 [8.53M @ 7:45] | N/A
Recovery 5 Miles @ 8:30 to 9:00 | 5.03M @ 8:28 | N/A
Progression 13 Miles with last 3M @ tempo | |

WTD 21.03M MTD 21.03M YTD 547.26M

outforarun · 11-04-2017 12:32am

Progression Run 13 Miles

Finally nailed one of these

I set it up on the Garmin like this:

2 miles @ 8:00 to 8:14
2 miles @ 7:35 to 8:05
2 miles @ 7:10 to 7:40
2 miles @ 6:45 to 7:15
2 miles @ 6:20 to 6:50
3 miles @ 6:10 to 6:20

So each step ahead of the final 3 tempo miles offered me a 25 second pace range, each with a 5 second overlap with the previous step to allow for a smoother transition. I also ran this one as prescribed by P&L and didn't add an additional 3 miles. I really wanted to hit my targets on this I needed a confidence boost after the two previous progression 'failures'.

I was still nervous heading out late Sunday morning. Forgot that the Great Ireland Run was on today. I overlapped with the tail-end of this and it acted as a handy distraction.

The first 2 miles take me up behind the zoo and I run these a fraction too quickly.

The next 2 miles take me through Mountjoy Roundabout and down onto OS Road. I had been thinking of doing the tempo section around the Furze, OS loop but the 10K was still in progress so that wasn't an option.

Onto the third 2 mile step. Taking me from OS Road down to Chapelizod Gate and up to the S-Bends. These 2 miles were completed at 7:17 pace, I feel a little less comfortable than I'd have liked, maybe still a little jet-lagged?

For the fourth step I continue through the S-Bends and down Military Road, I turn before the fort and up onto the playing fields. I want to check this out as the location for the tempo section. The stiff headwind blowing from Acres to the fort is not encouraging though. Legs feel a little stiff as I continue at 6:5X pace around the loop. I still have two more gear shifts to make.

The last 2 mile step starts as I head back down toward the fort again. Tough now and even tougher when I turn back into the headwind. I don't think I'll stay on this loop for the tempo section, partly because of the headwind but also partly because the deer are starting to encroach again onto the path. I leave the loop and head back down past the hospital and out Chapelizod Gate. I run toward Chapelizod village and turn around, the 2 miles finish as I arrive back at Chapelizod Gate. I'm not looking forward to the next 3 miles.

The tailwind helps for sure. And I spend the first mile easing up delicately and watching the pace drop steadily from 5:5X pace to 6:0X pace to 6:1X pace. I get to Islandbridge Gate, turn 180 degrees and start the hardest mile of the morning. The headwind isn't as strong as last time out, but it is demanding and it's making me work hard. I glance at the watch a few times and for the first half mile average pace is holding steady at 6:13, but then for the second half into the wind it starts to drop. When I get back to Chapelizod Gate it has dropped to 6:18. The 180 turn around is hard on the legs but I feel confident now that the toughest part is over. I stay focused and helped by the tailwind I drop average pace down to 6:16 by the time I finish back at Islandbridge.

Fairly wrecked after this. One of those runs where the cool-down is also tiring and I just want to get home. I ran this much more cleverly than last time out. I ran the 3 tempo miles on the exact same stretch so I have to be happy with an improvement from a 6:33 average to a 6:16 average.

First test in April is passed.

2.00M @ 7:59
2.00M @ 7:36
2.00M @ 7:17
2.00M @ 6:56
2.00M @ 6:45
3.00M @ 6:16

Total 13.97M @ 7:08

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 7 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
Tempo 14K with 38mins @ 3:50 to 3:56 [6:10 to 6:20] Tempo 13K with 20mins & 16mins @ 3:50 to 3:56 [6:10 to 6:20]| 5.20K @ 3:52 [3.23M @ 6:14] & 4.4K @ 5:56 [6:20]| N/A
Endurance 10 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | 10.04M @ 7:47 | N/A
General Aerobic 13K with 10x100m Strides | 13.72K @ 4:49 [8.53M @ 7:45] | N/A
Recovery 5 Miles @ 8:30 to 9:00 | 5.03M @ 8:28 | N/A
Progression 13 Miles with last 3M @ tempo | 13.97M @ 7:08 with 3M @ 6:16 | N/A

WTD 35.00M MTD 35.00M YTD 561.23M

outforarun · 11-04-2017 11:03pm

General Aerobic 7 Miles

Thoughts are all focused on Saturday. Can't find a race to run so it'll be one of my favourites, a 10K TT.

