The Comeback Trail

brownian

Thanks andy. Fit? Have you see the roadrunner and krusty and what they got up to this weekend. That's fit.

Feeling the run today. Locked my keys in the car after the run yesterday. Mrs b had to come rescue me, then wanted a stroll on the park. Could barely move:). Made it as far as the coffee shop.

Hope you paid that nice lady in farmleigh?

drquirky

brownian wrote: »

Feeling the run today. Locked my keys in the car after the run yesterday. Mrs b had to come rescue me, then wanted a stroll on the park. Could barely move:). Made it as far as the coffee shop.

Hope you paid that nice lady in farmleigh?

Oh man- sorry I took off so fast but I did go an pay for those drinks!

drquirky

Well that sucked-

Went out for a "9 mile tempo run" today was running great @ 32 mins for 5 miles and then suddenly the wheels came off completely- felt like I was gonna puke head starting throbbing and started getting chills. I'm pretty sure this was once again pure and simple dehydration as it was pretty warm at noon today when I went out.

At any rate the run ended up as a 39 mins for 6 miles - not great was looking for a way better session warmed up 2 and cooled down 2 so 10 for the day...

I need to get my hydration strategy sorted- this is not fun running out of gas on runs...think I just need to drink a sports drink before a session cause I'm pretty sure its an electrolyte thing as I tend to drink a good amount of water....

this week so far: 6 on Monday , 10 on Tuesday, Day off Weds 10 today...

brownian

Jeepers, boss...that sucks.

Clearly you're hitting the dehyration wall pretty hard. Here's what I do...

700 mls sugar+electrolyte drink immediatlely before running
Lots of liquids all day. Tea and coffee mainly. Peeing v.pale equals ok in my book.
Wear a singlet - I certainly sweat a lot less than I do in a t-shirt (and you've seen how much I perspire in a singlet!)

If you're being v.careful, plan your run to hit the car every 10k, for a good big drink (half a litre) of the electrolyte thing.

Today was HOT and sweaty, so you likely wouldn't get as tough a run other times. But you're too fit to be hitting those walls, dude. Get with the liquids:)

drquirky

Fri- 9 miles in the park...calf sore but no dehydration

Saturday- Paced run w/ PMP miles 1/1 2/2 3/3 2/2 1/1....thanks lads was good and I felt very strong with the exception of my calf/ shin. It is now sore all of the time and given my history of a couple of stress fractures- I'm extremely worried. Can hardly even think about this as I feel as though I've worked really hard and should be able to run my goal in DCM provided I can get to the starting line....

brownian

Stretch it, ice it, neurofen it...and ask a pro,I guess!

I feel your pain:)

drquirky

Well- good news. DCM still on. Got the leg looked at and it isn't a stress fracture! It might be a small muscle tear or something else but it looks as though it should be a go for DCM. I've taken 3 days in a row off this week and am absolutely chomping at the bit to run so I'm gonna head out in a bit and bang out some decent miles....wish me luck!

drquirky

Back on the horse...

8 miles in 53:11 (6:39 pace) Started out at 7 min pace but ran the last 5k in 19:30 cause I felt good. Leg still hurts but I'm happy its just pain and I can run through that...

drquirky

Friday: 6 miles easy

Saturday: 9 miles easy

Sunday - 18 miles with 10 (6-16) @ PMP Think this was a good workout- the leg still feels like crap but think I'm just gonna have to deal with that. Went out at 7:30 pace for the first 6 then went 6-16 @ 6:50 or so. Went through 16 miles in 1:54 onle 5 mins off 3 hr pace anyway so was running ok. 18 in 2:08

Total for the week= 42 less than I would like but w/ 3 days off due to my leg I'll take it!

drquirky

Much better!

Monday- rest

Tuesday 6 miles easy

Wednesday 5 x1 mile repeats- really felt like I needed to do something fairly quick as I was losing confidence w/ the sore leg etc... decided on a mile repeat workout off a 90 sec rest. The splits were 5:51, 5:41, 5:47, 5:48, 5:41. Good stuff- these felt comfortable and I'm pretty sure had the desired effect for me which is to up my confidence- these repeats are a full minute below planned marathon pace- if I I can just keep that in my head it should help me on the day...

Have to say getting really nervy about this race now- struggling to supress the feeling that I haven't done enough and worried about the last 6 miles. Guess this is all pretty normal!

brownian

don't worry...this is the onset of the well known taper madness. Between now and the end of the month you will self diagnose
- colds
- flus
- mumps
- leprosy
- sprains
- stress fractures
- growing pains
- pregnancy
- syphilis
...and still run just fine on the day.

Listen to the body, get the distances down but keep the intensity up - and at least one of us will go sub-3.

drquirky

Hahaha Brownian-

Already have had a couple of things on the list- I'll let you guess which ones!

The madness has set in- caught my second cold in 2 months- cost me a day here and a day there but have tried to be fairly consistent. Off Friday, ran 8 miles on at 7:15 pace on Saturday.

