Things will come to those who wait...

pconn062

7 "easy" miles @ 7.14 pace

Nothing easy about it at all, the weather was truly horrendous at the track tonight, it's some of the worst wind I've ever run in and it can really wear you down lap after lap. Cold as well, I wore a woolly jumper for the first mile and a half!The pace was also too quick but I was running with a few lads and was enjoying the conversation so I didn't want to drop back and run on my own, was hard enough in the group. Still it's done now, have a session planned for tomorrow so I'm hoping this snow that is forecasted doesn't come our way.

MYTD: 70

RunningKing

pconn062 wrote: »

6.5 miles

3, 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 with 30 secs jog recovery between the times. We averaged 5.54 pace which is quicker than my 5 mile pace but it was manageable for this session. I would be lying if I said it wasn't tough and the 30 secs recovery seemed very short especially as we were jogging the recoveries.

Sounds like a great session, how'd the last 2 reps feel with the shorter recovery?

pconn062

RunningKing wrote: »

Sounds like a great session, how'd the last 2 reps feel with the shorter recovery?

They felt OK actually, it's a great session and I think the key is not to start too fast, we kept the pace consistent the whole way through which is important I think. Also 5.54 is not that fast for us in a session like this, around 4-5 mile race pace, so with the recoveries (even though they are short) it feels manageable. I'd definitely recommend trying it!

pconn062

7 miles

Session: 3x(200m, 400m, 800m)

Splits: (37, 78, 2.50), (37, 79, 2.50), (34, 78, 2.49)

Today was not a day for doing a session but I wanted to get it done and the club had the track booked so I went in after work. It was really very cold and the wind down the home straight was terrible. Despite the large crowd at the track I could convince no one to join me so I did it on my own. The JD plan calls for 4 sets but I decided before hand to get to three and then see, but as it happens we ran out of time and I only had time for three sets. Overall, despite the weather, it actually went OK. I was running purely by effort and didn't check the watch once, the 800's should be a touch quicker but this was purely dictated by the wind. Apart from the last 200m (I was been chased from behind by another group!) the splits were pretty even as well which is good to see. Overall it was a good character building session if nothing else, I was chilled to the bone after it and I'm still not warmed up. The legs need an easy day tomorrow to recover from the last few days.

MYTD: 77

pconn062

Saturday: 5.5 miles

Today: 10.5 miles @ around 8 minutes per mile

It's been hard to work up the motivation to step outside for the last few days, it's been so cold and wet and miserable, the temptation to just stay inside is very tempting. Saturday's run was freezing, I never warmed up, it's a strange feeling running at near 7 minutes per mile while shivering! And only for I was meeting up with a few of the lads today I would have been tempted to go back to bed when I looked out the window: howling wind, and a mix of rain and hailstones. Actually wasn't too bad when we got going and it was an enjoyable run which started slow and picked up towards the end. All in all it was a good week, 2 good sessions and just shy of 50 miles, hopefully I can replicate this for the next few weeks before the road racing season really starts.

In other sad news after three years of faithful service my Garmin is on the way out, it started on Friday night at the track and then refused to work yesterday so I left it at home today. It keeps stopping the timer without me touching it and then starting again and does this over and over again. Will have to try a complete reset and see if that works. I really only use it for my sessions but still it's handy to have it for that.

MYTD: 93

pconn062

Oh I was also hoping somebody can help me, I'm wondering about track spikes. I'll probably be doing a bit more running on the track this year so was going to invest in a pair of track spikes. I have a pair of brooks x-country spikes that I have been using but want to invest in a proper pair. Can anyone recommend a brand or type, will one pair of spikes do for different distances from 800m to 5000m? I know shoes is more of a personal thing but even a general brand or something would help, any advice would be appreciated!

ecoli

pconn062 wrote: »

Oh I was also hoping somebody can help me, I'm wondering about track spikes. I'll probably be doing a bit more running on the track this year so was going to invest in a pair of track spikes. I have a pair of brooks x-country spikes that I have been using but want to invest in a proper pair. Can anyone recommend a brand or type, will one pair of spikes do for different distances from 800m to 5000m? I know shoes is more of a personal thing but even a general brand or something would help, any advice would be appreciated!

