Aiming for a sub 45min 10km.

belcarra

Back training about 2 weeks after the end of the football season (Which saw our team go unbeaten in all 22 league matches...yay us!).

I've already managed to complete the Sportsworld 5miler on Sunday in a time of just under 39mins. So that has set down the marker for where I am and to be honest I'm happy enough with that.

I'm banking on getting a bit quicker over the next 6-8 weeks in which time I will be doing the Donore 5k and Dunshaughlin 10k. A week later I'm planning on doing the Achill Half Marathon but will probably not go flat out in that given the shorter distances I'll be used to and the effort I intend to give to Dunshaughlin.

I know there's plenty on here doing both Donore and Dunshaughlin so feel free to pass on any comments & tips you see fit!

belcarra

I've been reading lots about McMillan's 10k ultimate prep guide so I thought I might attempt the 6 x 1 mile sessions tonight as a way of measuring what kind of state I'm in. The planned pace was 7:14 per mile which would ultimately give a 10k time of 45mins...a target for this Summer. (Current pb is approx 47:xx).

The session didn't exactly go as planned though! I followed a lap route which I had previously measured as 1 mile so when I got to the end of the lap I took the time as being the pace per mile. The first couple were poor and after another slow recovery lap I did manage a third quickish lap but reasoned a few factors were against me tonight, not least my lack of training so far and decided to call it quits. I still managed a distance of just under 6 miles in less than 47mins.

However, when I got home and started thinking clearly again I realised the lap was 0.03 miles long, which sounds so little but is actually almost 50metres. When I played around with the data on the Garmin I discovered the 3 quickish laps actually turned out to be:
Lap 1 - 7:15
Lap 2 - 7:17
Lap 3 - 7:13
When I saw this I was both happy and pissed off! Happy that the target time was achievable (even if I need a bit more training to get the 6 laps in!) but pissed off because if I'd realised when still out there I could have tried at least another decent lap!

Still though, to take the positives away, next time I know I can do the pace for at least 3 laps and also to make sure to have the average lap pace on my display!!
I also felt that the legs were still a little heavy after the race on Sunday so the real litmus test will be next Sunday/Monday when I try this again...

belcarra

I'm just not very photogenic...:eek:

Woddle

Good going giving that you only raced on Sunday, I bet if you had of ran easy and had a go on Thursday you would of squeezed out another couple of reps. There'll be a big difference next week.

belcarra

So, not been on here for the past week so this is a quick summary of what I've done:

Tuesday 17th - 5.55 Mile total incl 3 x 1miles @ 7:15, 7:17, 7:13.
I was at UEFA Final on Wed so didn't run and then another big night on Thursday for the Football Team's table quiz so it was Saturday before I got back out. :eek:

Saturday 21st - 7.8 Miles @ 8:38 pace.
This is the furthest I've run since I came back so I took it handy to be sure I'd get a reasonable distance. Will need to get this run to 10miles+ over the next couple of weeks.

Sunday 22nd - 4.5 Miles @ 8:30 pace.
This was a run to catch a lift for 5 a side so again I kept plodding along at a comfortable pace. I was pretty knackered for the 5 a side though but I think that was as a result of celebrating Leinster's win more than the run!!

Tuesday 24th - 6.25 Mile total incl 4 x 1miles @ 7:01, 7:14, 7:12, 7:14.
I managed an extra mile lap this week but still 2 short of the planned 6 laps. Realised that it is a case of too much too soon so will continue on next week to at least 5 x 1mile laps at 7:14 pace. This means I will probably be closer to 47:xx in Dunshaughlin than 45:00, but I then have another 4 weeks for my target 10k race so hope to take a wedge out of that for Balla.

3 big nights on the beer last week meant progress was limited. These kind of weeks are rare though so hope to see performance increase, beginning with a target of 22:30 in Donore 5k on Saturday. Is feidir liom!

belcarra

Not much to report on over the past couple of days apart from loads of 5 a side football! I had my regular game after work on Wednesday but then got dragged into another game for 2hrs of football in total. I was still a little tired after the Tuesday night session so was well knackered when I got home Wednesday evening.

I had another game of 5 a side last night which was just as well really 'cos it would have been easy to stay in given the windy weather. However, I realised afterwards that all this 5 a side will be detrimental to me, both through lack of running-specific training and higher chances of injury, so I'm intent on keeping it to a max of 2 games a week from now on (I usually play 1 or 2 games at the weekends as well!).

