Run Fat Boy Run - The lazy mans guide to Ironman and Marathon training.

griffin100

Ended up doing nothing yesterday so a hardish run session today.

1km wu / 1500m @ 5km race pace + 500m recovery x 5.

Pushed the 1500m repeats but not too hard. Came in 6.03 / 6.04 / 5.53 / 6.07 / 6.10. Repeats number 2, 4 and 5 were hilly, no. 3 had some downhill.

I'm in 20.25 5km shape I reckon......on a good day......with a following wind......running downhill Bit of work to do yet.

griffin100

A long day at a wedding on Saturday resulted in a 10km hangover run yesterday that hurt for the last 2km. I'me getting to old for this all day drinking, even when taking it easy (or so I thought).

Did a few km today with 3km at 5km race pace. I think it's clear I'm not in sub 20min condition yet. I averaged 4.05 for the km repeats. Not great.

I was planning on doing the Carlow Run For Life 5km this Sunday but not I'm not sure. I could do the 10km instead and get a valid 10km pb and do the Patrick's Day 5km in Enniscorthy the following Sunday instead. Or I could do both 5km's using this weekends one as a hard training session. Need to decide soon. Anyone any thoughts as to what is best?

Lex Luther

griffin100 wrote: »

I was planning on doing the Carlow Run For Life 5km this Sunday but not I'm not sure. I could do the 10km instead and get a valid 10km pb and do the Patrick's Day 5km in Enniscorthy the following Sunday instead. Or I could do both 5km's using this weekends one as a hard training session. Need to decide soon. Anyone any thoughts as to what is best?

Griff only downside is a true run full effort 10k it might take too much out of your legs and you wont have recovered in time for the following week-end..especially of your current training base...I would go with plan B ( two 5 k races) but dont max out on the first one ..maybe run a bit off pace first two k and speed up last 2/3 k to nearer target pace...also do a 3/4 mile cool down straight after if you can ....

BTH

griffin100 wrote: »

I was planning on doing the Carlow Run For Life 5km this Sunday but not I'm not sure. I could do the 10km instead and get a valid 10km pb and do the Patrick's Day 5km in Enniscorthy the following Sunday instead. Or I could do both 5km's using this weekends one as a hard training session. Need to decide soon. Anyone any thoughts as to what is best?

I know nothing about the Enniscorthy race, but Carlow is very flat. I did the 10k there last year and its certainly a favourable course when looking for a PB.

I'd also agree with Lex, you won't PB in Enniscorthy if you run the 10k. It'll take too much out of you. Depends which PB you think you're in shape to hit.

RedB

griffin100 wrote: »

I was planning on doing the Carlow Run For Life 5km this Sunday but not I'm not sure. I could do the 10km instead and get a valid 10km pb and do the Patrick's Day 5km in Enniscorthy the following Sunday instead. Or I could do both 5km's using this weekends one as a hard training session. Need to decide soon. Anyone any thoughts as to what is best?

Think you should nail the 10km this Sunday and get a valid 10km pb and then nail a 5km pb on Patrick's Day in Enniscorthy. It'll create momentum and a decent feel-good factor which should close the gap to the 40min barrier.
The race factor helps big time in pushing the barrier.
I hit a 20:24 PB myself the other night and its a nice buzz to see progress.

griffin100

Thanks for the advice folks. I've decided to do the 5km this Sunday. The Patricks day 5km might be a non runner if parade duty with the kids clashes so I'll try hard this Sunday. Haven't never run a standalone 5km I'm sure to get a PB If I can get close to sub 20 I'll be happy as as pointed out by Lex above I ain't exactly doing much training the minute.

griffin100

Managed to get my first swim in three weeks in today. Nothing too structured, 400 x 2 with a minute between and a few 100m's off 2.15 to cool down.

Did the first 400m straight off with no warm up or messing about but keeping Kurt's last post in his swimming in mind I kept it slow and deliberate. Came in on 7.47 which is the fastest TT I've done in the 50m pool since last year when I was swimming a lot more.