I remember after Raheny feeling very confident of running a 10K PB, wish I still had some of that post race confidence. I think if I was racing a 10K I would try hold high 3:4X pace for as long as possible. Probably 3:49 pace. Most likely I'll aim for that on Saturday. Neat on the Garmin that would be a 38:10. Wish I was racing to be honest.

Anyway, started the week Monday evening with a pleasant 7 miles in the Park. Still feels like a novelty to be running there in the evening. Thighs feeling a little stiff after yesterday's efforts.

2.00M @ 8:04
2.00M @ 7:31
2.00M @ 7:39
1.06M @ 7:49

Total 7.05M @ 7:45

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 8 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
General Aerobic 13K with 2x(4x150m strides) | |
General Aerobic 7 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:45 | 7.05M @ 7:45 | N/A
Recovery 3 Miles with 4x100m Strides | |
10K Time Trial | |
Endurance 10 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | |

WTD 7.05M MTD 42.05M YTD 568.28M

overpronator · 12-04-2017 9:07am

Good luck Saturday. I feel ill even thinking about that session!

outforarun · 14-04-2017 5:25pm

overpronator wrote: »

Good luck Saturday. I feel ill even thinking about that session!

I know I just want to get it over with. Hanging over me.

outforarun · 14-04-2017 6:03pm

General Aerobic 13K with 2x(4x150m strides)

An Athlone evening run on Tuesday. A bit chilly and a bit windy. Legs, thighs specifically, continue to feel a light taut, in well exercised way. I start with my usual lap toward town then back by Retreat Road and Cartrontroy Road.

I drop down to the old rail line for the first set of strides. Perfect place for these if it wasn't for off the leash dogs. End up mis-counting and run a 5th 150 by accident. Left the rail-line for the second set and ran it on the Garrycastle Bridge. There's 250m of recovery between each interval and 4 minutes between sets. Legs feeling fairly spritely again.

Total 13.02K @ 4.51 [8.09M @ 7:48]

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 8 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
General Aerobic 13K with 2x(4x150m strides) | 13.02K @ 4:51 [8.09M @ 7:48] | N/A
General Aerobic 7 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:45 | 7.05M @ 7:45 | N/A
Recovery 3 Miles with 4x100m Strides | |
10K Time Trial | |
Endurance 10 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | |

WTD 15.14M MTD 50.14M YTD 576.37M

outforarun · 14-04-2017 6:15pm

Recovery 3 Miles with 4x100m Strides

Got out at lunch time today for this. 3 Miles prescribed but I'd run a little shy of 4. Not having run since Tuesday the legs weren't feeling too lively. The left leg felt particularly uncooperative and heavy. I hope it's loosened out by tomorrow morning. I also hope there's no wind tomorrow. Today the usual headwind was blowing down from Acres.

Legs didn't feel much better after the strides.

Total 3.97M @ 8:21

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 8 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
General Aerobic 13K with 2x(4x150m strides) | 13.02K @ 4:51 [8.09M @ 7:48] | N/A
General Aerobic 7 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:45 | 7.05M @ 7:45 | N/A
Recovery 3 Miles with 4x100m Strides | 3.97M @ 8:21 | N/A
10K Time Trial | |
Endurance 10 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | |

WTD 19.11M MTD 54.11M YTD 580.34M

outforarun · 16-04-2017 3:27pm

10K TT

Wake-up call!!

Sometimes a poor performance is worth more than a good performance. That's the spin I'm putting on this morning's run. It serves as a timely reality check ahead of Cork. I don't think I can fault my effort too much, I pushed hard and it definitely felt like race effort right from the start, but my preparation stank.

It probably was unwise to coincide this weekend's running with a rugby trip to Limerick. Friday evening out for a meal with friends and when the second bottle of red was opened I decided to play the 'It's a long weekend I'll just push my runs out 24hrs' card. Then Saturday after the game we headed to our old local, met some more friends and while by no means did I go ballistic I still drank as if I wasn't attemting a tough session the day after. Another reason why it's better to race than do a TT. If I was racing I would have shown the required pre-race discipline.

This morning I woke with my head feeling fine but with very little desire to tackle a 10K TT. I was pleased to see grey skies outside and there were a few drops of rain about as well. Headed out at 8:45ish. Warm-up of 3K with the legs giving no indication of how ready or unready they were for the job ahead. The plan was to try hold 3:49 [6:08] pace for as long as possible. So basically I was trying to run a Garmin 10K faster than I've ever run one before. I'd chosen clockwise laps of the North Circular Road as my track for this.