Rested as planned today which will hopefully set me up nicely for the 5k tomorrow. Hoping the wind blows over or my target time could be out the window!!

belcarra

Target time for today was to be 22:30 but as the day got closer and the winds refused to subside I parked this target and was just looking to beat my PB which was something like 24:xx.
Started half-way down the pack so as to keep warm while waiting for the race to get underway. The first stretch was easy enough with splits of 4:32 & 4:34 for the first 2km. Woddle (Who I met briefly after the race) passed me after about 500m but I decided to let him off. I was passing loads myself at this stage and was happy with my pace.
Km3 began as we turned off Chesterfield Ave for the Khyber Road. This was probably the easiest km as it was mainly downhill, although the initial turn meant running into a stiff wind for about 90secs. This was a preview of what was expected for the last mile or so, and it wasn't pretty!
Towards the bottom of the KR I started to slow myself a little in preparation for the turn uphill on Milllitary Road. It was a severe change in environment with the hill to add to the strong winds. I put my head down, tucked in my arms and tried to avoid running too strongly for the length of the hill, knowing that once on top it would all be downhill to the finish. This served me pretty well, so although we still had to contend with the headwind I managed to up the pace all the way home. I tried outsprinting a woman with about 400m to go but she had more in the tank than I'd assumed so it was a good battle all the way to the line with me holding on at the line, but only just!
The finish time according to my garmin was 23:24 which was easily a new PB. Happy with the time (Although fingers crossed the chip time may be a few seconds quicker again) and very happy with my performance today in general. However, I still aim to beat 23:30 for 5k soon, so will be keeping an eye out for more races over the next few weeks!
2km warm down back to the car also in a very leisurely 12mins.
Garmin link.
Splits:
Km 1: 4:32
Km 2: 4:34
Km 3: 4:40
Km 4: 5:02
Km 5: 4:34

Woddle

Nice meeting you today and congrats on the PB especially with that wind.
I'm thinking of heading up to Meath for a 5km on the 11th of June for this
http://www.runningcalendar.eu/simple/races.php?show,8833
if you've any interest.

opinion guy

belcarra wrote: »

I'm just not very photogenic...:eek:

You've aged horribly between the first and second picture - clearly you are doing too much :P

belcarra

opinion guy wrote: »

You've aged horribly between the first and second picture - clearly you are doing too much :P

No, I'm not the old guy, I'm the other one...Post-op!:D

belcarra

Woddle wrote: »

Nice meeting you today and congrats on the PB especially with that wind.
I'm thinking of heading up to Meath for a 5km on the 11th of June for this
http://www.runningcalendar.eu/simple/races.php?show,8833
if you've any interest.

Cheers for that Woddle!
That race looks enticing alright...I have a work thing the night before where we are going to Harold's Cross dogs so that might scupper a top performance the next day...but it is on at 7pm, so it could be doable!
Not sure yet, but with Dunshaughlin 2 weeks later it may all be too much Meath for me!!:p

belcarra

Went for rather a lot of pints last night to watch the Rugby and Soccer finals so with that on top of the race yesterday I was feeling well tired today. I managed to get myself out for 5 slow recovery miles en route to collecting my car (I have developed a habit of driving into Town and then using that as an excuse to run in to collect it the next day. Only way I'd ever run hungover!!). I purposely held myself back to 5:3x kms and that seemed to work. Mind you I'm really knackered again now!
5 miles
Splits:
Mile 1 - 5:29min/km
Mile 2 - 5:33min/km
Mile 3 - 5:38min/km
Mile 4 - 5:43min/km
Mile 5 - 5:39min/km

At last a half presentable photo of me from a race!!

belcarra

I went for an easy 8.5k run to a friend's house to reclaim my bike that I lent him a month ago! Nice and slow run and still felt pretty good by the end of it.
I cycled the reverse route home into the wind but by now the evening was much cooler and I was in a cold sweat from the run so the journey home wasn't nearly as pleasant! Still though, managed to get in the door just as the rain started!

Think I'm gonna start logging the runs into the 1000 mile challenge to see if I get near breaking the mark for the remainder of the year...

Run - 8.64km
Pace - 5:17m/km
Av HR - 143bpm

Cycle - 8.64km
Pace - 3:11m/km
Av HR - 123bpm

belcarra

Had a rest day yesterday to save myself for this weeks attempts at the mile sessions. Shouldn't have bothered! I managed the first couple of laps @ 7:06 and 7:17 but a blister from Saturday managed to ripen today so the third lap was done @ 7:24 as I struggled around. With that I decided to cut the session short. Just one of those days when things don't go to plan. Will hopefully retry this on Fri if blister situation improves. But will have to start at closer to 7:30 and try to improve on the last couple of laps (if I get that far).
Likely to be a cycle for me tomorrow as a result.

belcarra

Month|Miles
February|15
March|0
April|12
May|58
Total|85
Let's see how close I can get to 1,000 miles for the rest of the year...

belcarra

Took advantage of the great weather this evening and went for a 15.5mile cycle in just over an hour. Not a great speed but had to stop for loads of traffic lights :mad:!
At least it was an hour's exercise when I wouldn't have been able to go for a run due to the blister not recovering yet ...

belcarra

Just throwing down my PBs for various distances. Hope to beat most of them this year again...

