Ronnie Runs Riot

ronnie085

Wed: 10.86 miles incl 6 x 1000 @ 5k pace

Another sessions ticked off but this one was a little bit of a struggle, Sundays race still in the legs I think. The first 3 intervals were bang on where I planned to be but they were tough, seemed to be no power in the legs at all. Decided to ease back slightly to make sure of finishing off the session but it was still hard work, hands on knees stuff for a few minutes after the last one. Still got it done, not ideal but still averaged nearly 10 sec per interval faster than the last time I did these in october, progress

Splits:
3:34
3:34
3:34
3:37
3:38
3:38

ronnie085

Thurs 15.11 miles long @ 7:11m/m

Got a sports massage yesterday evening and felt better for it today. The legs felt nearly brand new, I may treat myself more often. Headed out around the 'Fen' and back in via kildare and the the last few miles of the marathon route. Just realised that you can see the finish from over 2 miles out, dont know if thats a good thing or not. Cruised along at a nice pace but it felt comfortable. Starting to feel the excitement building, 23 days of training left

cwgatling

Nice pace on those long easy runs Ronnie, looking good. How has the weekly mileage been?

ronnie085

cwgatling wrote: »

Nice pace on those long easy runs Ronnie, looking good. How has the weekly mileage been?

Very happy with the pace of my long runs at the moment, especially that they feel pretty comfortable even after a tough enough week. Averaging around 70 MPW at the moment, would have liked to be closer to 80 but never seems to work out. Good luck tomorrow, your well set up for a 35:xx after that race last weekend on a bitch of a course.

ronnie085

Fri: 10.1 miles easy @ 7:26m/m

Went exploring today and headed towards north towards naas instead of the usual curragh direction. Found a nice quite and scenic country road, will be used more often, a change is good as a rest. First mile was a little slow until I woke up and started top tick off 7:20 miles just floating along. Felt fresh at the end, enjoyed that....

cwgatling

ronnie085 wrote: »

Very happy with the pace of my long runs at the moment, especially that they feel pretty comfortable even after a tough enough week. Averaging around 70 MPW at the moment, would have liked to be closer to 80 but never seems to work out. Good luck tomorrow, your well set up for a 35:xx after that race last weekend on a bitch of a course.

Excellent, that is good mileage. Sub 3 is a given :cool: My money's on 2:55. Enjoy the taper.

ronnie085

Sat: 6.79 miles easy @ 7:45 m/m incl strides x 6

Nice handy easy run, felt a little tired so slowed it down a little.

Sun: 21.51 miles long @ 7:01 m/m

Benifited from the easy run yesterday and felt very fresh today, started off with a 7:26 mile and didn't look back. Pace just picked up and most miles were done around 7:00 m/m with some slightly faster. Way to fast for my target marathon time, I did think about slowing up but felt good and HR stayed in the 160's which is my usual long run level so rightly or wrongly, I thought theres no point in wasting a good day by slowing up so I just kept going at that effort. Finished up tired but no more than usual after a long run.

88 miles for the week :eek: ( skewed a bit by including last weeks long run this week). Great weeks training which included some quaility work.

Mon: 4.0 miles recovery

I felt surprisingly good today, no stiffness or other issues from yesterday. Suppose to do a double today but going to give the body a little break and just do a bit of a streching routine instead.

ronnie085

Tue: 9.1 miles incl 5 x 600 @ 5k

2 mile jog down to the track, legs feeling a little dead, soon got rid of that feeling. A couple more laps to get used to the surroundings and psyched up and down to business. First 600 still felt a little dead but improved as the rep went on, 2:06, bang on pace, then 200 jog recovery. Felt like I had more zip in the legs for the rest of the intervals and the pace improved as a result. Never felt under real pressure, nearly ended up enjoying them, nearly. About 2 seconds per rep faster than 2 weeks ago, good to see. Another session ticked off.

