Aiming for a sub 45min 10km.

slowsteady

Hope your HM went as well as the rugby:)

belcarra

slowsteady wrote: »

Hope your HM went as well as the rugby:)

Pretty happy with this morning: Run went well and i almost got my sub 1:40 target. Result of the rugby was a huge shocker...I had heard people commenting about it but it sounded like we lost 16-15 from what I could make out so when i saw the result I was more than pleasantly surprised!
Of course, bloody Arsenal have gone and put a dampener on everything again!
Being a Mayo man, and therefore vehemently anti-Kerry(!), I'll be in the peculiar position of cheering on the Dubs tomorrow as well!

belcarra

Day 83 - National Lottery Half Marathon - 21.1km @ 158bpm
I was dreading what the weather might be like for today but was pleasantly surprised when I opened the blinds to discover pretty decent conditions. There was a bit of a breeze but nothing like what we have had during the earlier part of the week.

I got to the starting area and jumped in a few rows behind the red 1:40 pacer balloons. I was doubting if I could get the whole way round at this pace but was fully prepared to go with it and see how I got on. As we walked to the starting line the announcer was wishing Menoscemo a happy 34th birthday but he was pacing the 1:50 gang so not sure if he heard it or not... So, at about 10:15am wave two crossed the starting line.

The first couple of kms were a matter of trying to stick with the balloons in front. This all settled down after passing the Castleknock roundabout and I settled into a nice rhythm. I was feeling so good in fact that I pushed on a little bit over the downhill stretch to Chapelizod gate and kept going past the S-Bends and down Military Hill. I never checked but from hearing the guys shouting their pacing after each mile I was probably about 20 secs up on them at one stage. This banked time was to allow me tackle the hills more easily which in theory was meant to keep me fresher for the last few miles. I was really cruising the whole way along the Southern edge of the course and it was no real effort at all. Not many times I'd ever say that!
Half way up Chesterfield Avenue the pacing group caught up with me again and once more I started pacing off them. Things were working out pretty well so far. However, after we went through/over the zoo and out onto the North Road I began to feel my right glute causing me problems. This first raised it's head on last weekends long run and I thought I had got rid off it midweek but here it was again:(.
By the time we passed the Ashtown Gate i was finding it really tough to keep up with the pacers due to this injury so i eased off a little. Their lead on me opened out to approx 30secs within a mile and that pretty much stayed the same gap for the remainder of the race. By the time I was over the last hill I knew it was gonna be very tight for the sub 1:40 but dug deep regardless and pushed as much as I could. Eventually, I crossed the line in 1:40:22 by my watch but the official Chip times are now out and this has shortened it to 1:40:22.
So, 22 seconds outside the target time but still a dramatic improvement on the one PB I was pretty proud of: 1:44:31 in Waterford HM in 2009.
I have also managed to check out two indicators already:
McMilllan reckons I should be doing the full marathon in approx 3:31:xx:eek:. Not sure I'd ever get near that!
VDot calculator has given me a score of 45 for the race...If I was literally 1 second slower it would have remained 44:D.

So, all round a good day out and a great result in the rugby...now if I could only find another Soccer team to follow...:rolleyes:

Time: 01:40:20
Distance: 21.26 km
Av Pace: 4:43 min/km
Avg HR: 158 bpm
Max HR: 168 bpm

Woddle

Great result and with 4 weeks of consistent training before the taper I wouldn't rule out 3:30 just yet and you were carrying an injury.

belcarra

I forgot to mention that I came very close to a big fall on the North Road...Someone clipped kicked my leg across onto the other and I went tumbling for about 7 or 8 steps.

I even had time to choose: should I do a controlled fal for limited damage but risk more people falling on top of me, or just maybe I can tumble back out of this fall and keep going...

I chose the latter but it was very close. At one stage it felt like my forehead was within mm's of the road surface.

I think I was pretty lucky the way it worked out in the end.

belcarra

Woddle wrote: »

Great result and with 4 weeks of consistent training before the taper I wouldn't rule out 3:30 just yet and you were carrying an injury.

Cheers Woddle!
Ya I have 4 weeks of 50+ miles left before taper so lots of useful training to come yet. Still though, I remain focused first on going sub 4, then maybe 3:45, but at this stage anything faster would be a huge result for me!

slowsteady

Well done today, 1:40:xx is well deserved for the training you put in. With another month of injury free training 3:30:xx is still a real possibility.