01-05K in 19:10 @ 3:50 [6:10]

I wasn't watching average pace on the watch instead I just checked my splits as they sounded on the watch. On paper it looks like I started well, 2 seconds up after K1 and 3 seconds up after K2. But even after the first split I knew this was feeling tougher than it should have done. It felt closer to 5K effort than 10K effort and mentally this was not the start I needed. I was wishing this was a race where I'd have other runners to distract me. Instead it was just me and an empty road with the occasional runner heading in the opposite direction.

K3 was a 3:50 [6:11] so I was back to 2 seconds up on target time. I rally a little on K4 with a 3:48 [6:08], 3 seconds up again. But that was the last decent split of the morning. K5 with a 9m net elevation gain has the toughest profile of the run and I log a 3:56 [6:21]. Halfway there, 4 seconds off target time, on a good day this would have seen me set up for a nice negative split.

06-10K in 19:52 @ 3:58 [6:23]

First split of the second 5K is a 3:55 [6:20]. Now I'm 10 seconds off target time. At this point I stop checking splits and just resolve to keep the effort levels honest. Legs are tired and lungs are working hard. I can feel the pace dropping on any incline and I don't feel I'm taking full advantage of any declines to try pull some seconds back. I'm onto the final full lap though and this does offer some mental relief. I've long given up on holding 3:49 pace but I'm hoping to still log a 38:XX. Fully in countdown mode now. K8 with the second toughest profile of the run is my slowest split of the morning, 4:03 [6:32].

Less than 2K to go, try to stay honest. On this loop there's a steep decline of around 150m along the Shelbourne Road, I'm desperate for this little bit of respite. Final time down this decline then a sharp right back onto NCR for the final kilometre and a bit. I push on hearing K9 sound and imagine the remaining distance dropping to 800, 600, one lap of the track.

I've completed 3 laps of NCR and I'm now on the home straight. Quick glance shows I still have 500m to go. Uhhhh. At this point I should have checked my overall time. If I had I would have seen that a 38:XX was still on. But I didn't check and so instead of a hard 150m sprint to finish I just continued at very uncomfortable uncomfortable pace. I reckon I probably would have managed to squeeze out another 3 seconds to go sub 39, instead it wasn't to be and I finish with a disappointing 39:02. In a race I could have found myself in a sprint finish, another advantage of a race versus a TT.

So a timely reminder that I have a lot of work to do over the next 7 weeks. I come away from this run with new resolve to gradually reduce alcohol over these next weeks and to go dry for the last 10 days pre-race. My food diet has been mostly good but there's always room for improvement. I also need to be careful that during buffer weeks I don't let the mileage slip, April is on course to being my lowest mileage month of the year so far.

Chalk this one down to experience and move on.

Warm-up 3.01K @ 5:26 [1.87M @ 8:44]

K01 3:47.15 [6:06]
K02 3:48.59 [6:09]
K03 3:50.10 [6:11]
K04 3:48.02 [6:08]
K05 3:56.36 [6:21]
K06 3:55.32 [6:20]
K07 3:56.39 [6:21]
K08 4:02.78 [6:32]
K09 3:59.82 [6:27]
K10 3:56.94 [6:22]

Total 39:02 @ 3:54 [6.22M @ 6:17]

Cool-down 2.33K @ 5:19 [1.45M @ 8:33]

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 8 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
General Aerobic 13K with 2x(4x150m strides) | 13.02K @ 4:51 [8.09M @ 7:48] | N/A
General Aerobic 7 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:45 | 7.05M @ 7:45 | N/A
Recovery 3 Miles with 4x100m Strides | 3.97M @ 8:21 | N/A
10K Time Trial | 39:02 | N/A
Endurance 10 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | |

WTD 28.65M MTD 63.65M YTD 589.88M

outforarun · 22-04-2017 1:49pm

Endurance 10 Mile

Some catch-up to do on here. Completed week 8 of the P&L plan last Monday. An easy 10 miler around the park, broken into five 2 mile blocks. I had been a little concerned about how the legs would feel after Sunday's TT but they felt surprisingly ok, light, even in the heavier Nimbus.