Sunday- Needed a confidence builder as I know its getting close to DCM but so ran 13.1 @PMP- did the HM in 127:29 felt very good. 1 and a half mile warmup and the same cool down. After that run the taper has officially started! I've done good work, I just hope it pays off on the day!

brownian

You're going well - I don't see why you shouldn't get your goal on the day! Fair play to you. How'd you feel after 13.1 - a bit left in the legs?

Keep up the good work; whether I'm running or not I'll be rooting for you.

[updated - i've decided to leave Dublin for another year, and give myself an extra month of recovery/training before having a go in Florence instead]

drquirky

Last few days have taken it fairly handy....

Wednesday, day off

Thursday, 6 miles easy

Friday (today) Ripped a work out off from Krusty as I read it in his log and he ran it about 10 days before his recent marathon... 3 mile repeats at 5k pace w/ 4 min rest in between. Think the first two were a little quicker than 5k pace @ 5:26 and then a wayyyy too quick 5:17. Pulled it back (aka couldn't run any quicker after the first two) to 5:32 for the third. All part of the sharpening process. Things feel ok- well the leg feels like crap but there is plenty of time to rest after DCM!

Hope everyone else is enjoying the last days before the race!

Krusty_Clown

drquirky wrote: »

Last few days have taken it fairly handy....
Friday (today) Ripped a work out off from Krusty as I read it in his log and he ran it about 10 days before his recent marathon... 3 mile repeats at 5k pace w/ 4 min rest in between. Think the first two were a little quicker than 5k pace @ 5:26 and then a wayyyy too quick 5:17. Pulled it back (aka couldn't run any quicker after the first two) to 5:32 for the third. All part of the sharpening process. Things feel ok- well the leg feels like crap but there is plenty of time to rest after DCM!

Wow. You have some leg speed. I've done those intervals a lot slower that you did on Friday, and ran a very comfortable 2:55 marathon the following week. You're in great shape.

ecoli

Very Solid session

Agree with KC you have the leg speed to do serious damage in a marathon and you longer sessions have gone pretty well so there is decent endurance there I think you should go well under your target

drquirky

Thanks for the votes of confidence lads! I feel pretty good and know leg speed has started to come around for me but am a bit worried about the last 6 miles of DCM. The leg injury has hurt me on the endurance side more than anything else. Still I think I have a lot of good training under my belt. Can't wait.

earlyevening

Plus you beat me in the half by 30 secs at least! I reckon you've a very strong chance of sub 3.

drquirky

Right-

Last longish distance run before the race. 12 miles w/ 4.5 @PMP 1:27... My body seems to feel best at PMP so I think thats a good thing- finding the 7:30's kinda hard and a bit of a slog!

drquirky

Tuesday- off

Wednesday 2 mile warm up- 2 miles at 6:20 pace (12:40 total) 1 mile cool down

Thursday off

Friday 4 miles very easy... almost there- getting really nervous but very excited hoping I've done enough for the 2:56 or so...

drquirky

.....done. The months of training wrapped up today and all that's left is the race. Did a super easy 5k today w/ strides and have been eating copius amounts of pasta/ bread all day.

I think I have my strategy set for DCM tomorrow- not too concerned about the weather- hopefully I've done enough to get me to a 2:56 or thereabouts...

Krusty_Clown

Good man. Best of luck tomorrow. Enjoy yourself and keep smiling (it'll keep the heart rate lower!). Have a blast!

drquirky

The Build Up: I've recently come back to running after some very lengthy breaks! Put in 30 miles a week or so for a year until July when I started to ramp up the training. Topped out at 60-65 miles a week and ran a good HM (1:22:15). Unfortunately I picked up some calf/ shin issues with 6 weeks to go and had to scale back my training to 40 miles a week when I was hoping to top out on milage for two weeks- the injury affected me all the way up to DCM and the last 6 weeks of my training tbh wasn't great.

Did 6 long runs (18-20) and a good few 15-18 but never pushed beyond 20, this I feel was a mistake as my biggest weakness was always gonna be on the endurance end. My leg speed certainly increased during training and I believe (now looking back) that I was in excellent 10k- HM shape but not so great marathon shape(more on that later).

The Day: Got down to the start area nice and early as I live in Kilmainham so its pretty easy for me. Was calm and hydrated at the start and felt generally ok. Went out at a decent pace and felt very comfortable. Hit the 5 mile in 34 and 10 in 67. Around 10 started to get a bit of a headache which I attributed to mild dehydration so took on a decent amount of water/ sports drinks and this completely cleared by the time I hit the HM. Went through the HM in 1:27:45 and noticed I was building a good lead on the 3hr pacers. This seemed fine to me and I still felt absolutely fine.