5k - 23:21 - Donore Harriers 5k, May 2011
8km - 38:17 - Streets of Galway, August 2008
5 mile - 38:19 - Irish Runner 5 Mile, July 2009
10km - 47:55 - Balla 10k, July 2009
10 mile - 1:22:16 - Phoenix Park, August 2009
1/2 Marathon - Waterford Half Marathon, December 2009
15 Mile - 2:25:35 - Cork to Cobh, September 2007
Marathon - 4:21:40:mad: - Longford, August 2008
Gaelforcewest - 5:19:19 - Westport, August 2009

At this stage it's:

10km = Priority 1...Tough enough, hoping for sub 45.
10 Mile = Priority 2...very doable, target is sub 80mins.
Marathon = Priority 3...should have broken 4hrs by now!

belcarra

Training went very poorly last week and apart from a game of 5 a side and a few cycles that was it.
Managed to get back into it again yesterday evening and tonight though and have the Sandymount Beach 5k on Thursday so hopefully I'm over the lapse!
Monday, 13th June:
I went for a steady 9k run just to get out and do a decent run. Nothing much to report on this run.
Avg Pace - 8:07/mile
HR:Av - 155
HR:Max - 164
Tuesday, 14th June:
Decided to run along Dollymount Beach this evening in Trail runners in preparation for Thurs. When I arrived there was a helluva wind.
Session turned into a bit of a Fartlek run.
The beach part was tough enough so not particularly looking forward to Sandymount! Good to be back into it again though!
Distance - 4 miles
Avg Pace - 8:07/mile
HR:Av - 158
HR:Max - 175

belcarra

Went for an easy 3 mile run this evening with one eye on the 5k tomorrow. Nothing much to report apart from feeling really comfortable for most of the way round. Pushed on a little for the last half mile. Suffering a little DOMS from the past couple of days back into it. Hopefully tonights run will help to flush the nasty lactic acid out of my system in time for tomorrow evening!
Distance - 3.15 miles
Avg Pace - 8:29/mile
HR:Av - 150
HR:Max - 165

belcarra

Due to the lashings of rain during the day the course for this race had to be redirected and in doing so the distance was shortened from 5k to 4.17k by my watch! I didn't hear them make any mention to this at the start and presumed like most others that it would be 5km. My Garmin reckons it was 0.83km short so it would be interesting to see if anyone else has any thoughts on this.
To the race anyways, I started off at a comfortable pace and hit the 1stkm in 4:31 which was almost perfect. However, as I had imagined, the wet sand began to kick in. The km intervals went: 4:31, 4:38, 4:52, 4:52 with a 3:51 paced final 170m!!
I guess I'll write this off as one of those things and I was never gonna get near a pb on this sand course if it had been proper distance. At least I managed to get 2 t-shirts out of it (My mate left his behind him in my car...possession is 9/10ths and all that!!)
Off to Kilkenny tomorrow for the weekend with the soccer team. 100% booze weekend but I'll try and get out for a run tomorrow before the pub and maybe Sat afternoon if I'm particularly brave!

Distance - 4.17 km (!)
Time - 19:42
Avg Pace - 7:36/mile
HR:Av - 165
HR:Max - 176

belcarra

p.s. Just bought Gerry Duffy's book about the 32 marathon challenge this evening so looking forward to reading all about it!!

Woddle

How are things looking for Dunshaughlin?

belcarra

Woddle wrote: »

How are things looking for Dunshaughlin?

Not great at this moment in time.
I went about 9 days without any running and even though I have been out the past 4 nights doing some sort of running I have a booze infused weekend coming up...not ideal for racing the following weekend!
At this stage I reckon I'll be looking at about 47mins as a target time. Not too bothered though as the priority 10km is a month later at home in Mayo so hoping to get close to sub 45min in that.

You still on for the 45 target?

Off Topic: Just listening to Matisyahu's King Without A Crown as I type this post...great song!

belcarra

Ok, so it's been a while since I last updated this...

A brief summary of training since last time will show it's been quite hit and miss:
June 17th - June 21st - Nothing!
June 22nd - 7.5km This was a trial run at the Dublin 5miler in the Park.
June 23rd - 3.1km Morning run around the local park
10km Evening run around Santry
June 24th - 5km Easy 5k run with one eye on the Dunshaughlin 10km
June 25th - 10km Dunshaughlin 10k race
June 26th - 9.6km Run into Town to collect my car

belcarra

As can be seen from my previous post training had been erratic recently so I was not very confident going into this race. I decided to use it as a training run instead as I knew neither a target time of 45mins or a new PB of sub 47:17(?) was likely. Also, I had spent most of the afternoon in the sun on Sandymount Strand watching friends in a Tag Rugby tournament so I was a bit tired & sunburnt for the run itself.