I compared the weekend's 10K with previous 10Ks I've run and I guess it's not all bad. In total I've run 23 fast 10Ks, a mix of races and TTs. Measured against 10K neat on the Garmin, Sunday's effort ranks 6th overall and was my second fastest TT. With a 19:10 it also contained my fastest ever opening 5K, though not a good thing when it means a big fade for the second 5K.

Passed 600 miles for the year.

2.00M @ 8:06
2.00M @ 7:45
2.00M @ 7:37
2.00M @ 7:28
2.00M @ 7:11

Total 10.14M @ 7:37

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 8 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
General Aerobic 13K with 2x(4x150m strides) | 13.02K @ 4:51 [8.09M @ 7:48] | N/A
General Aerobic 7 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:45 | 7.05M @ 7:45 | N/A
Recovery 3 Miles with 4x100m Strides | 3.97M @ 8:21 | N/A
10K Time Trial | 39:02 | N/A
Endurance 10 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | 10.14M @ 7:37 | N/A

WTD 10.14M MTD 73.79M YTD 600.02M

outforarun · 22-04-2017 2:02pm

Recovery 4 Miles

Start week 9 of P&L with a mostly sunny lunchtime 4 miler. Usual lunchtime lap of the playing fields. Wore the Asterias for this. Kept the pace nice and slow. Alerts sounding on the Garmin if I drifted fast side of 8:30. Once I settled into recovery pace I really enjoyed this leisurely no pressure run. Legs feeling good.

I'll be in Italy for the second half of this week and I'm undecided about what session to run on Saturday. I could stick with the plan and run the 2x(2x1200m + 1x800m) intervals. Or I could try a TT of sorts and see if I can pull closer to first place on the 3.6K lap of the park strava segment where I'm currently 2nd. Or I could travel cross town and run a Parkrun. I'll mull it over.

M01 8:45
M02 8:16
M03 8:34
M04 8:40

Total 4.01M @ 8:33

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 9 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
General Aerobic 8 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:45 | |
Endurance 11 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | |
VO2 16K with 2x(2×1200m + 1x800m) @ 3:35 [5:46] to 3:45 [6:02] | |
Recovery 4 Miles | 4.01M @ 8:33 | N/A
Endurance 14 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | |

WTD 14.15M MTD 77.80M YTD 604.03M

outforarun · 22-04-2017 2:08pm

General Aerobic 8 Miles

P&L asks for 8 miles for this one. I flew to Italy in the early morning so I wanted to make sure I eased myself gently into this so I added a mile of warm-up.

Unusually windy here this week, it was very windy Tuesday so luckily I missed that but a strong northerly wind was still blowing on Wednesday.

Bit of a landmark run this one, it's my first run ever where I was accompanied by junior outforarun

She cycled a full four laps of the park with me, chatting non-stop. She was struggling a little on the 4th lap when we were heading for the final time into the wind. Nine miles, no mean feat for a 6 year old.

I felt fine the whole way round. A 90min post lunch nap probably helped, I'd been up since 4am. Looking forward now to a few days of running at whatever time I fancy and almost certainly in short sleeves under warm sunshine.

1.00M @ 8:47
2.00M @ 7:58
2.00M @ 7:51
2.00M @ 8:09
2.00M @ 8:04

Total 9.01M @ 8:06

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 9 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
General Aerobic 8 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:45 | 9.01M @ 8:06 | N/A
Endurance 11 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | |
VO2 16K with 2x(2×1200m + 1x800m) @ 3:35 [5:46] to 3:45 [6:02] | |
Recovery 4 Miles | 4.01M @ 8:33 | N/A
Endurance 14 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | |

WTD 23.16M MTD 86.81M YTD 613.04M

outforarun · 22-04-2017 2:17pm

Endurance 11 Miles

Back on my own for this. Another warm one. Not so breezy today. Out mid morning. I'm sticking exclusively to Parco di Trenno on this trip. Home to park, 5 laps, and then back home. That's the plan.

I built in 0.5M of a warm-up. This is something I might make a habit of, just a very gentle wake-up for the legs before focusing on hitting any target pace. Then it's three 3 mile blocks of gradually increasing pace. It never feels fast and I only hear 'too fast' alerts sounding.

On my second block of 3 miles I fall in behind a race-walker. I've seen three different race-walkers training in here, 2 male and one female. I think the latter might walk at international level, she normally wears a very official looking Italia top and usually has what I guess is a coach cycling alongside her. And she's fast. Today I find myself behind one of the male walkers. He's travelling pretty much at the same pace as me. There is definitely a strong temptation to up the pace and overtake, but I resist and hold steady around 10ms behind. Our paths diverge before I start my next faster block.