For track spikes Nike are the only way to go I feel. Not a Nike fan for road running shoes would be more a Brooks/Saucony

Personally the spike I am in is the Nike Lanang. A steeplechase spike by nature but have found it light and very versatile for all distances on track (up to 5k havent ran a 10k in them)

Alot of people tend to go for the Zoom Victories which are a more middle distance spike but again can have a good range up to 5k

The Victory Elites were also the spike which about 90% of distance runners were in during the Olympics but can cost a fair chunk

pconn062

That's great ecoli thanks for that. Had no idea that Nike were the big players, those nike zoom victories seem to be very popular, will look into them. You can pick them up at a reasonable price as well. Here's hoping the garmin comes back to life so I don't have to invest in a new one!

dna_leri

Agree with ecoli on the Nike. Have a look also forNike Zoom Matumba. I got a pair of those last year, very similar to the victory but with a bit more support, and still under 100g.

ecoli

dna_leri wrote: »

Agree with ecoli on the Nike. Have a look also forNike Zoom Matumba. I got a pair of those last year, very similar to the victory but with a bit more support, and still under 100g.

Forgot about these know a few of the lads who have them and not a bad word to be said either

dna_leri

BTW if you are looking to buy online, you may need a size smaller than usual. My Nike Lunarglides are GB 8.5 (EU 43) and my spikes are GB 7.5 (EU 42). I like my road-shoes with space in the toe-box while the spikes are a tight fit and usually worn without socks.

pconn062

dna_leri wrote: »

BTW if you are looking to buy online, you may need a size smaller than usual. My Nike Lunarglides are GB 8.5 (EU 43) and my spikes are GB 7.5 (EU 42). I like my road-shoes with space in the toe-box while te spikes are a tight fit and usually worn without socks.

Thanks for that DL, will have to look into that. I'm usually a size 9 but take a 9.5 in all my runners (including my cross country spikes) for a bit more room. Would probably need a tighter fit with track spikes though I imagine? Although I would never go without some sort of light sock, I kind of have a thing about that!

5.5 miles @ 7.18 per mile

Easy run this morning, wasn't meant to be this fast but it started snowing and it wasn't stinging the hell out of my eyes. I still have no Garmin but I know all my routes to the hundredth of a mile off by heart at this stage so I can still work out pace. Proper arctic conditions this morning, I could practically hear the people in the passing cars calling me an idiot!

MYTD: 98.5

pconn062

Tuesday: 7 miles @ 7.34 pace

Today was a repeat of last weeks pyramid session:

3, 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 (minutes) with 30 secs jog recovery between the times.

Found it a bit tougher this week and the average pace was a bit slower, 5.58 compared to last weeks 5.54. I faded a bit more towards the end of the session today but checking the splits now I see that the 2nd mile was @ 5.46 pace whereas last weeks splits were much more even. I also dropped back from the two lads I was running with for the second half as I felt the pace increasing and knew I needed to slow a touch to finish it out. But being on my own probably caused me to drop off the pace a little too much (ie I got lazy on my own! :rolleyes:). Still all in all it was a good workout that mirrored that heavy legged end of race feeling.
Still haven't decided about Raheny, waiting to get advice from the coach on whether do it or not, based on tonight's session I want to leave it but if he feels it would be worthwhile then I will head up. Will decide by tomorrow evening anyway for sure.

MYTD: 111.5

pconn062

Thurday:

AM: 7 miles easy
PM: 2.5 miles with 1 mile time trial

Ran 7 miles at a very easy pace, had no watch at all so no idea of time or pace or anything but I kept it very easy the whole way round until the last mile or so. Forgot their was a mile time trial on in the evening (probably wouldn't have run 7 miles before it otherwise :rolleyes:). Decided to go out anyway and run as it was the first nice evening in ages and it was being held on the nice new track. Good crowd of about 20 in the race with some very decent runners, ran 5.07 and finished 4th so happy enough. Probably lost a few seconds on a slow first lap and a half but it was a race, not a time trial. Ran splits of 2.35/2.32.