Keep it up and enjoy the glow of a job well done;)

belcarra

Day 84 - Recovery Run - 8.5km @ 138bpm
A handy recovery run into the city centre to collect my car from last night. Nothing much to report. Legs were pretty tired after yesterday so maybe another recovery run is in order tomorrow.
After analysing my race yesterday I discovered I set a new 10 mile PB of 1:15:32 (1:15:57 if compared directly over a distance of 16.17kms as per the 10 miler a few weeks ago) - That's another 1:20 off the PB but not sure if I should count it or not as usually only consider standalone races...all thoughts welcome!

Time: 00:45:26
Distance: 8.5 km
Av Pace: 5:21 min/km
Avg HR: 138 bpm
Max HR: 152 bpm

belcarra

Day 86 - Recovery Run - 12km @ 138bpm
I had planned on going long this evening so I called into the Park on the way home but by the time I started I was feeling pretty tired. After the first few kms I was more optimistic, but again by about 7km The limbs were getting a bit tired again so I decided a big loop of the park would be enough. 11km in total.

Time: 01:00:51
Distance: 11.0 km
Av Pace: 5:31 min/km
Avg HR: 138 bpm
Max HR: 151 bpm

Seeing that I'll be doing the Rathfarnham 5km on Sunday I am under a bit of pressure to get a 17 miler in tomorrow (To give me a chance of recovering for Sunday) but I think I'm still pretty tired after Saturday's race. I suppose I could leave the LSR until Sunday afternoon, after the 5km race...not sure if I would have the willpower to go back out again though...decisions, decisions!

outforarun

belcarra wrote: »

I pushed on a little bit over the downhill stretch to Chapelizod gate and kept going past the S-Bends and down Military Hill. I never checked but from hearing the guys shouting their pacing after each mile I was probably about 20 secs up on them at one stage.

If I had shouted out 'belcarra' by the S-bends and Military road I reckon you would have heard me. I was running ear-shot ahead of the 1:40s round there as well. Well done on the PB. Pity about your glute, hopefully that's the last time it troubles you. That half performance will really benefit you for the marathon.

belcarra

Day 87 - LT Run - 14km @ 144bpm
Tonight it was time for an 8 mile run including 5 x 600m @ 5k pace intervals. I reduced the 5k pace from 4:30 in previous runs to 4:20 for tonight. This was due to a number of reasons including one eye on Sunday when I want to be targeting sub 22, increased fitness & speed over the past couple of months and finally I wanted to push myself a little more over the shorter distance intervals (the longer intervals may be done at a more relaxed pace).

I did a few miles to warm up but even these were done relatively quickly. The intervals were then done in the following manner:
Int - Duration - Dist. - Pace
1 - 2:27.3 - 0.61 - 4:02.4
2 - 2:29.2 - 0.60 - 4:07.2
3 - 2:37.3 - 0.60 - 4:20.2
4 - 2:39.4 - 0.61 - 4:20.3
5 - 2:22.8 - 0.60 - 3:56.2
So, the first one was ran too fast. Second one was ran on a downhill section and again too fast. Third one was spot-on. Fourth one was spot on also even though was ran uphill. Fifth one was the fastest and most off target but it was the final one so I just let rip. My recovery times appear to be pretty quick also, so that seems like another positive aspect of the training.

Happy enough overall with the session. Now, lets see what Sunday brings...!

Time: 01:11:36
Distance: 14.0 km
Av Pace: 5:07 min/km
Avg HR: 144 bpm
Max HR: 165 bpm

belcarra

outforarun wrote: »

If I had shouted out 'belcarra' by the S-bends and Military road I reckon you would have heard me. I was running ear-shot ahead of the 1:40s round there as well. Well done on the PB. Pity about your glute, hopefully that's the last time it troubles you. That half performance will really benefit you for the marathon.

Ya that probably would have worked alright!
Although the follow-up remark of "I'm Out For A Run" may have sounded a bit obviously weird!