The run feels more comfortable the faster I go. Happy to travel at 7:2X pace for the last 2 miles. Felt like I could have run for another couple of hours. Must be the sun.

0.50M @ 8:17
3.00M @ 8:01
3.00M @ 7:51
3.00M @ 7:35
2.00M @ 7:26

Total 12.20M @ 7:43

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 9 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
General Aerobic 8 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:45 | 9.01M @ 8:06 | N/A
Endurance 11 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | 12.20M @ 7:43 | N/A
VO2 16K with 2x(2×1200m + 1x800m) @ 3:35 [5:46] to 3:45 [6:02] | |
Recovery 4 Miles | 4.01M @ 8:33 | N/A
Endurance 14 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | |

WTD 35.36M MTD 99.01M YTD 625.24M

outforarun · 22-04-2017 2:20pm

Easy 4 Miles

No runs planned for Friday but the sun was out and the runners were resting unlaced out on the balcony, inviting. Checked with junior outforarun and she was up for a 4 mile cycle. So we headed over to the park in the mid-morning. No target paces today, just tip around. Very little wind now. Start with a usual clockwise lap, then I follow junior ofar as she plots the final 2 miles of the run. Enjoyed this one.

That's a 6 day running streak now, I don't often do that and annoyingly I feel a little bit of a twinge on the right side of groin. Will be cautious tomorrow and will bail if it acts up. I've opted to stick with the P&L intervals in the end.

M01 9:10
M02 8:47
M03 8:22
M04 8:16

Total 4.08M @ 8:38

WTD 39.44M MTD 103.09M YTD 629.32M

outforarun · 22-04-2017 3:27pm

VO2Max 16K with 2x(2×1200m + 1×800m) @ 3K to 5K pace

Set target pace on the Garmin to cover the full 3K to 5K range, so 3:35 [5:46] to 3:45 [6:02], glad I gave myself as much wiggle room as possible, this was a tough one.

Saturday has been the hottest day here so far. I headed out around 9:15 across to Parco di Trenno. A warm up lap and a growing anticipation of the task at hand. Not sure how it'll go.

The first 1200 is run on a slight decline and initial signs are fairly positive. I don't spend all my time watching the Garmin I'm just happy to avoid fast or slow alerts. I do glance near the end though just to see how much is left. This morning 1200 feels a little longer than I'd like. First one is completed in 4:24mins. Midway between 3K and 5K pace.

I have 3:30mins recovery after each 1200. Into the second 1200m this one is run on a slight incline but feels easier than the first one. I complete it in 4:22mins. So far so good, but it's getting hotter. Enjoy another 3:30 of recovery and then into the first 800 interval. I'm conscious that I'll have only 2:00 mins recovery ahead of the next 1200. Maybe subconsciously I'm running the 800s as an extended 'recovery' of sorts. I complete the first in 3:00mins. Slower pace than the 1200s.

The next 1200 is very hard. The 'too slow' alert is sounding from early on and I'm pushing from the start. Doesn't help that this one is on the incline. Get back on target but with around 200 to go another too slow alert sounds. Another push and I manage to finish on target but this one took a lot out of me. The 2:00 recovery made a big difference. I try to squeeze maximum recovery out of the next 3:30mins before starting into the final 1200. Tough, but not as tough as the previous one. Manage to avoid any alerts and finish with a 4:28mins.

Now a luxury 3:30mins recovery ahead of the final 800m. This final 800, on an incline, is also energy sapping I push over the closing 200 but still get a late too slow alert, too late. I'm delighted for this one to be over.

Can feel waves of heat rising up from my core and head, salt stinging my eyes, legs tired, lungs slowly returning to normal. That was a good workout, tougher than I expected, not sure why I expected it to be easier.

Pleased to have broken 4:30mins for each 1200, not pleased with the 800 splits.