Friday: 5 miles

Decided to a bit of a light session tonight, the JD plan called for 10x400m but given the mile last night I wanted to alter it a bit. Got out to the track and there was a group doing 10x200m with 200m jog recovery so decided to jump in on that.

Splits: 31.5, 33.3, 31.2, 30.8, 33.1, 31.9, 30.9, 31.0, 30.60, 28.0

Splits were a bit all over the pace but I was out front on my own for most so it was hard to pace. Pushed on for the last one and was happy with a 28 dead. Overall a good session, some good fast running but with long enough recoveries to not wreck me completely.

I'm not running Raheny this weekend unfortunately, a few things came up such as club reg fees and I had to book flights so things are a bit tight on the cash front this week so something had to take a hit and unfortunately it was the race. Glad to have a few more weeks training before my next race, the Rás in three weeks time and my real aim is the road racing season which kicks off properly in March. I'm currently on a 15 day running streak but depending on how the legs feel tomorrow I either won't run at all or just do a very short easy run. Then on Sunday I'm going to do a long run/JD tempo run.

MYTD: 127

ThePiedPiper

Well done on the mile race Pconn.. you'll be under 5 minutes this season probably. Catch up with ya next week sometime.

pconn062

RunForestRun wrote: »

Well done on the mile race Pconn.. you'll be under 5 minutes this season probably. Catch up with ya next week sometime.

Cheers RFR, have a nice trip, might see you Wednesday!

ecoli

Great race and great session. That session is a great 800m one and the splits look promising for the shorter distances come the summer your 1500m from last summer will be greatly revised IMO

RandyMann

Just caught up with your training log, great work, you are flying.

pconn062

ecoli wrote: »

Great race and great session. That session is a great 800m one and the splits look promising for the shorter distances come the summer your 1500m from last summer will be greatly revised IMO

Thanks ecoli, good to see you back doing consistent training, best of luck in Raheny, hope you get a good day for it.

RandyMann wrote: »

Just caught up with your training log, great work, you are flying.

Thanks RM, same to yourself. Good luck in the upcoming championships, will keep and eye on your log.

drquirky

Pconn-

Just looking at your training- I kinda echo what everyone else is saying- I think you will rip it up at the middle distances. Nailing that 28 at the end of your 200 reps shows some serious potential for the 800m. Have you raced that distance much?

pconn062

drquirky wrote: »

Pconn-

Just looking at your training- I kinda echo what everyone else is saying- I think you will rip it up at the middle distances. Nailing that 28 at the end of your 200 reps shows some serious potential for the 800m. Have you raced that distance much?

Thanks drquirky, I've actually only ever ran one 800m and that was at the Louth T+F champs last year. It was the last race of the day and I ran a 1500m and 3000m before it so it was a disaster, ran 2.29! Hope to give a few more a go this summer and give one a proper lash. My coach seems determined to turn me into a 800m/1500m runner! I don't really know anything about running or training for the distance so all advice is appreciated!
Well done on the win today, great racing, it's looking good for the rest of the year!

ecoli

pconn062 wrote: »

My coach seems determined to turn me into a 800m/1500m runner! I don't really know anything about running or training for the distance so all advice is appreciated!