I think the glute issue was a result of poor core strength over the past few weeks. I've started to up this aspect now so hopefully I manage to keep it at bay for the next 6.5 weeks!

outforarun

belcarra wrote: »

Although the follow-up remark of "I'm Out For A Run" may have sounded a bit obviously weird!

while running in Cork I was going to introduce myself that way to one of the pacers, and thought hmm maybe not for that exact same reason

W.B. Yeats

Great running on SAturday, especially with literally a pain in the backside
I was in around the pacers until 9 miles or so- just before the 2nd last water stop but couldn't keep pace
Finished in 1.43 so very happy with that 7 min off the PB and 14min off last year's first half

Considering doing Rathfarnham myself but uncertain if the legs have much in them for racing. I'd be doing well to better my PB of 21.14 but it could be good to set me up for a concerted "run" at going sub 20 in the New Year

belcarra

W.B. Yeats wrote: »

I was in around the pacers until 9 miles or so- just before the 2nd last water stop but couldn't keep pace
Finished in 1.43 so very happy with that 7 min off the PB and 14min off last year's first half

Great improvement on your previous times there WB! I suppose the football the next day was merely the icing on the cake:)
We were probably running alongside each other for various stages so and it was about mile 9, while running beside one of the pacers, that I nearly fell flat on my face so you may have seen that?

W.B. Yeats wrote: »

Considering doing Rathfarnham myself but uncertain if the legs have much in them for racing. I'd be doing well to better my PB of 21.14 but it could be good to set me up for a concerted "run" at going sub 20 in the New Year

My legs have been noticably tired this week so I think the HM took more out of me than i realised. Still though an easy 5 miler tomorrow and a rest day on Sat should see me able to push it for 23 odd minutes. Of course I do have a 17 mile run pencilled in for later in the day so that may be a different kettle of fish...!
I reckon you should use Sunday to lay down a marker alright. You can train specifically for the 5km distance over the Winter and at least you will probably have a manageable target time to progress past!
Although, having said that I'd be very happy with a 21:14!!

belcarra

belcarra wrote: »

The intervals were then done in the following manner:
Int - Duration - Dist. - Pace
1 - 2:27.3 - 0.61 - 4:02.4
2 - 2:29.2 - 0.60 - 4:07.2
3 - 2:37.3 - 0.60 - 4:20.2
4 - 2:39.4 - 0.61 - 4:20.3
5 - 2:22.8 - 0.60 - 3:56.2

Just glancing over the intervals from last night again...a 17 second difference between intervals 3&4 and interval 5 is just simply ridiculous!!

At least Sunday should give me a real target rather than an arbitary guesstimation!

belcarra

Day 88 - Medium Long Run - 21 km @ 140bpm
My MLR tonight was pretty uneventful - just a matter of getting the miles in really! My legs have been pretty tired most of the week but tonight they were a little looser than the previous two. I just hope tonight hasn't pushed them back in their recovery.
Not many out running tonight - I think they must all have been out enjoying Arthur's Night! Loads of teenagers and College goers around the place going to house parties and carrying booze anyways so yet another bumper night for Diageo! ...then again, I'm just jealous!!

Time: 01:57:11
Distance: 21.0 km
Av Pace: 5:35 min/km
Avg HR: 140 bpm
Max HR: 148 bpm

belcarra

Day 89 - Recovery Run - 9.0km @ 133bpm
An easy Recovery Run to set me up for Sunday. Legs felt a bit more lively so hopefully they will be fresh for Rathfarnham.

Time: 00:49:08
Distance: 9.0 km
Av Pace: 5:28 min/km
Avg HR: 133 bpm
Max HR: 144 bpm

Day 90 - Rest Day.

belcarra

Day 91 - Rathfarnham 5km Race- 5.0km @ 165bpm
I got up at 6am this morning to watch the rugby and once that match was over and well won I got ready for todays race. I had a loose plan of targeting sub 22 based on a quick start, a big effort middle and a fast finish. Plans for km splits were to be approx: 4:20, 4:30, 4:25, 4:20, 4:00.

The gun went off a minute or two before 10am and we were away. I knew immediately that I was too far back when I heard several people (Male & Female) give a shriek of panic when the gun went off! I sprinted the first few metres in a bid to get past slower runners but withing 20m I was able to avail of the empty right hand lane of the road. There was to be no more issues with being held up after that thankfully.