Splits:
2:06
2:04
2:04
2:05
2:05

ronnie085

Wed: 20km (12.43 miles) threadmill easy(ish) @ 7:00 m/m

Got home from work all fired up the meet the wind, rain and whatever else was thrown at me head on, didn't work out like that. 10 minutes in the house looking out the window put me right off, so to the gym for a go on the time machine that is the treadmill. Wasn't actually too bad today, went in with the right mindset and the first 10k flew by without to much bother. The mental demons came about 13k, ah sure I've plenty done and the like,put the head down and battled on. Came around about 17k and the next few k were over before I knew it. Pace was a little high, kind of the quicker I run the sooner it will be over attitude, not ideal but it worked.

Thurs: 7.8 miles easy @ 7:37 m/m

Time to harden up and face the rain. Nice easy run, little bit of stiffness in strange places in the legs for the first mile, blaming the threadmill, but soon came around. Home soaked to the skin, earned the long hot shower, big hoodie, tracksuit bottoms, slippers and feet up for the evening, nothing better.......

ronnie085

Fri:6.21 miles recovery

Well legs were ok, weather was ok,pace was ok, run was ok, so all in all everything was ok. Same again tomorrow, then a 5 mile race on Sunday in Mountmellick, hopefully to tick the sub 30 off the list.

ronnie085

Sat: 4.57 miles recovery incl strides x 6

Something simular to yesterday, everything in working order. Few strides to keep the legs 'awake'. Not liking the weather for tomorrow, looks like a windy one.

ronnie085

The Rock Gaa 5 mile

Woke up to my favorite weather, howling wind, going to be a tough one. Headed down to Mountmellick and arrived in plenty of time for a painless registration.After a while in the comfort of the car I braved the cold wind for a mile or so warm up including some strides and then down to the start where they let us off just about on time.
The first mile with the winds at our backs was very fast. Up near the front broke into two groups, with me hanging on the back of the second one. I wasn't feeling great at this stage, legs were a little heavy and finding it hard to get into a rhythm. Into the second mile and I slowly lost touch with the group on an uphill drag, with a few more lads blown out after me which gave me a target to aim for. I stared to feel more comfortable in the third mile, closing the gap to the next lad to about 20 yards, which it stayed until the end of the race. Then came what I was dreading, a turn into the wind. Really started to struggle at this stage, although I think everybody was the same as the gaps seemed to stay steady. Hit the last mile marker, checked the time, a ~6:30 mile would give me sub 30, its in the bag if I kept things ticking over. Relief came with a left turn, now its 400 meters to go with 'only' a crosswind, picked up the pace slightly but it was to late to make much difference. Crossed the line with a 29:40 by my watch, got the sub30 I came for.
A little disappointed how I ran the race, thought I would be alot closer to 29 minutes than to 30. Mentally I dont think I gave it everything, maybe the weather had me beaten before I started, looking at it now the first mile could have being a little over the top too but for these shorter races I always seem to start fast and try hang on. The legs never fully felt right either, maybe it was just a bad day, anyway a 30 second PB is nothing to be sniffed at. A well organised race, on I'd say would be a very fast course if the weather played ball, a bit of a drag up to 1.5 miles not that you'd really notice and a couple of bumps aside its as flat as you'll get.

Splits:
5:27
5:57
5:53
6:15
6:06

5.00 miles in 29.40

ronnie085

Mon:15.74 miles long @ 7:26 m/m

Escaped the rain yesterday, not so lucky today. A sign that I didn't race hard enough yesterday , no stiffness or sorness at all, actually felt pretty fresh. Ran well within myself, no point in flogging myself at this stage, just keeping things ticking over and not doing anything stupid is the name of the game for the next two weeks. The real taper starts now, wait for the doubts to creep in...........

ps. Another good month done with 282 miles, 2 races, 1 1/2( still not over that short course:P) pbs and some decent quality work

ronnie085

Tue: 6.2 miles recovery

1st of May me hole, wet, windy, miserable and a little chilly. Nice handy recovery run, took about a mile to get into it but felt pretty good after that. Hopefully this weather picks up soon, shouldn't be wearing a hat in May.

