Things will come to those who wait...

Tom Joad

Good to see you back logging. Is it the Carrick race you are doing? Meant to be a quick course.

pconn062

Tom Joad wrote: »

Good to see you back logging. Is it the Carrick race you are doing? Meant to be a quick course.

Hi Tom, no it's the Streets of Monaghan 5k next Friday night, also meant to be a fast course so I believe.

ThebitterLemon

Great to see you and your tea cosy back PConn, it was missed

Nice to have another poster back that can post knowledgebly on running.

TbL

Notwork Error

Welcome back man! I see you developed a lycra fetish while you were gone;)

pconn062

Notwork Error wrote: »

Welcome back man! I see you developed a lycra fetish while you were gone;)

I sure did, needed something to keep fit when I pick up niggles so treated myself to a lovely new bike. Don't get out on it as much as I want, stupid running getting in the way.

pconn062

Friday: 50 mins easy + 4x100m strides

Easy run, on grass, threw in a few laps in the hill field at the end, feeling good.

Saturday: XC session

15 mins WU, 10 mins MHR, 2x(2, 2, 4 mins faster than LT), 15 mins WD

Long day at work and wasn't in the mood for this but it needed to be done so headed to my usual haunt on the grass. Legs a little tired doing this but felt reasonably good throughout, grass a little wet and slippy in places which caused a few ups and down in places with the pace. Hard doing sessions like this on your own, but it's hard to rope lads into doing a tough XC session at 6pm on a Saturday evening! A tough drinking session maybe!

Long run on the cards tomorrow, and a down week planned for next week.

pconn062

Sunday: 11 miles in 85 mins, 7.40 pace, 151 HR avg

Lovely morning and tipped around the quiet roads with a few of the lads, feeling quite tired and the session from last night was still in the legs so was glad to finish up and get out of the heat. A glass of 7up afterwards never tasted so good!

A solid week with 50 miles and two good sessions. I can definitely feel I'm getting fitter, the HR is sitting nice and low on the easy runs and I'm hitting times in sessions I couldn't hit a month ago. Down week planned this week before hopefully racing on Friday.

pconn062

Monday: Off

Tuesday: Fartlek session on grass

20 mins WU
2x90 secs hard, 4x60 secs, 4x30 secs, 4x15 secs
20 mins CD


Getting the session out of the way early in the week, so the legs will be as fresh as possible for Friday. Did this on grass which again was slippy in places. This is a deceptively difficult session, and had to concentrate to keep the effort honest. The watch had some difficulty with the short reps which were a lot faster that it recorded. Good to get some faster running done on grass, good prep for the looming XC. Few days very easy running now on the cards.

pconn062

Wednesday: 40 mins easy, 8.23 pace, HR avg 138

Thursday: 20 mins easy + strides, 7.57 pace, HR avg 140

Two very easy runs, a few phantom pre-race niggle, aches and pains but should be grand for tomorrow. Going to try a slightly different tactic tomorrow to my last few races and push a little harder from the start and see what happens.

tang1

Good luck tomorrow evening P.

Dubgal72

Best of luck

Tom Joad

Best of luck tomorrow evening.

pconn062

Time: 17.25
Position: 8th
Splits: 5.36, 5.39, 5.36, 5.09 for last .1, HR avg 177

Thanks for all the good wishes, will throw up a quick report. Had targeted this race as I've heard it was pretty quick course, and the OH is from up that direction. Arrived and got registered in plenty of time and did an easy warm-up around the secondary school grounds. The start was a bit of a mess as they didn't really close the traffic (I'll come back to this!). On my own race, I intended to hit the pace a little harder at the start and see what happened.
Got away fine and as usual everyone shot off, I held back a touch but even with the slight climb in the first mile I hit it in a decent 5.36. Caught up with two guys, one from Carrick Aces and the other from Blaney, but as soon as I did the Carrick guy dropped back and the guy from Blaney pushed on and I had to let him go. Fell in with a junior runner and we stuck together for the rest of the first lap (of two, the race was basically two laps of the town centre). Passed the OH at halfway and she said I was in about 15th place.
I struggled a little on the climb at the start of the 2nd loop but when I got to the top I got a bit of a second wind and me and the junior guy pushed on and caught a few more lads who were suffering. Onto to the last straight and I was feeling strong so put in an early surge and got away from the young lad, finishing in 17.25. Passed 7 lads in the second half which was nice. Happy with the performance, again I felt really strong and things are definitely going in the right direction.