Around 16 I started to worry as I could feel my legs tightening up. The pace seemed extremely easy from a cardio point of view- wasn't wearing a heartrate monitor but would bet money I was nice and low but my legs seemed to be giving out. tried to hold the pace for a couple of miles which in retrospect was probably a big mistake. I think if I had slowed a bit here and consolidated I could have held to a 3:04/ 3:05 but I was really trying for sub-3 so not unhappy I tried hard. I got passed by the 3 hr pacers at 19- sucked watching them come up on me - was like a big fast freight train coming that just blew by me- very demoralizing.... Had to stop and tell myself to HTFU several times between 19-21, knew I was in a very dark place and pissed that I could do very little about it. Struggled to hold 8 min miles from 20-23 and then slowed to 10 min miles by the end. 3:15 pacers passed me w/ 400 m to go and Krusty tried to encourage me but I was toast. Couldn't muster up anything even for the finishing straight. Have never felt so bad in a race before and hopefully won't again.

Finished in 3:16:17 which I suppose considering how bad I blew up is an achievement in itself as it took a huge mental effort to drag myself over the line. Have a big bruise on the side of my foot which started to kill me around 23- I'm pretty sure I was over compensating for my injured calf and just strained the sh@t out of the other side of the foot doing it. Can hardly walk today which to me is a definite sign that I simply wasn't well trained enough on the endurance end of things.

This was a really good learning experience for me as the marathon seems to be a totally different animal than the shorter stuff. Even though I knocked out some very quick 5:20 mile intervals 10 days ago- it meant nothing just didn't have the strength in my legs during the sharp end of the race.

Thanks to all the posters on boards who've been supportive- I'll learn from this and be back fitter and stronger next time. I'm gonna take a full month off and let all the injuries heal and hopefully be in decent shape by Raheny 5....

drquirky

Foot/ankle still killing me. I'm feelig considerably better about DCM as I went and saw someone about the ankle- turns out I sprained it during the race! Looks like I ran miles 22-26 w/ a sprained ankle so I'm not gonna stress about the time too much....just use it for experience!

drquirky

Well- I'm back.... after a nearly 3 week rehab that nearly killed me psychologically. I got the ok to test the sprained ankle. All good so far in the 3 runs I've done. I was in Killarney so did 4 miles on Sat and Sunday in the National Park- incredible place to run btw and did 8 miles in an hour today in the PP (w/ a 6:15 mile at mile 6 just to make sure things are still working).

Great to be back out running I'm gonna work on the shorter stuff for a few months would like to run a few decent times. Hope I can latch on to the experienced training group for a few runs- also hope the ankle holds up!

Dory Dory

Well done!!!

drquirky

Oh boy- gotta get better at updating. After the week back- I felt a twinge so played it safe and took another week off. Since then, I've felt great! I ran 45 miles last week and managed to squeeze in a fartlek and a hill workout. LSR is up to 13 miles and I'm on pace for 45-50 miles this week. Am heading out today for a progression workout- 1 min on 30 secs off, 2 mins on 1 min off, 3 mins on 1 min 30 off 4 mins on 2 mins off and back down the ladder.

I'm hoping to run the Clonliffe 5k this weekend and am targeting sub 17:30- I have a goal race lined up for Stephen's day in Longford (I'll be in Leitrim for X-Mas). I'm really targeting this race as my partner and I are expecting a baby in a few weeks and I'm not sure how much racing I'll be able to get in for a few months after that lol....Anyways- off out into the wind and cold!

drquirky

45 miles this week-

Did that ladder run on Weds- was a little bit tricky as I had a big plate of spag bol only about an hour before I headed out- bad idea. I managed the workout though although I had to drop the pace occasionally in order to beat off the inevitable stomach cramps ;(

Easy 6 miles recover on Thurs- I am pretty sure that I've been running my recovery too fast and thats why I'm picking up little niggles and injuries along the way- therefore I;m gonna really try to keep to 8:15 pace or so in order to make sure my body actually recovers! Same w/ the LSR's I'm pretty sure I've been running them too hard...

Today did a steady state run going through the 10k in 42:10 and cooling down for two miles after - felt good although it is getting cold outside and I made the mistake of just heading out in shorts w/ no tights- I'll spare you all the details....roll on this 5k on Sunday am really looking forward to the buzz of a race!

drquirky

Clonliffe Harriers 5k 18/12

Good race today. Lovely morning for a run, though it was a bit cold w/ a decent frost on the ground. Ok turnout for the race but the standard seemed very high! We went out doing a lap of the field and headed out onto the Swords Rd. and into Northwood- nice quick course the was fairly well stewarded.

I felt strong and relaxed before the race and went out fairly quick. Clocked the first mile in 5:28/ 29 which I felt was too fast. Settled a bit and was happy enough when I went through 2 miles in 11:26- pretty much on track for the 17:30.

Stayed fairly steady through the finish and crossed in 17:24 by my watch which is obviously not official! I had the race at 3.07 miles so a little short perhaps but I've been screwed enough on the other side to not care...

Delighted with this run as I had taken nearly a month off after the marathon and have only been back running two weeks- also felt like I didn't run great for the marathon so it was nice to feel really positive after a race. Hopefully I can keep getting those times down- would love to be sub 17 for 5k in the next couple of months....

Great race and fun finishing on the track- highly recommended!

Dory Dory

Well done!