Dunshaughlin 10k Race Report:
I started way too far forward with all the confusion of being pushed back to the starting line so when the race got going it took me a little by surprise as I was in the third row:eek:.
The first couple of k's were concerned with me trying to slow down which resulted in dozens of people flowing past. I'm usually good for placing myself in the field at the start so this was the first time I'd experienced this for several years.
By km3 I was where I should have been so I plodded along towards Ratoath until we had to take the right hander and turn back towards Dunshaughlin.
This hill at 6.5km wasn't too bad really and I was well prepared for it. I thought having the names on the road as we climbed was a great job as it took the mind off the incline itself.
Km8 was a real tough one for me though. It was here that I realised I simply hadn't enough miles in my legs over the previous weeks training. My longest run was about 10km at an easy pace so matters were catching up with me now. I struggled on home even managing a sprint finish (of sorts) passing a few people in the final 100m, finishing in 49:00.
I was thankful the car was 800m away as the enforced warmdown/walk back ensured I felt a little better the next day than I otherwise would have!

Summary:
1 1.00 04:14
2 1.00 04:43
3 1.00 04:44
4 1.00 04:55
5 1.00 04:59
6 1.00 04:55
7 1.00 05:02
8 1.00 05:22
9 1.00 04:58
10 1.00 04:59
11 0.02 03:43

Total:
00:49:00 mins
10.02 km
04:53 av pace
Avg HR: 166 bpm
Max HR: 181 bpm

belcarra

At this stage my brief focus changes from the 10km distance (What focus??) to a marathon in October / November. I'm planning on Dublin as the ultimate fall back marathon but have a couple of preferable alternatives, being NYC on Nov 6th or Philadelphia on Nov 20th. Therefore I'm gonna follow the P&D 18wk, 55mile plan starting from this week.

A summary so far...
Day 1 - Monday, June 27th - Rest Day
I don't know why so many plans appear to start with a Rest Day?!

Day 2 - Tuesday, June 28th - LT 13km w/ 6km @ 15k - 21k pace
I went to the Park to complete this run. There were loads of people out as it was the perfect evening. I began with 4km easy down Chesterfield Avenue. Just after I turned left for the North Road I began the 6km @ increased pace. I had worked out that my easy pace should be at 145bpm and the increased pace should be ramped to 165bpm on average for the 6k. I ignored actual pace (min/km) and actually found this increased pace quite tough. It's something I've noticed in the past that for a comparable speed/effort I appear to have a lower HR than others. This leads me to think that perhaps my Max HR might be actually lower than the approximated [207-(0.7 x age(33))] = 184bpm? I will take another look at this in a couple of weeks time to see if things have changed at all.
After the 6km was completed I slowed right down and jogged the remaining 3km required, although my HR never reduced to below 150bpm (I aimed to return to 145bpm).
All in all I think the session was really worthwhile, so much so that my easy 4k + quick 6k gave a 10k time of 49:11, only 11 seconds slower than my Dunshaughlin race a few days previous!
1 1.00 05:10
2 1.00 05:15
3 1.00 05:11
4 1.00 05:19
5 1.00 04:48
6 1.00 04:44
7 1.00 04:47
8 1.00 04:45
9 1.00 04:40
10 1.00 04:29
11 1.00 05:58
12 1.00 05:36
13 1.00 05:30
Avg HR: 154 bpm
Max HR: 168 bpm

Day 3 - Wednesday, June 29th - Rest Day
...again!

menoscemo

Hey Belcarra I see we have another p&D follower
With regards the HR thing. There is no point trying to estimate your Max using a formula, they are totally inaccurate. Look at woddle- his max is well over 200, while the formula would indicate something similar to yourself.... you should simply use your max as the highest you have ever recorded (ignore the silly spikes you get at the start of a run), normally what you hit in the last few 100m's of a short race when you are flat out, or what you might hit in your last interval of an interval session.


Another indication of your LT should be your 10mile Race pace, you can calculate this using mcmillan. Best of luck with the training.

belcarra

menoscemo wrote: »

Hey Belcarra I see we have another p&D follower
With regards the HR thing. There is no point trying to estimate your Max using a formula, they are totally inaccurate. Look at woddle- his max is well over 200, while the formula would indicate something similar to yourself.... you should simply use your max as the highest you have ever recorded (ignore the silly spikes you get at the start of a run), normally what you hit in the last few 100m's of a short race when you are flat out, or what you might hit in your last interval of an interval session.

Thanks for the feedback Meno!

I've just looked at a few races that I have done over the past 6 weeks and they have max HR as 178, 180 & 181 so I guess not too far off 184 really.
Thanks for your tip as I'd have forgotten to check out this obvious data otherwise!

And regarding Woddle, he was one of the people I had in mind who was a fair bit increased on my maxHR!

menoscemo

belcarra wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback Meno!