1200 in 4:23.84 @ 3:40 [5:52]
1200 in 4:22.36 @ 3:39 [5:50]
0800 in 3:00.34 @ 3:45 [6:01]
1200 in 4:29.21 @ 3:44 [5:59]
1200 in 4:28.22 @ 3:44 [5:58]
0800 in 3:01.26 @ 3:47 [6:03]

outforarun · 27-04-2017 9:41pm

Endurance 14 Miles

Back in Dublin last Sunday for this one. Ran it off not a lot of sleep, arrived home from Italy gone midnight and then watched a recording of the rugby. Felt fresh all the same. Headed to the park, in at Islandbridge Gate and ran anticlockwise lap taking in Castleknock Gate. Started with a half mile warm-up to get the legs moving, then I had this one broken down into four 3 mile blocks and a final 2 mile block. Gradually increasing the pace. Transition from one block to another was smooth and I was always running at the fast end of target pace. Average cadence of 182 spm

Was enjoying the faster pace near the end and ran the final 2 mile block a little faster than planned.

End of a long week's running and an 8 day running streak.

0.50M @ 9:07
3.00M @ 8:01
3.00M @ 7:52
3.00M @ 7:41
3.00M @ 7:31
2.00M @ 7:10

Total 14.71M @ 7:43

P&L Half Marathon Schedule 1 Week 9 of 12: Session targets | Actual Results | Post Run Weight
General Aerobic 8 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:45 | 9.01M @ 8:06 | N/A
Endurance 11 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | 12.20M @ 7:43 | N/A
VO2 16K with 2x(2×1200m + 1x800m) @ 3:35 [5:46] to 3:45 [6:02] | 16.00K with average interval pace 3:42 [5:58] | N/A
Recovery 4 Miles | 4.01M @ 8:33 | N/A
Endurance 14 Miles @ 8:14 to 7:26 | 14.71M @ 7:43 | N/A

WTD 64.10M MTD 127.74M YTD 653.98M

outforarun · 27-04-2017 10:01pm

Easy 6 Miles

Buffer week number three. If I was to continue with the plan I would need to run a second and final 10K Race/TT this weekend. I prefer to run this a little later, in May maybe three weeks ahead of Cork. Instead I'll use this buffer to complete the one session I've skipped to date, a tasty 38min tempo.

Bit of motivation required to get out after work Wednesday evening to start the week with 6 easy miles. I had wanted to get 4 miles in at lunch time on Tuesday but I was swamped with work.

I just tipped around for 6 relaxed miles. Angry clouds above and some cold winds blowing. Got rained on and then had the sun shine on me for a while. Wearing the Asterias. I've been wearing them more and more. I'm starting to think I may drop the Nimbus once I retire my current pair (only 336 miles at the moment) and start running exclusively with Asterias.

M01 8:25
M02 7:58
M03 8:14
M04 8:12
M05 8:14
M06 7:53

Total 6.40M @ 8:11

WTD 6.40M MTD 134.14M YTD 660.38M

outforarun · 27-04-2017 10:10pm

Steady 8 Miles

More motivation required again this evening to get out there after a tiring day at work. The temptation to skip a run is definitely stronger when running a buffer week.

Started out at a faster pace than usual and decided to just run at whatever felt enjoyable. After mile 4 I realised I was probably running a little to quickly and I start to slow it down a little, this with Saturday's planned tempo in mind.

Stride felt strong tonight. Bit of a wind blowing but otherwise conditions were good. As the bright evenings are back I ventured down along the short trail by the Shannon. Glad to have got out for this one.

M01 7:58
M02 7:26
M03 6:45
M04 7:01
M05 7:17
M06 7:12
M07 7:19
M08 7:05

Total 8.41M @ 7:15

WTD 14.81M MTD 142.52M YTD 668.79M

outforarun · 05-05-2017 12:40am

Tempo 38 Minutes

Ahead of last Saturday morning's tempo run I kept reassuring myself that this would be slower and shorter than the 10K TT in Limerick. I had almost convinced myself that this would be easy. I conveniently ignored that fact that on my last tempo, a 20min plus 16min session, I was hurting near the end of 20 minutes.

Not super warm outside so I wore short sleeve top over long sleeve top. My usual warm-up covers 3K and brings me to the start of Acres Road. I hit lap on the Garmin and get to work.

I'd cover nearly 4 clockwise laps of the playing fields. The wind was, once again, a significant factor during the session. It was blowing not from Acres towards the Fort, instead it was blowing from the Fort towards Acres. I'm not used to this and struggled to adapt. My mind has been conditioned to relaxing towards the Fort and to bracing towards Acres. This morning instead my legs and mind were out of sync, the legs and lungs struggling when I expected to relax and my mind tensing just as the legs and lungs start to feel better.