Should get you started. Gonna run a few 800s and 1500s this summer myself and have a fair idea of how training is going to be based on sessions from these coupled with philosophies of the third

http://runstrong.me/images/Training%20CliffsNotes.pdf

http://img.runningwarehouse.com/pdf/middle_distance_guide.pdf



http://mprunning.com/attachments/File/Maximum_Performance_Running_s_Book_


Happy Reading

pconn062

ecoli wrote: »

Should get you started. Gonna run a few 800s and 1500s this summer myself and have a fair idea of how training is going to be based on sessions from these coupled with philosophies of the third

http://runstrong.me/images/Training%20CliffsNotes.pdf

http://img.runningwarehouse.com/pdf/middle_distance_guide.pdf



http://mprunning.com/attachments/File/Maximum_Performance_Running_s_Book_


Happy Reading

Awesome thanks for that ecoli, that will keep me busy for a while!

pconn062

Saturday: 3.5 miles very easy

Today: 8.5 miles

Session: 15 mins T pace, 3 mins Easy, 10 mins T pace, 2 mins E, 5 mins T pace

Splits: 15 mins @ 6.25, 10 mins @ 6.17 pace, 5 mins @ 6.08 pace

Took it very easy on yesterdays run and it seems to have done it's job as the leg felt much better after it. When I woke up today and heard the wind I had two thoughts, I'm glad I'm not running Raheny and how the hell am I going to do a tempo run today! Met a friend of mine at the track in Dunleer and as soon as we started our warm up it started pissing rain. Honestly I don't know why athletes go to warm weather training camps, just come to the Dunleer track in the lashing rain and howling wind and it will toughen you up!
The wind really affected the session and the pace was dictated completely by the wind, when it was on my back I sped up and I slowed down when running into it.
Overall it was a good session and when the rain stopped I actually started enjoying it , the pace felt quite manageable by the end. A part of the track was flooded which meant jumping up on the grass but it was a mud bath by this stage and I came home looking like I ran a cross country race.

Another good week, three decent sessions and a good time trial and close to 50 miles (well 47!). Just a case of trying to replicate this for another few weeks.

MYTD: 139

tisnotover

going really well in training pconn, good stuff.

well done on mile race other day too, great time for this time of year!

pconn062

tisnotover wrote: »

going really well in training pconn, good stuff.

well done on mile race other day too, great time for this time of year!

Thanks tisnotover, cracking race yourself today, would not have fancied a 10 mile race in those winds so it was a great result.

pconn062

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 7 miles @ 7.36 pace

Was on a 17 day running streak that brought me up until Sunday so I took a well deserved and needed rest day. Today's run was just a slog from beginning to end, I never really felt comfortable and the wind got stronger as I went on leaving me feeling pretty tired at the end. I've been having a bit of a problem with my stomach for the last few weeks, randomly getting waves of nausea and bad pains at other times. Hasn't really affected my running but a few times it has left me low on energy. Had to leave work early today with it so I am going to the doctor tomorrow and get it checked out, hopefully it make thing easier over the next few weeks.

MYTD: 146

pconn062

5.5 miles

Session: 20 mins T pace, 3 mins rest, 10 mins T pace (6.36 avg. pace)

Bit frustrating, this was meant to be a 40 minute continuous threshold run but I encountered some stomach problems and had to dash after 20 mins. I started again but had to call it a day after 10 mins, couldn't even get a cool down done. 30 mins in total so not bad, but not what I wanted to do and the pace was slower than intended as well. Was at the doctor about my stomach problems and I had to get bloods taken so hopefully we will get to the bottom of it soon before it affects more of my sessions. The only good thing was apart from my stomach I felt very comfortable in the tempo parts and could have continued for the 40 minutes no problem, and I probably could have increased the pace as well. Still, will leave that for another day.

MYTD: 151.5

ecoli

Still a solid session you kept the recovery short in between so the HR didn't drop drop too far. Regarding the stomach try switching to peppermint tea to try and sooth the stomach somewhat. Not gonna cure it but could help ease slightly till you get to the bottom of the troubles

pconn062

ecoli wrote: »

Still a solid session you kept the recovery short in between so the HR didn't drop drop too far. Regarding the stomach try switching to peppermint tea to try and sooth the stomach somewhat. Not gonna cure it but could help ease slightly till you get to the bottom of the troubles

Thanks for the advice ecoli, will definitely try the peppermint tea and see if it helps. Hopefully can get this sorted asap!