I was part of a group of 5 or 6 who were the first people to be diverted away from passing through the finish area on the first lap. This was very helpful as it meant we were abole to cut the bend in the road an probably saved us 10m or more. I looked at my watch at this point and was surprised to see I had done the first km1 in 3:52...I was really wondering had I gone out too fast and would I pay for it later.

As we turned the corner we were climbing the only (uphill) incline of any significance on the way into Terenure. The hill was short enough not to cause too much trouble. Km2 was ran in 4:08 so again I was very happy with this. At this point I was even beginning to ask myself if sub 20 might be on??

The long straight section out of Terenure is decptively long and slightly uphill. Today we were also heading into the wind on this section so it was atough old slog. I kept thinking that once i got to the end of this road the left hand turn would bring us back to the start with the final 1km all downhill again. Km 3 was 4:17 and km 4 was 4:22 - Templeogue Road had taken much more out of me than expected.

I hung on in there knowing I was on course for Sub 21 still. I really enjoyed the first part of the last km where we were going downhill again and away from the wind. The distance markers seemed to take much longer to pass though this time cmpared to last:rolleyes:. Still though, 800m became 400m and then 200m. With about 150m I gave everrything I still had to try and make up a couple of places. This I did and once again just about managed to avoid throwing up when crossing the line...this is a real feature of my races this year!

So, 20:58 in the end which I am extremely delighted with. I was hoping to break 22mins so an extra minute quicker over this short a distance is great!! PB by 1:27 on the Donore 5k.:D

Time: 00:20:58
Distance: 5.04 km
Av Pace: 4:09 min/km
Avg HR: 165 bpm
Max HR: 173 bpm

W.B. Yeats

belcarra wrote: »

Day 91 - Rathfarnham 5km Race- 5.0km @ 165bpm
I got up at 6am this morning to watch the rugby and once that match was over and well won I got ready for todays race. I had a loose plan of targeting sub 22 based on a quick start, a big effort middle and a fast finish. Plans for km splits were to be approx: 4:20, 4:30, 4:25, 4:20, 4:00.

The gun went off a minute or two before 10am and we were away. I knew immediately that I was too far back when I heard several people (Male & Female) give a shriek of panic when the gun went off! I sprinted the first few metres in a bid to get past slower runners but withing 20m I was able to avail of the empty right hand lane of the road. There was to be no more issues with being held up after that thankfully.

I was part of a group of 5 or 6 who were the first people to be diverted away from passing through the finish area on the first lap. This was very helpful as it meant we were abole to cut the bend in the road an probably saved us 10m or more. I looked at my watch at this point and was surprised to see I had done the first km1 in 3:52...I was really wondering had I gone out too fast and would I pay for it later.

As we turned the corner we were climbing the only (uphill) incline of any significance on the way into Terenure. The hill was short enough not to cause too much trouble. Km2 was ran in 4:08 so again I was very happy with this. At this point I was even beginning to ask myself if sub 20 might be on??

The long straight section out of Terenure is decptively long and slightly uphill. Today we were also heading into the wind on this section so it was atough old slog. I kept thinking that once i got to the end of this road the left hand turn would bring us back to the start with the final 1km all downhill again. Km 3 was 4:17 and km 4 was 4:22 - Templeogue Road had taken much more out of me than expected.

I hung on in there knowing I was on course for Sub 21 still. I really enjoyed the first part of the last km where we were going downhill again and away from the wind. The distance markers seemed to take much longer to pass though this time cmpared to last:rolleyes:. Still though, 800m became 400m and then 200m. With about 150m I gave everrything I still had to try and make up a couple of places. This I did and once again just about managed to avoid throwing up when crossing the line...this is a real feature of my races this year!

So, 20:58 in the end which I am extremely delighted with. I was hoping to break 22mins so an extra minute quicker over this short a distance is great!! PB by 1:27 on the Donore 5k.:D

Time: 00:20:58
Distance: 5.04 km
Av Pace: 4:09 min/km
Avg HR: 165 bpm
Max HR: 173 bpm

Great running- well done, 1.27 is a great chunk of PB.
You must have finished very close to me.

ecoli

belcarra wrote: »

Day 91 - Rathfarnham 5km Race- 5.0km @ 165bpm
I got up at 6am this morning to watch the rugby and once that match was over and well won I got ready for todays race. I had a loose plan of targeting sub 22 based on a quick start, a big effort middle and a fast finish. Plans for km splits were to be approx: 4:20, 4:30, 4:25, 4:20, 4:00.