I've just looked at a few races that I have done over the past 6 weeks and they have max HR as 178, 180 & 181 so I guess not too far off 184 really.
Thanks for your tip as I'd have forgotten to check out this obvious data otherwise!

And regarding Woddle, he was one of the people I had in mind who was a fair bit increased on my maxHR!

Yeah, you are pretty similar to me so. My max is around 185. My AvHR in a 10 mile race is about 167 and about 165 in a HM, so yeah i try to hit about the same as yourself in an LT session.

belcarra

Day 4 - Thursday, June 30th - General Aerobic 15km (9m)
Back to Phoenix Park again this evening for the second session of the plan. I have calculated General Aerobic runs to be at 144bpm, or thereabouts. Nothing much to report from today - Solid enough session and things went well. I climbed Kyber Road twice in a bid to get used to it for the 5 miler in a few weeks. While doing so I noticed a photo shoot going on in the trees with what appeared to be a hot lingerie model role-playing as little red riding hood...I look forward to seeing those photos!

I currently have an issue with a tight left hamstring, just behind my knee. It could even be the tendon, I'm not sure. It's just annoying for these slow runs but I'm slightly worried to how it may react on the faster runs, especially intervals. I may go for a physio session to see what they say...
I pushed on for the final 800m at a pace of about 4:30/km which was good to see given this is the furthest I've ran in about a year!

Time: 01:19:27
Distance: 15.01 km
Avg HR: 147 bpm
Max HR: 167 bpm

belcarra

Day 5 - Friday, June 30th - Cross Train - 20k Cycle
The day was too nice not to do anything so I decided to take a spin on the bike. I don't get out enough so hopefully I manage to get into the habit of at least one Rest Day/Cross Train bike session a week.

I had no set plan so before I knew it I found myself cycling around the airport. Not a bad spin as there are few traffic lights to slow you down although many of the cars fly past so it didn't feel the safest route. Still though it was pretty good. I didn't push myself, instead just kept a nice steady pace.

Tomorrow I'm gonna do my LSR of 19km instead of Sunday so that it will free me up for a few guilt-free beers tomorrow night!

Time: 00:51:29
Distance: 20.25 km
Avg HR: 116 bpm
Max HR: 220 bpm

belcarra

Day 6 - Saturday, July 2nd - Medium/Long Run - 19k @ 148bpm
This was by far my longest run since last Summer so I was a little apprehensive about how I would cope as this P&D plan really has you hitting the ground running(!) and I was bringing forward the Long Run from tomorrow so the chances of being totaly knackered were quite high!

Eventually I got to the Park @ about 12:30pm and headed off immediately. I brought a bottle of water, half a bottle of lucozade sport, a cola-flavoured Kinetica gel and a choc flavoured protein bar - Today was about much more than the run. I was auditioning for nutritional aids also!

After the first 8km loop I stopped off at the car to take some water/LS/gel on board. I kept the gel with me for my next 3km loop but left the rest in the car. By the time I had returned the gel was just finished and I had some more water & LS. I really detest carrying stuff with me when I run as it's so annoying...just a few mins later I met a guy running who was pushing a buggy with his two kids in it and that just blew my mind!! I'd just been complaining to myself about a measly 60ml gel in my hand!

Anyways, I think all the carb reloading must have worked because by the time I returned to the car for the final time the 19km marker had just been passed. I even managed to up the pace for the final km as I was still feeling good!

Tomorrow calls for a 4km recovery run...in past times I'd barely bother going out for such a run but I think I'll stick to the plan from now on. I can really feel the worth of the plan and I'm only a week into it!

Time: 01:43:15
Distance: 19.01 km
Avg HR: 149 bpm
Max HR: 168 bpm

belcarra

Day 7 - Sunday, July 3rd - Recovery Run - 6k @ <140bpm
Slight correction regarding the distance I quoted in yesterday's log for today's run - it is in fact 6km, not 4km. Anyways, feeling pretty ok today after yesterday's LSR run and several beers last night. Today's run involved collecting my car from my mates house in Cabra - As it happens a perfect 6km!

Nothing much to report...the weather was very warm, no niggles worth mentioning. The first half of the run was all downhill with most of the second half all uphill but very manageable, especially given the pace of today's run. So, first week over, just 17 more to go!