I have to mention a few issues with the race however, the main one being that the roads were open. The race was run through the middle of Monaghan town and the roads were full of evening traffic. We were running between cars, around roundabouts with cars going around them too, up and down off footpaths. Very few marshals at roundabouts to stop cars. At one stage I had to come to a complete stop as a van pulled out in front me with no warning. Stopping suddenly when running at 5.30 pace ain't easy! Also, they ran junior race of one lap of the course which went off about 3 mins before we started, meaning the kids were running on the same dangerous, open roads and then we spent the first lap dodging around kids. This was very reckless to me, for both kids and adult runners, and cost us all time dodging cars and running between traffic. I reckon I lost close to 10 seconds in total. Not good enough for a club race and I won't be returning which is a shame as the course is good and fast.

So progress being made on the running front, let's hope it continues!

dna_leri

Well done P. Good to see you back.

tang1

Well done last night P, great racing. Sounds like a crazy race!!

pconn062

dna_leri wrote: »

Well done P. Good to see you back.

Thanks DL, hope your own training is going well?

tang1 wrote: »

Well done last night P, great racing. Sounds like a crazy race!!

Was mad tang, couldn't believe the roads were open when I started the 1st lap, whatever about us it was mad to have kids running through it.

Dubgal72

That sounds mental. Sounds like the organisers are angling for a reality tv show-type gig :eek:
Well done, fantastic running despite the obstacle courses

pconn062

Saturday: 40 mins recovery

Sunday

AM: 40k on the bike
PM: 30 mins easy

Legs tired on yesterdays run which was no surprise, usually takes me about 4-5 days to get over a race these days. A lower abdominal muscle in particular was quite sore.

Then met a friend of mine for a spin on the bike this morning, he is an ex-pro cyclist and got my ass handed to me a bit on the uphills but held my own on the downhills. Very enjoyable, especially the coffee and cake afterwards, cycling is much more sociable that running! 30 mins easy this evening finished off the week. That particular muscle was still sore so hopefully a day off tomorrow will help.

pconn062

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 50 mins easy
Wednesday: 32k bike
Thursday: 40k bike
Friday: 50 mins easy
Saturday: 4x7 mins @ LT HR
Sunday: 35 mins easy + 22k bike

This week was all about managing a niggle, I hurt a muscle in my abdomen during the race last week and it's been bothering me all week. I took a few days off during the week and did some cycling but to be honest it didn't make a lot of difference. Got a run in on Friday and a session on Saturday which was manageable, about 2/3 out of 10 in terms of discomfort. Didn't want to risk a long run this morning so compromised with a short run followed by a hilly cycle. I hope to get some physio this week, I think a tight hip flexor is causing a lot of the issue. Hope to able to train anyway if it stays the way it is. It's great to have the bike to fall back on, if you keep on the hills the HR can get nice and high and maintain good fitness.

pconn062

Monday: Off
Tuesday: AM 40 mins, PM 30 mins

Meant to just do one run today but slept through my alarm in the morning so had to cut it short, so doubled up with another easy run in the evening.