ronnie085

Wed:7.07 miles incl 3 x 1600m intervals

Last session of this marathon cycle and went into it fairly relaxed, maybe to relaxed. 1 mile warm up down to the sloppy track and another couple of laps to settle down. Then down to business. Decided to try pace myself more evenly than usual so I didn't really hammer these and then be hanging on for the last lap. The first interval went pretty well, within myself without being easy, checking the time every 200m and surprisingly even splits everytime. Completed without any drama, until I slowed and started coughing on the recovery jog, hopefully its nothing, wouldn't be a great time to catch anything. Second interval was simular enough to the first although felt I was working a little harder to hold the pace. The cough didn't return after this one, maybe I wasn't warmed up for the first one. The last interval I didn't pay any attention to the time after the first 200m and just ran on feel and nearly came in bang on the other 2 times. I forgot to turn off the alerts on the watch which gave a mile alert a couple of yards from the finish everytime so my timings look odd on the watch, 5:4x lap followed by a 2 second lap but I think I can manage the maths.
So thats the last toughish one before the big day, going to take a day off tomorrow, end of 29 day streak, legs feeling a little flat so a rest day will do no harm at this stage.

Splits 5:49, 5:50, 5:50

ronnie085

Missed updating this for a little while, although nothing much to tell really.

Thurs: Rest day
Fri: 5.1 miles recovery
Sat: 7.3 miles easy @ 7:27m/m incl strides x 10
Sun: 13.6 miles easy @ 7:21 m/m
Mon: 4.01 miles recovery
Tue: 6.18 miles easy @ 7:37m/m
Wed: Rest
Thurs: 6.18 miles recovery.

Feeling pretty good on most of the runs, legs feeling nice and light. Taper madness is starting to hit hard the last few days, missed wednesdays run because of a little niggle in my knee that wouldn't normally bother me, it also seems like everybody I go near is suffering with a cold or flu. Then the usual for me, am I doing enough during the taper, feels like I'm losing some fitness. Checking the weather forcast every few hours now and the wind seems to pick up everytime I do. Oh this the worst case I've had...........roll on Sunday.

menoscemo

Best of luck on sunday Ronnie. I hear you are in great hands with the two 3hr pacers (Mick Rice and Abhainn) I'll be pacing the half so I might see you, but if not, Remember to take an extra long break after the marathon. Couple of monts is optimal I hear

cwgatling

You're in great shape Ronnie. Nice mile repeats.

Get out there Sunday and rip 'em a new one.

ronnie085

Thanks lads, cant wait to get going. Oh and meno I think you should listen to 047..... and train for the 400m, would suit you .

Fri: Rest.

Sat: 2.83 miles recovery incl strides x 5

Final shake out, no real worries.

So thats it, rub down from the physio and race haircut for aerodynamic purposes yesterday all thats left is to collect the number and eat and drink and watch dvds and whatever sport is on for the day and then nail it tomorrow.

Brianderunner

All the best for tomorrow

ronnie085

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

ronnie085

2:56:45 ish feeling battered but over the moon

cwgatling

Savage going! Well done man. Now hit the sauce :P

ronnie085

KILDARE FULL MARATHON
Build up:

Bit of a mixed bag. Decided to go with the P&D 70-85 12 week plan.
Had a back injury for 2 weeks before starting which ment no running and 2 days before the plan start I had to hop home after doing a mile with the injuy. Not looking good at this stage but started the first day of the program and got through the first couple of weeks on reduced milage and numerous physio visits keeping me on my feet. Things improved but was struggling with both pace and distances. I took a couple of days off and returned a new man mid program, pace picking up on easy and long runs with tempo runs and intervals going pretty well. Ended up with 2 decent races, pointing to sub 3 form, so after a 2 week taper I felt in good shape to give it a good lash on the day.

Race:

Turned up about 30 mins before the start, feling very nervous, wandering around until I met a couple of people I knew, chatting relaxed me a llittle, then took up position at the start line in the second row, just behind the 3 hour pacers. Plan was to sit in the pace group for the first few miles to get into the rhythm, plus get some cover from the wind in the open first 2 miles and then see hpw I felt after that.
Miles 1-4 ticked by feeling very comfortable in the pace group, pace felt good, nearly a little easy but wasn't going to make the mistake of pushing on to early. Noticed the pace was slightly high for sub 3 at around the 4 mile mark, although the miles 3 and 4 were fast anyway with a tailwind and a fair bit of downhill. The pacers slowed at this point to get back on track, I decided to keep on with three others.
Miles 4-8 our group of 4 split in half with two lads pushing on and me and another lad sharing the pace on some rolling hills and into a strenghtening crosswind, still feeling good. Into the hometown of Newbridge and I think I got a little excited, passing the two how left us and dropping them threw the town, looked good .
Miles 8-12, with no dramas as yet I knew things were looking good but at this stage the course gets a little tougher. We started hitting a couple of drags and at this stage my mate started to yo yo a bit, struggling uphill and coming back on the downhill until we turned right to go towards Athgarven, were I was on my own until the finish. A steep downhill followed by a nice hill through Athgarven tested the legs but I was still feeling good and gaining on my next target.
Miles 12-16, home ground, I know every inch of these roads as I do most of my medium/ long runs on these roads. Held back a little on mile 12-13 as I knew the worst hill of the day was just after halfway. Didn't push to hard up it, just raised the effort slightly and pushed on strongly over the top, still gaining on the next position, slowly but surely. I knew the wind would be an issue so I hoped to catch him, before the wide open part of the curragh. I did catch him just in the wide open and another lad who seemed to be struggling but the just dropped off, so still on my own but hit a good patch at this stage and really pushed on, spotting a group in the distance. Joined the half marathon course at this stage, know the next few miles are pretty fast with a bonus of being a little sheltered from the wind.
Miles 16-20 noticed there was a lad in no mans land ahead of me who I was gaining on, the next target. I could feel some tiredness creeping in but still feeling strong. Passed him about mile 18 and again he dropped away very quickly, gave me a confidence boost but it would have being nice to have a bit of company for a few minutes, ah well get on with it. The road swung around and going past the National Stud was a real struggle. Nobody ahead or behind, seemed to be no support and into the with, getting worried at this stage, kept pace but was feeling it.
Miles 20-24, Spotted the right turn to kildare town which gave me a little boost, just forgot about the drag into the town. Legs were pretty heavy at this stage. Tried to concentrate on keeping some sort of running form and trying not to shuffle, turned right in kildare and uphill, the demons were in my head, just walk up this hill, have time in the bag, noooo. Just another mile and the wind would be at my back, just kept it going, suprisingly keeping on pace, no that I was paying any attention to pace at the time. Turn right out of kildare, wind at my back just keep it going. Another 2 runners appeared in the distance at this stage, drew a bullseye on there back and didn't take my eyes off them.
Miles 24-26.2 Hit mile 24 and could see the finish at this stage, really suffering but still keeping things going and gaining on the lads in front, the little rolling hills feeling like the alps. Hit the 25 mile point then stated counting down the furlong markers on the racecourse, 4 left and passed one of the next lads, tried to give a burst of pace but had nothing left going passed, lucky enough he couldn't react either. Entered the finish area, the grimmace turned to a smile giving the air a punch crossing the line.

26.36 miles in 2:56:47 for 9th place

Splits:
6:41
6:37
6:28
6:28
6:40
6:39
6:39
6:31
6:43
6:59
6:40
6:31
6:53
6:53
6:35
6:42
6:35
6:40
6:41
6:48
6:42
6:42
7:00
6:43
6:49
7:02
2:26 for .36

Still buzzing after that. Legs were stiff and sore, only coming right today. Will get a a slow run in before the end of the week and take it easy next week while thinking of my next move.

ronnie085

Fri: 3.95 miles recovery

First day back at it, feeling ok, calfs a little tight but otherwise no complaints.

ronnie085

Just a quick catch up, nothing really to tell, just enjoyable easy running at the moment, especially in this weather. Invested in a pair of saucony fastwitch runners which felt good on an easy run, ready for a summer of race whoring.

Sat: 6.15 miles recovery
Sun: Hangover
Mon: 6.14 miles easy @ 7:30 m/m
Tue: 7.34 miles easy @ 7.23 m/m
Wed: Rest day
Thurs: 11.51 miles easy @ 7:21 m/m

Will get another couple of runs in this week, second wedding in a week on Sat then back down to business on Monday, concentrating on some shorter stuff for a change.

ronnie085

Another catch up, being a busy week

Fri: 12.01 miles easy @ 8:15 m/m

A lovely run along the canal from sallins in the sun, slow but just enjoyed it.