Lap one confirmed that it was going to be a long morning. I was travelling mostly at 3:53 [6:14] pace. Legs not feeling hugely fresh and light. Lap two is tough, especially when I turn off Acres and head into the wind. Lean into it. The fact that other runners are training along this stretch encourages me to look strong and stay honest. Pace starts to flicker between 3:53 [6:14] and 3:54 [6:16]. Onto lap 3, remind myself this is my last full lap. I'm not 100% convinced I'm going to be able to hold target pace this morning. Back into the headwind, each time it feels significantly tougher than the previous time. As I near the end of lap 3 I see average pace has dropped to 3:55 [6:18]. I push a little.

Final lap. The fact that it is the final lap encourages me to not relent to the headwind. I'm waiting for the Garmin to give me a too slow alert. But none comes, and I know that if I can keep the alerts at bay until I turn onto the final stretch back towards Acres that I'll have hit my targets. And that's what happens. I stay strong with the wind behind me for the last 800ms or so and complete the 38 minutes of tempo. I covered 9.70K and was not tempted to try cover a further 300ms in 59 seconds to log a 38:XX 10K.

Is my tempo pace too fast? This felt a little to close to 10K race effort. However it is the longest tempo I've ever run at this pace so maybe it's right that it felt really tough. Maybe the consequence of this tough tempo will be that I run my fastest HM ever and it will feel equally tough when compared to previous HMs?

Near the end of 2016 I was running tempos at around 3:58 [6:23] pace for up to 45 minutes. They felt easier than this effort. It's remarkable the difference just a few seconds of average pace can make. I'll stick with this tempo pace for now, I believe it will become easier. And it is after all positioned between the paces of my most recent 10K and HM races.

That's all sessions of the first 9 weeks of P&L completed. 3 weeks of the plan left and 2 weeks of buffer left.

3.00K @ 5:30 [1.86M @ 8:51]
9.70K @ 3:55 [6.03M @ 6:18]
3.72K @ 5:08 [2.31M @ 8:16]

16.42K @ 4:29 [10.21M @ 7:12]

WTD 25.03M MTD 152.73M YTD 679.00M

Kennyg71 · 05-05-2017 5:23pm

My understanding of Tempo is a pace in similar conditions you could hold for an hour, so in your case little slower than 10 mile race pace, could be wrong but at 10k race effort could be getting into over training, and could come back to bite.

outforarun · 05-05-2017 11:26pm

Kennyg71 wrote: »

My understanding of Tempo is a pace in similar conditions you could hold for an hour, so in your case little slower than 10 mile race pace, could be wrong but at 10k race effort could be getting into over training, and could come back to bite.

Thanks for your thoughts.

The P&L off-the-shelf plan has a pace matrix based on 5K and 10K race times. The slot in that matrix which is closest to my times is for an 18:30 5K (my PB is 18:35) and a 38:29 10K (my PB is 38:38). In this slot LT/Tempo pace is set at 3:50 to 3:56 min/km [6:10 to 6:20 min/mile]. Only of late have I started to wonder if it's too fast. I'm not going to change it now with just 3 weeks of the plan left but dependent on how the HM goes I may scale it back down ahead of DCM.

outforarun · 05-05-2017 11:42pm

Easy 10 Miles

Finished April running last Sunday with a pleasant 10 miler. It wasn't super cold out but otherwise it could have been winter: grey sky, blustery, some rainfall and the smell of wood fire in places (always takes me back to when I was 8 or 9 years old). Fall into a relaxed pace and just soaked in this wintry morning atmosphere.

I took a route up the Khyber, and ran a little bit of the trails to Ashtown Gate (that's where I might still need the Nimbus) then headed out along the canal to Lock 12 and exited at Castleknock. Down Whites Road and then down almost the full length of Chesterfield, running the trails here again. Must try run off-road a little more, enjoyed it a lot this morning.

At the outset the legs were definitely still carrying the effects of Saturday's tough tempo effort. But I finished the run feeling good. Logged a 7:39 hat-trick on miles 7, 8 and 9.

M01 9:12
M02 8:37
M03 8:08
M04 7:54
M05 8:04
M06 8:32
M07 7:39
M08 7:39
M09 7:39
M10 7:43

Total 10.44 @ 8:06

WTD 35.47M MTD 163.17M YTD 689.44M

outforarun · 07-05-2017 2:18am

April Review

My weakest month to date from a pure mileage point of view, but I'm still on 40+ miles a week (just) and so still on track to hit 2000 by year-end.