Wednesday

AM: 1 hr gym

PM: Session: 15 mins WU/6mins LT HR/5x1k off 2 mins/15 mins CD

KM splits: 3.34, 3.32, 3.31, 3.29, 3.20

Wasn't sure if I would get this done at all, abdominal muscle still giving me some grief. Went out and warmed up and it felt OK and while I was probably pushing it to do all this, I got through it without any serious damage (apart from a few twinges). The tempo went fine and felt very controlled. I was tentative enough doing the KM's and took each one at a time so as not to push my luck too much. The target was 3.35 but I knew there was some leeway in there. Did these on my own apart from the last one where I roped in a young guy from the club to run the last 400m with me, I could barely talk but just said "78 seconds!".

Happy with how it went, I definitely feel I'm getting into good shape at last but slightly annoyed that I have this issue to worry about. Hopefully if I keep an eye on it, it will clear up. Recovery is key for the next few days.

pconn062

Thursday: 40 mins easy + 35k bike

Felt absolutely knackered on the run, session took a lot out of me. Cycle in the evening with the local cycle club at a very sociable pace really loosened the legs out. Plan is to join this club and cut back on the amount of running I do and replace it with cycling.

Friday: 1hr easy

Saturday: Reason no. 1 that I will NEVER be a marathoner!

Session: 4x14 mins @ MHR

I didn't enjoy this at all, was dreading it all day at work. If you said 4x2 mile @ MP then it wouldn't be as bad but 56 mins of MHR just sounded awful. Did it all on grass to give the legs a break. Struggled mentally a lot towards the end and had to give myself a real talking to to get it done. Long session so it doubled as my long run for the week as well. Not enjoyable and sessions like this don't suit me, hence why I'll never be a marathoner. Give me 10x150m any day!

Sunday: 1 hour very easy

Legs a bit tender today so this was very easy, did 4 miles with my fit4life group so the pace was very slow which was just what I needed.

A good weeks training but the injury is still bothering me a lot and sucked most of the fun out of this week. Probably need to take an extended break to give it a chance to heal but will keep going for as long as I can. Rest day tomorrow.

AuldManKing

pconn062 wrote: »

I didn't enjoy this at all, was dreading it all day at work. If you said 4x2 mile @ MP then it wouldn't be as bad but 56 mins of MHR just sounded awful.

When you say MHR - do you mean Marathon Heart Rate?? I notice you were keeping it just under the 170.
Out of interest, why do this session on hr vrs pace??

pconn062

AuldManKing wrote: »

When you say MHR - do you mean Marathon Heart Rate?? I notice you were keeping it just under the 170.
Out of interest, why do this session on hr vrs pace??

Yes AMK, MHR is marathon heart rate. I got a lactate threshold test done back in April/May and the test determined that zone to be between 163-168 BPM. I was a little over at some points yesterday but roughly in that zone.

The reason for HR over pace is because that's what my coach told me to do! He is a fan of this type of system. Also, I've been training off HR effort for about 4 or 5 months now and it's way of making sure the effort is right on a given day and also a way of tracking progress. So for example, yesterday I was feeling pretty tired. My recent race results give me a MP of about 6.30 a mile. However if I tried to hit that pace yesterday I would have crashed and burned so for me it is a better way of monitoring effort. The effort and HR was right even if the pace was a little slower. The same goes when I'm feeling good like on Wednesday. My LT pace should be around 6 minute pace but on that day I could hit 5.50 pace and still be in the LT HR zone.

I'm actually enjoying the system and will stick with it for the foreseeable future. It's nice to see the pace increase within a certain HR band as you get fitter.

pconn062

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 40 mins easy

Easy morning run, not much to report apart from finding it hard to get going.

Wednesday

AM: 1 hour gym
PM: 12 mins MHR/8 mins LT HR/4x400m @ 4 mile race pace

Did a good gym session this morning, I dread doing it but it has to help. Upped the weights on a few of the exercises. Session this evening is used as a benchmark to monitor progress. Didn't feel the best on the warm up and to be honest I didn't feel great throughout any of this. MHR section was fine but thought it would be a little faster given it was on the track. LT was a bit of a struggle and the HR was higher than I would have liked for the pace I was running. The 400's actually went the best of all and the 85/86 second laps felt very comfortable.