Time: 00:32:43
Distance: 6.00 km
Avg HR: 142 bpm
Max HR: 153 bpm

belcarra

Week 1 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Av HR|Actual Pace km (Miles)
LT 13km w/ 6km @ 15k - 21k pace|13.00|154|5:05 (8:12)
General Aerobic 15km (9m)|15.01|147|5:17 (8:31)
Medium/Long Run - 19k @ 148bpm|19.01|149|5:25 (8:44)
Recovery Run - 6k @ <140bpm|6.00|142|5:27 (8:46)


I've been sticking 100% to bpm targets on these runs and it's been a great help in that I'm not constantly trying to go faster, etc. as I'd normally be doing when following 'Pace'.
However, now that I have the first set of runs completed, I wonder am I maybe still going too fast for the Recovery runs and Aerobic runs? My target time should be around 3:45 but as long as I get sub 4hrs I'll be pleased.

belcarra

Day|Week 2 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Av HR|Actual Pace km (Miles)
Mon|Rest Day/Cross Train|||
Tue|General Aerobic + Speed 13km (8m) w/ 10 x 100m strides|||
Wed|Rest Day/Cross Train|||
Thu|General Aerobic 16km (10m) @ 144bpm|||
Fri|Rest Day/Cross Train|||
Sat|Marathon Pace Run - 21k (13m) w/ 13km (8m) @ 155bpm|||
Sun|Recovery Run - 8k (5m) @ <140bpm|||

belcarra

Day 8 - Monday, July 4th - General Aerobic + Speed 13km (8m) w/ 10 x 100m strides @144bpm
Decided to bring tomorrow's session forward by a day as I have planned in for a 5km in Kinnegad next Wednesday week and the Irish Runner 5 miler the following Saturday. This allows me to still fit everything in.

I was back in the Park again and about half a mile into the run the Garmin battery died. My own fault for not having it charged so I had to improvise on the route trying to estimate the correct distance. I ended up going 9.3 miles, so about 1.3 miles more than I was meant to:o. Managed to get the 10 x 100m strides in as well. Not sure if I was doing these too intensely though - every time it was like I was sprint-finishing a 5km...is this the correct level?

Anyways, a Rest Day/Cross Train day tomorrow but depending on weather I may get out for a cycle.

Time: 01:18:00 (Approx)
Distance: 15.00 km (Approx)
Avg Pace: 05:13 min/km (Approx)
Avg HR: N/A bpm
Max HR: N/A bpm

belcarra

PS I managed to pick up a pair of Kayano 17's this evening in Elverys. The sales assistant was just in the process of replacing the sales price of €103 with the rrp of €140 but let me have them for the sale price
What was even better was I had a €50 gift card so I ended up paying just €53 for the pair

belcarra

Day 9 - Tuesday, July 5th - Cross Train /Rest Day - Game of 5 a side.
Fotball team were back training for the first time tonight and were a man short so I decided to join them given it was a Cross Train day. Played for about 75mins or so. I did notice my fitness was way ahead of most of the rest of them

In other news...I've started to think about doing the Amsterdam Marathon on October 16th as well as NYC on Nov 6th.
I'd hope to do a good time in Amsterdam and just run NYC to enjoy it...Any thoughts?
(Training would be on week short for Amsterdam but I could probably rearrange the plan to suit the shortened timeline)

menoscemo

belcarra wrote: »

I've been sticking 100% to bpm targets on these runs and it's been a great help in that I'm not constantly trying to go faster, etc. as I'd normally be doing when following 'Pace'.
However, now that I have the first set of runs completed, I wonder am I maybe still going too fast for the Recovery runs and Aerobic runs? My target time should be around 3:45 but as long as I get sub 4hrs I'll be pleased.

Yes, your paces suggest a 3.30 marathon and your recovery run is too fast even for that.

I do my recoveries at 9 min/mile and I am aiming for a 3'10 marathon. Your recovery should be significantly slower than your other runs. When you say <140bpm, try to get your HR down to mid 130's at a max. 142bpm is GA, not recovery (especially over a distance as short as 6km).

belcarra

Day 10 - Wednesday, July 6th - General Aerobic - 16k @ 139bpm
My feet were in bits after yesterdays 5 a side game with all types of blisters, but thankfully by the time it came to going out this evening most of that had subsided. I left it until the heavy showers had passed but brought my jacket just in case!

I purposely held back for the first few kms to keep the HR down and also because I was a bit achy after the footie last night. After about 4km I was struggling a little. I did a number of things at this point. Firstly, I took off the jacket and tied it round my waist, thereby cooling me quicker. I also took the first half of my energy gel at this point - I had felt a bit low on energy before heading out. Finally, I also upped the pace a little.

Not sure which of the three was most responsible but the rest of the run was far more manageable and even enjoyable! Ended up with 16km as per the plan. My pace increased from approx 6:00/km to 5:2x/km by the end.

Rest day tomorrow - Don't think I'm gonna bother do any Cross Training, just put the feet up and catch up with Copa America!

Finally, I confirmed today that I will be running NYC for sure on behalf of the Irish Cancer Society on Nov 6th...now it's just a matter of raising a few grand in a recession!!:rolleyes:

Time: 01:32:17
Distance: 16.17 km
Avg HR: 139 bpm
Max HR: 158 bpm

belcarra

Day 11 - Thursday, July 7th - Rest Day/Cross Train
I choose rest day! Was pretty tired after the past couple of weeks so laid low for the evening.