My runners traveled a bit in April, I laced them up in Dublin, Athlone, Limerick, Milan and North Carolina.

Had my wettest run of the year to during a US storm, and my warmest run of the year under hot Milan sunshine.

Some days off work allowed me log an 8 day running streak.

But the stand out runs from April were all about speed. Three tough sessions: a 10K TT, a VO2 session with a mix of 1200 and 800 intervals and a 38 minute tempo session. None of these left me feeling like I was making progress with my faster paces.

The TT I auto-sabotaged, out two nights in a row beforehand, I'm actually surprised I came within 3 seconds of a 38:XX. I think I was brave to try for 3:49 [6:09] pace, this is what I would have targeted if I was racing. I'm happy I stuck with it despite knowing after 4K that I wasn't going to hold target pace. I've one more of these to do before Cork and I hope I can find a race that works logistically. I know now that race-day adrenaline is an ingredient you cannot generate on a solo TT, no matter if your effort is 100% honest.

The third 1200 in my V02 session in Parco di Trenno is maybe the hardest I've pushed in training this year. Really forcing the legs and lungs on this one. Two minutes recovery beforehand was certainly responsible for the difficulty of that 1200 but I was determined to hit target pace.

Then last weekend's very tough 38 minute tempo. This was the fastest tempo I've run over that distance (9.70K) so in a way I can understand it feeling very tough, but it really felt more like 10K pace than tempo pace. In hindsight maybe I wasn't feeling 100%. I developed head cold symptoms on the following Monday so maybe something was already brewing during the session. Eitherway it has forced me to think about my tempo pace and wonder if it's a bit too fast, I'll monitor my next few tempo runs a little closer and may revisit tempo pace ahead of DCM.

And finally in April I registered for the Cork Half, Fingal 10K, Frank Duffy 10 Mile and DCM17. Four PBs from this lot would be nice!

Month | Monthly Miles | Daily mileage for month | Weekly Mileage for month | Daily mileage for year | Weekly mileage for year | Predicted yearly mileage
January | 182.66 | 5.89 | 41.25 | 5.89 | 41.25 | 2151
February | 162.69 | 5.81 | 40.67 | 5.85 | 40.97 | 2136
March | 180.88 | 5.83 | 40.84 | 5.85 | 40.93 | 2134
April | 163.20 | 5.44 | 38.08 | 5.75 | 40.21 | 2097
May | | | | | |
June | | | | | |
July | | | | | |
August | | | | | |
September | | | | | |
October | | | | | |
November | | | | | |
December | | | | | |

outforarun · 07-05-2017 10:59pm

General Aerobic 9 Miles

With no fanfare DCM17 training started on Wednesday evening in Athlone.

The first two easy weeks of the marathon plan will be run during the final two buffer weeks of the half-marathon plan. I won't post up full pace details until ahead of week 3. However I will be training for sub 2:55 with a DCM objective of a comfortable sub 3:10.

I'm not starting with the usual 6K tempo, it's obviously too soon after the weekend's efforts. Instead I kick off the training block with 9 miles of General Aerobic.

P&D set General Aerobic Pace as 15% to 25% slower than marathon pace. A 2:55 marathon requires 6:40 min/mile pace. That produces a General Aerobic range of 7:40 to 8:20. I'll round this to a tidy 7:45 to 8:15. I divide the run into 3 blocks of 3 miles on the Garmin and get started. Heavy creaky legs at the outset even with the Asterias on. It's a lovely evening though so I'm happy to distract myself from how my legs are feeling, by just soaking in the sunny evening atmosphere. Pace settles at around 8:00 and the legs do wake up a little by the end.

3.00M @ 7:59
3.00M @ 7:55
3.00M @ 8:02

Total 9.02M @ 7:59

WTD 9.02M MTD 9.02M YTD 698.46M

outforarun · 11-05-2017 3:39pm

Recovery 4 Miles

Last Friday I was working from home couldn't wait to log off and head out into the evening sun. Just 4 recovery miles at a super relaxed pace. Usual route around the playing fields. Gorgeous sunny warm conditions. Along Acres Road I pass 700 miles for the year. Thoughts are starting to focus on tomorrow's planned short tempo run.

M01 9:01
M02 8:44 (700 miles for year)
M03 8:45
M04 8:35

Total 4.02M @ 8:47

WTD 13.04M MTD 13.04M YTD 702.48M

2012 4 Races for 4 PBs

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