Sat: 4 miles recovery

Sun: post wedding hangover :eek:

Mon: post wedding party hangover :eek::eek:

Tue: 8.1 miles incl 20 x 200 (200 jog rec)

First session after the marathon, trying to blow the cobwebs out before a 5k at the weekend. Av. 37 sec per 200, felt good after clearing the alcohol out of the system after the first couple.

Wed: 11.53 miles easy @ 7:22

A little bit of stiffness in the legs from yesterday but going ok.

Thurs: 6.18 miles easy @ 7:18

Nice comfotable run.

Fri: 4 miles recovery

Sat: Fr Canillon Memorial 5K

Spotted this race and decided to give it a shot as it was so close to home. Not exactly in 5k shape (if I ever am) but should have enough for a PB. Arrived straight from work, registered and a mile warm up including a few strides and tthen to the start. Lined up in the front row and off we went. Got a little excited a took the lead for about 400m :eek:. Looked down at the watch for an idea of pace and realised I never started it. The first k spent in the lead group of 6 or so which started to split soon after. Found myself in 5th place and feeling as comfortable as you can in a 5k race between 2 and 3k. After 3k we ended up on grass running around some football pitches, started to feel it at this stage. With no sign of the 4k marker (found out later it blew over) the mind stared to play tricks on me and started to slow, losing touch with 4th. The lad in 3rd, just blew up, losing his 3rd place and the 4th to me with about half a k to go . I pushed on from there as hard as I could, finishing fairly strong.
Nice race to do, although with most of it on either a gravel road full of potholes or on grass, including nearly having to stop dead for a turn around point its not the quickest of races but good for a training run. Good to meet t-runner at the end after a nice win for him.

5K in around 17:50 (5th did 17:59 so judging mine off that till I see the results) for 4th place.

ronnie085

Sun: 12.23 miles easy @ 7:17m/m

Summers really over, wind and rain. Felt ok after yesterdays race, no stiffness. 7:20 pace is turning into crusing pace at the moment, I like that.Pretty cold when I finished up but I'm refusing to wear gloves in June, even if it is a struggle to get the key in the door.

46 miles for the week, still pretty low, hopefully that will improve next week.

ronnie085

Long time since an update, may do better

Had 4 days off since the last post being unwell, then back at it on the friday.

Fri: 8.4 miles easy @ 7:20

Sat: 9.3 miles incl 4 @ tempo

Aimed at 6:10 pace for tempo but wasn't really feeling it today, The first 3 miles went well but I lost the battle with my head with about .4 of a mile to go on the last mile. Legs felt good, may sort the motivation out.

6:06, 6:11, 6:08, 6:18 pace for .63 mile.

Sun: 13.5 miles easy @ 7:15 m/m

Going well.

Mon: am 6.2 miles recovery
pm:3.9 miles recovery

Tue: 8.2 miles incl 5 x ( 400,400,200) intervals

Good session 200m recoverys and 3 mins between sets, not a killer but pace pretty good. 400's avg 80 secs, 200's avg 39 sec.

Wed: 10.1 miles incl 2 mile tempo, 1 mile tempo

Planned 2x2 miles @ tempo but the legs were feeling yesterdays session. Pulled up before I did any damage, I'll complete a tempo session at some stage. 2 tough days in a row because of race on Sunday and wont get a chance on Thursday for a decent run, still not the best idea.

Thurs: 6.2 miles recovery

Fri: rest

Sat: 4.49 miles recovery incl strides x 5

Pre race shakedown

Sun: Parkwest 10k 36:12 by my watch for 6.04 miles.

Short race but still good to see where I am. 6 m/m pace felt pretty comfortable most of the way. Still need to do more speedwork if I'm to get near sub 36 for the 10k, felt strong but no real zip in the legs. Real shame the course was short as everthing else around the race was excellant. Time to push on from this....

ronnie085

Mon: 14.0 miles easy @ 7:04 m/m

The first mile of this the legs felt a little stiff and sore, probably because I didn't do a cool down yesterday, but I was soon into my rhythm. Steadly picked up the pace and finished strongly with a few sub 7 miles, while my HR stayed low, were I'd expect for an easy run, alls good.

Tue: 6.19 miles recovery

Nice easy recovery run, felt good and relaxed.