Day 12 - Friday, July 8th - Marathon Pace Run - 21k @ 155bpm
Today called for a Half Marathon with 8miles @ marathon pace. Going by the HR ranges in P&D this suggested I should be running @ 155bpm or thereabouts.

I started off at GA pace and managed an average of 5:25/km. Just after getting to the top of the Kyber Road (300m after) it was time to up the pace to marathon speed. I did a lap and a half of a flat-ish circuit before calling back to the car for some water and Lucozade Sport. After about 50 seconds I was off again to continue the second half of the fast run. Ended up doing the 13k in av pace of 5:00/km. I was pretty tired after this.

Definitely think LT (Lactate Threshold) pace should be in the low 160's (BPM) but 155bpm is probably a little high for MP - 150bpm is probably a more realistic MP so I think I will continue at that.
I simply hope to do 3:45 or thereabouts for the marathon but 5:00/km MP is about 3:31 pace and definitely don't think I'm up to that - Current Marathon PB is 4:2x!!

However, this HR pacing is allowing me to totally review what my target should be so who knows?? It's great not having to feel limited by paces as per previous marathons - HR effort is the way to go!

Time: 01:43:51
Distance: 20.25km
Av Pace: 5:10min/km
Avg HR: 147 bpm
Max HR: 157 bpm

belcarra

P.S.- Gruesome, but I managed to get a pretty large blister under one of my toe nails as a result of today's run and Wednesday night's run!
I didn't even think that was possible!!

Woddle

belcarra wrote: »

Definitely think LT (Lactate Threshold) pace should be in the low 160's (BPM) but 155bpm is probably a little high for MP - 150bpm is probably a more realistic MP so I think I will continue at that.

Hi belcarra good to see you getting consistent now. Remember though it's very early days and these runs will feel alot easier. I just worked out my own average HR for marathons I've done and it's 85% of max. So if yours is 180, then that's in and around 153 so you're about right. And if you're training from HR there will be a few runs were the pace won't match up, you maybe slower or faster for the same HR effort because heart rate is influenced by lots of factors, temp, hydration,session from previous day.

menoscemo

Woddle wrote: »

Hi belcarra good to see you getting consistent now. Remember though it's very early days and these runs will feel alot easier. I just worked out my own average HR for marathons I've done and it's 85% of max. So if yours is 180, then that's in and around 153 so you're about right. And if you're training from HR there will be a few runs were the pace won't match up, you maybe slower or faster for the same HR effort because heart rate is influenced by lots of factors, temp, hydration,session from previous day.

Yep Belcarra, I agree with Woddle. We have pretty much the same max HR and my last two marathons I raced I had an Av HR of 153 and 154. So 155 seems ok for now. In both the above marathons I feel I left a little in the tank too, I'll be expecting to average 155-157 in the next one.

belcarra

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Ya, maybe I'll stick with the range from 150 - 155 for the MP runs.
It was a lovely cool evening yesterday so I think that kept my HR a few beats lower than a warmer day's session.

Looks like you are well on the way to breaking 3:10 Meno - Your pace for the MP session today was at a decent clip!

Did you have a Tri today Woddle? How'd it go?

belcarra

Day 13 - Saturday, July 9th - Recovery Run @ <140bpm
This turned out to be a bit of a chore in the end as I guess I was still feeling the effects of the effort yesterday. Legs were feeling pretty dead today but managed it regardless.

Time: 00:45:40
Distance: 8.04km
Av Pace: 5:40min/km
Avg HR: 137 bpm
Max HR: 145 bpm

Day 14 - Sunday, July 10th - Rest Day / Cross Train.
Gonna take tomorrow as a rest day as due to rejigging of my schedule I have another long run on Monday evening.

belcarra

Week 2 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Av HR|Actual Pace km (Miles)
General Aerobic w/ Strides 10x100m - 15k @ 144bpm|15.00|???|???
General Aerobic - 16km @ 139bpm|16.17|139|5:42 (9:11)
Marathon Pace Run - 20.25km @ 147bpm|20.25|147|5:10 (8:19)
Recovery Run - 8km @ 137bpm|8.04|137|5:40 (9:08)


So, week 2 over with now. I pulled things forward this week to give myself a spare day leading into week 3 which I will be using hopefully for a 5km on Wed night in Kinnegad. This will be used as a mini-tune up for the 5 miler next Sat. I expect to maybe hit 90% on Wed which will hopefully have me somewhere close to a PB but that's not my priority.