The gun went off a minute or two before 10am and we were away. I knew immediately that I was too far back when I heard several people (Male & Female) give a shriek of panic when the gun went off! I sprinted the first few metres in a bid to get past slower runners but withing 20m I was able to avail of the empty right hand lane of the road. There was to be no more issues with being held up after that thankfully.

I was part of a group of 5 or 6 who were the first people to be diverted away from passing through the finish area on the first lap. This was very helpful as it meant we were abole to cut the bend in the road an probably saved us 10m or more. I looked at my watch at this point and was surprised to see I had done the first km1 in 3:52...I was really wondering had I gone out too fast and would I pay for it later.

As we turned the corner we were climbing the only (uphill) incline of any significance on the way into Terenure. The hill was short enough not to cause too much trouble. Km2 was ran in 4:08 so again I was very happy with this. At this point I was even beginning to ask myself if sub 20 might be on??

The long straight section out of Terenure is decptively long and slightly uphill. Today we were also heading into the wind on this section so it was atough old slog. I kept thinking that once i got to the end of this road the left hand turn would bring us back to the start with the final 1km all downhill again. Km 3 was 4:17 and km 4 was 4:22 - Templeogue Road had taken much more out of me than expected.

I hung on in there knowing I was on course for Sub 21 still. I really enjoyed the first part of the last km where we were going downhill again and away from the wind. The distance markers seemed to take much longer to pass though this time cmpared to last:rolleyes:. Still though, 800m became 400m and then 200m. With about 150m I gave everrything I still had to try and make up a couple of places. This I did and once again just about managed to avoid throwing up when crossing the line...this is a real feature of my races this year!

So, 20:58 in the end which I am extremely delighted with. I was hoping to break 22mins so an extra minute quicker over this short a distance is great!! PB by 1:27 on the Donore 5k.:D

Time: 00:20:58
Distance: 5.04 km
Av Pace: 4:09 min/km
Avg HR: 165 bpm
Max HR: 173 bpm

Great Race

The first mile usually does catch people off guard and its very hard not to go off too hard having said that you help well in km's 3 and 4 so you obviously didnt suffer too much with it

Congrats on the PB

belcarra

W.B. Yeats wrote: »

Great running- well done, 1.27 is a great chunk of PB.
You must have finished very close to me.

Cheers WB and great running yourself too!
I finished in 186th position. There's a few 21:08 chip times so not quite sure which you were but ya, we must have crossed the line very close to each other!

belcarra

ecoli wrote: »

Great Race

The first mile usually does catch people off guard and its very hard not to go off too hard having said that you help well in km's 3 and 4 so you obviously didnt suffer too much with it

Congrats on the PB

Thanks Ecoli!
(That statement sounds weird!)

I think I paced it pretty well but perhaps a smidgin too fast for the first km. I think if I was to dedicate a few weeks to 5k training I'd go close to sub 20 on that course...and perhaps even quicker:eek:

belcarra

Day 91 - Triple Session
The 5km race wasn't the only training I had down for today. Unfortunately P&D had demanded a 17 mile LSR also so I had to do a hotch potch of a day which resulted in me doing 3 running sessions today:eek: I need to get a life soon!!

Part 1 - Rathfarnham 10km race.
This has been covered above but I also recorded a warm-up and cool-down as part of todays training.

Warm-Up: 0.66 @ 5:31m/km (Av HR=150bpm)
5k Race: 5.04 @ 4:09m.km (Av HR=165bpm)
Cool-Down: 1.51 @ 6:02m/km (Av HR=142bpm)
Total: 7.21km

Part 2 - LSR Part 1 - 13.7km @ 148 bpm
After the race I called into my Sister in Terenure for a visit for about 90 mins. On my way home to Santry I detoured to the Park for what was to be a session where I racked up a few miles.

It wasn't pretty for the first 1/2km but I eventually got into a nice rhythm. After a couple of Kms it was feeling much easier than I expected and as a result I went way too fast for a LSR! The weather turned really bad with a nasty downpour which lasted almost the entire duration of my run. I eventually decided to call a halt after 13.7km as I was drenched by this stage. I finished hoping I would get out again this evening if the weather cleared up...