I am hoping to run a 4 mile road race this weekend, but won't decide until Friday. Abdomen/groin issue still bothering me and don't want to jepordise the XC so will wait and see. Feel like I'm in good shape and would like to race as I think their is a PB there.

pconn062

Thursday: 40 mins easy on grass

Friday: 3 miles easy + 3 hill sprints

Nothing really to report about these two runs.

Saturday: 8 miles w/Blackrock 4 mile in 22:48

Decided to chance this race and glad I did, there was a really good field assembled with plenty of guys and gals in the 22-23 minute bracket. The course consists of two laps of two mile, with the first mile a gradual uphill and the second with a nice downhill. Got off to a good start and the plan was to sit in on the first lap and then see how things were. The first mile was nice and easy in 5.49 which was fine as it was mostly uphill. Was in a nice group here which was working well. Turned a corner into the second mile which had a nice downhill which I wanted to take advantage of. The group pushed on and we made out way onto the coast road. The wind was quite strong here and the guys at the front of the group slowed. I was feeling good and wanted to keep things moving so myself, my clubmate and one other guy went to the front and drove it on, second mile in 5.39.

Into the second lap and I was feeling really good but wanted to wait until we got up the climbs before really putting the boot down. Took mile three up the hills nice and steady, it was just myself and my clubmate now as the other guy pushed on up the hill, we hit the third mile in 5.48. Just as we reached the crest of the hill I was starting to hurt but as soon as we started on the downhill immediately the effort went down. We had out eyes fixed on the next group in front and reeled them in one by one. Onto the coast road one last time and with 400m I pushed away from the two lads and (tried to sprint), managed to catch one more guy with 200m to go, finished with a 5.24 last mile.

This was a great race. Personally I am very happy with how I ran, and had lots left for the final mile and got a nice big 4 mile PB. But also the race itself is great, good depth of field and lots of big groups at decent paces. The body is a bit tender now so recovery is key. The first cross country race of the year is next Sunday, 8k so straight in at the deep end. Will try an easy jog tomorrow.

tang1

Great running P, well done.

Duanington

Well done P - nicely done

pconn062

Sunday: 37 mins recovery plod

Headed out to Oldbridge to try and shake a bit of life back into the legs. Was knackered last night and hit the bed early and slept solidly for 10 hours. Legs were like lead this morning as emphasised by the 9 mins+ first mile, but got better as things went on and felt better by the end. Gorgeous morning for it.

pconn062

Monday: Off

Tuesday: 50 mins easy grass

Wednesday:

AM: 5k easy
PM: Fartlek session

10x(20 secs on/20 off, 40 secs on/40 off)

Thursday: 40 mins recovery + hill sprints, 1 hr gym

Ticking over, legs are feeling pretty good but that old abdomen thing is still bothering me a bit. Yesterday's session was just to keep ticking over, and felt pretty good throughout. Easy peasy now until the weekend, going to throw the XC spikes on tomorrow for a few strides just to get a feel for them again. October is here, XC is in full swing now!

pconn062

Friday: 40 mins @ strides in spikes

Saturday: 20 mins easy

Sunday

11 miles for the day w/Louth Intermediate XC

We got bronze in the team comp with me being 1st scorer on team in 7th place overall. Ran 30.06 for the 5 miles course. Basically settled into 5.55-6 minute miles and just held it, was in 10th place after the first 200m, passed two throughout the race and one more at the end in an almighty sprint (where my watch clocked my fastest pace at 3.34 a mile!). Course was a tough one, very flat but very rough ground full of stones including a lap of a stubble field on each lap! :eek: This left it very hard to get any good running done, but that's XC I suppose, you have to race what is there. Happy with position but slightly annoyed I didn't go with the lead group and give it a lash as I think I could have. Novice next week to make amends!