60km (37m) this week so I'm kicking on nicely. Definitely happy I chose this plan as I have plenty of confidence so far from it, so hopefully that continues 'til November!

belcarra

Day|Week 3 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Av HR|Actual Pace km (Miles)
Mon|Medium-Long Run 23km (14m) @ 148bpm|||
Tue|Recovery Run 6km (4m) @ <140bpm|||
Wed|Kinnegad 5km Race|||
Thu|Rest Day/Cross Train|||
Fri|Recovery Run 6km (4m) @ <140bpm|||
Sat|Irish Runner 5 Mile Race|||
Sun|General Aerobic 16km (10m) @ 144bpm|||


Another bespoke week for me with the 2 x races included but I have tried to rejig in such a way that I still only run 40m. I will also be hitting the road immmediately after the 5 miler for Limerick for a tag rugby festival (& several associated pints afterwards!!) so the GA 10miles could be a doubt for the Sunday!!

belcarra

Day 15 - Monday, July 11th - Medium-Long Run - 23k @ 148bpm
As a result of 2 races this week I pulled forward my Medium-Long Run from this weekend to today. It went pretty well apart from taking a while to get into the rhythm. At one weak/bored stage I was contemplating quitting after about 12k but I soon pushed that out of my head. I probably went a little too quick today but I did hold back to 144bpm rather than the target 148bpm, and hopefully the shorter runs between now and Saturday will allow me to be fully fresh for a bit of speed at the 5 miler.

This was the longest run I've done in over a year so I feel like I'm truly back marathon training again!

Time: 02:04:10
Distance: 23.21km
Av Pace: 5:20min/km
Avg HR: 144 bpm
Max HR: 159 bpm

Day|Week 3 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Av HR|Actual Pace km (Miles)
Mon|Medium-Long Run 23km (14m) @ 148bpm|23.21|144|5:20 (8:36)
Tue|Recovery Run 6km (4m) @ <140bpm|||
Wed|Kinnegad 5km Race|||
Thu|Rest Day/Cross Train|||
Fri|Recovery Run 6km (4m) @ <140bpm|||
Sat|Irish Runner 5 Mile Race|||
Sun|General Aerobic 16km (10m) @ 144bpm|||

belcarra

Day 16 - Recovery Run - 7km @ 136bpm

Recovery run today which totalled 7km, 1k more than the required 6k.
Aimed to stick to 134bpm range but the resulting 136bpm is still fine.

5k tomorrow in Kinnegad. Haven't a clue what time I'll be on for but will try to go out with 4:30mins per km and see where that takes me. I'll have one eye on Sat so if I start to struggle I will reign it in a bit.

Time: 00:39:14
Distance: 07.02km
Av Pace: 5:35min/km
Avg HR: 136 bpm
Max HR: 145 bpm

Day|Week 3 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Av HR|Actual Pace km (Miles)
Mon|Medium-Long Run 23km (14m) @ 148bpm|23.21|144|5:20 (8:36)
Tue|Recovery Run 6km (4m) @ <140bpm|7.02|136|5:35 (9:00)
Wed|Kinnegad 5km Race|||
Thu|Rest Day/Cross Train|||
Fri|Recovery Run 6km (4m) @ <140bpm|||
Sat|Irish Runner 5 Mile Race|||
Sun|General Aerobic 16km (10m) @ 144bpm|||

belcarra

Day 17 - Kinnegad 5k Race
Lovely Evening for it and a very well organised race.
I started off alongside a much faster buddy because we were both trying new tactics which meant we converged to the same pace for the first 3k. Truth be told he was using me as a pacemaker to hold him back from blowing up too far before the finish but then I was using him to drag me along at a quicker pace than i may have allowed myself running solo.

Km1 was a decent clip @ 4:17. I was feeling good.
Km2 was a more modest 4:24 but still ahead of target pace of 4:30. So far, so good!
Km3 arrived with a pace of 4:30 at which point Philip took off like a dog off a leash! I however was beginning to slightly feel the pace but kept it going.
Km4 was @ 4:42 and this was by far the slowest km. I was gathering myself for an intended fast finish so there was a mini-slowdown included.
Km5 was done @ 4:24 with an all out effort for the last 200m along Main St to the finish. I knew Ii had a PB but by how much?

Chip time = 22:25 and a new PB by about 1min (which was recorded at Donore 5k several weeks ago)!
I ended up almost a minute behind Philip but only about 22 positions behind. He's definitely got sub 20:00 in him if he trains a bit and works out his correct race strategy!!

Anyways, roll on Saturday and a potential Sub 37??

Time: 00:22:25
Distance: 05.02km
Av Pace: 4:27min/km
Avg HR: 163 bpm
Max HR: 175 bpm

Day|Week 3 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Av HR|Actual Pace km (Miles)
Mon|Medium-Long Run 23km (14m) @ 148bpm|23.21|144|5:20 (8:36)
Tue|Recovery Run 6km (4m) @ <140bpm|7.02|136|5:35 (9:00)
Wed|Kinnegad 5km Race|5.02|163|4:27 (7:10)
Thu|Rest Day/Cross Train|||
Fri|Recovery Run 6km (4m) @ <140bpm|||
Sat|Irish Runner 5 Mile Race|||
Sun|General Aerobic 16km (10m) @ 144bpm|||