Time: 01:11:16
Distance: 13.7 km
Av Pace: 5:12 min/km
Avg HR: 148 bpm
Max HR: 162 bpm

Part 3 - LSR Part 2 - 12.5km @ 141bpm
I got home and had some dinner after the Park and then rested for a while. About 5 hrs later I was back out the door around Santry this time.

I planned on just an easy loop but it turned out to be even a second/km quicker than the afternoon run! I guess it must have been the race this morning that skewed up my pacing but I enjoyed it anyways. A good feeling to have covered over 20 miles today and at an average pace of 5:04m/km!

Time: 01:04:36
Distance: 12.5 km
Av Pace: 5:11 min/km
Avg HR: 141 bpm
Max HR: 152 bpm

Summary:
I was trying to work out if the split LSR was as beneficial as a continuous LSR. I know I got to rest and eat in between but I feel much better now than I would for a comparable continuous LSR. Also, there must have been a large benefit to me running for so far so quickly today. I believe I have avoided injury but I may have just been lucky...?
Anyways, an 8 mile easy run tomorrow should let me know what the real impact of this was!

slowsteady

Well done on the PB, well done on the 2-part LSR, not too many people would have had the willpower to get out the second time, and the rugby team did well also. Generally a good day then?

belcarra

slowsteady wrote: »

Well done on the PB, well done on the 2-part LSR, not too many people would have had the willpower to get out the second time, and the rugby team did well also. Generally a good day then?

Haha, yip, a good day alright!
Arsenal even won on Saturday as well and ManU drew so it's as good as I could hope for at the moment!

belcarra

Day 92 - Recovery Run - 13km @ 130bpm
I was feeling the onset of shin splints all day long while sitting at my PC so wasn't looking forward to tonights run too much but once I was out on the road there was absolutely no issues whatsoever so I was very relieved! About half way through I felt myself getting a little tired but that wore off again a couple of kms later. All-in-all a very easy 13km

Time: 01:12:07
Distance: 13.0 km
Av Pace: 5:33 min/km
Avg HR: 130 bpm
Max HR: 147 bpm

belcarra

Day 93 - LT Run - 14.0km @ 144 bpm
Met up with Phillip in the park again this evening for a 14km intervals session to include 5 x 1,000m @ 5k pace.

After Sunday's race I was caught between sticking to my 4:20 pace or adjusting to a more accurate 4:00 pace. I didn't know what to do so I decided to play it by ear.
So these were the 5 splits:
Int - Pace
1 - 4:19
2 - 4:12
3 - 4:07
4 - 4:15
5 - 4:00

These were all done on the flattest parts of the park. The 1st km was done to meet the easier end of the target but after that I pushed it a bit more. By the 4th I was finding it tough enough. Then, moments later Phillip thought it might be good to finish on a 4:00 km! After a longer than ideal recovery period I managed to come in bang on target so that was a great way to finish off the intervals.

Great session overall but not sure how I'll stick to even 4:20 splits for the mile intervals next week...:eek:

Time: 01:11:12
Distance: 14.0 km
Av Pace: 5:05 min/km
Avg HR: 144 bpm
Max HR: 165 bpm

belcarra

Day 94 - MLR - 19.16km @ 138bpm
Nice relaxed run in the Park this evening. Lovely weather for it. Phillip joined me for this run again this evening and the 19km passed in no time.

Time: 01:42:38
Distance: 19.16 km
Av Pace: 5:21min/km
Avg HR: 138 bpm
Max HR: 157 bpm

belcarra

Day 95 - Recovery Run - 14.6km @ 127 bpm
A nice easy recovery run tonight on what felt like a summer's evening. The first few kms went very smoothly so I decided to tag on a few extra towards the end for no other reason than to push my monthly distance for September. Tomorrow is a rest day so that should allow me recover more than enough for the 10km in Galway on Saturday morning. I was thinking this evening that I have been remarkably lucky to avoid any serious injury so far during this training cycle. So many of my fellow Boardsies seem to have been reailed over the past few weeks...I'm just keeping the fingers crossed my luck holds out until November 7th .

Time: 01:21:47
Distance: 1.58 km
Av Pace: 5:36 min/km
Avg HR: 127 bpm
Max HR: 137 bpm