The inter-varsity swimming is on in UCD later today so the pool was full of some very very fast swimmers getting a few laps in. A joy to watch and very patient with my slow swimming - although they shouldn't really have been in my lane given that it was the 'slow' lane

Shared the lane for a bit when I got in with an Ironman. I knew he was / is an ironman because:

• he had an IM branded hat
• He had an IM branded waterbottle
• He had a laminated sheet poolside for his session (I had a look 400m x 10 off 7.45 alternating fins, pullbuoy, paddles, free - you'd need a laminated sheet to remember all that )
• He had speedos on with a Hawain hotel named (perhaps he's been to Kona)
• He had so many toys on the pool deck I could barely get into the feckin lane
• He had no kick
• He did not like sharing 'his' lane with me :rolleyes:

Maybe I need to get an m-dot tattoo so everyone can tell I'm an ironman as well

BennyMul

he may be an "ironman" but I bet not a 2xHardman,

griffin100

BennyMul wrote: »

he may be an "ironman" but I bet not a 2xHardman,

I prefer the term Doublehard Ironman

Brick Session

A tatoo, I wonder? Is it just me but I tend not to mention the fact that I have completed the Iron distance when talking to folk about training etc for fear they might think I was bragging. .

Only yesterday I met a chap I know quite well who was telling me about how many km's he had cycled last year and how his odometer was going to go back to all the zero's shortly again . I could not tell you how much I swam, cycled and ran while training for the Hardman, well maybe I could if I bothered to tot it all up but its kinda irrelevant now anyway.

Should us in our extreme minority brag more about our accomplishments of completing 140.6? :cool::D

griffin100

Carlow 5km

This morning I was looking for an excuse to bin this race. It was freezing, there was a strong breeze blowing and training had suggested that a sub 20min 5km was not on the cards................and did I mention it was cold!!

Lined up on the start line after a quick warm up. Lots of shapes and sizes at the front of the race and as expected when the whistle went the front of the field disintegrated. Really, if you are of a certain.....ehhh.....type.......you shouldn't really be starting in the front of a 5km field.

So into a nice rhythm, at the front of the field inside the top 20 runners. Fast guys disappeared up the road, slow guys got left behind and I was running in a group of 8-10. Was holding a nice pace and feeling good. Garmin showed 3.52 pace so was happy with this. Then we turned into the strong cold wind at about 600m. Pace began to drop.....first km in 3.57mins.

Second km was pretty flat but was into the wind. Was keeping the same perceived effort but the pace was dropping. I was sitting about 20m behind the 2nd and 3rd place women and was happy to keep this pace. Dropped a couple of the guys in the group I was in. No matter how I tried to hide behind the others couldn't hide from the wind. Second km in 4.05mins.

Third km and still running into the wind but feeling ok. Keeping the perceived effort constant. Third km in 4.12mins. Sh1te......Sub 20 now off.

Into fourth km and we turned out of the headwind and had a side wind so it wasn't too bad but was still tough. Kept 20m behind the two women ahead using them to pace and was feeling fine. At about 3.5km decided to start speeding up and give it a big push. At this stage dropped the guys in the group I was in apart from one who sat in behind me. Started to close on the women. Fourth km in 3.58km.

Into final km and I was pushing as hard as I could now. I knew around a 3.50km would get me close to a sub 20min and I was giving it all I had. We were now out of the wind and it was nice and sheltered. Caught the 3rd place woman (who I then released was a club mate) and pushed on. Second place women disappeared into the distance so I was on my own apart from one guy a few meters behind me. I gave it everything I had.......with 500m to me my heart was pounding and my lungs and legs were screaming. Into the gates of the clubhouse and I could see the clock showing 19.25 as I hit the last 100m of the track. I kept my eyes on the clock as I began to see spots and the body screamed. Another runner passed me but I barely noticed him. I hit the line in 19.54 gun time / 19.51 chip. Final km in 3.38mins.

I was done in at the finish. I wanted to lie down and puke at the same time but I was absolutely delighted with that time and 18th place overall.

Next target is a sub 42min 10km. I suspect that I might need to run more that I currently am. 3-4 10km runs a week with one speed session and I bluffed my way to a sub 20min 5km; a sub 42min 10km will need a bit more work. I reckon I might also have close to a 19.30 5km in me, if the course is as flat as today's without the headwind........but for now I'm just delighted to get the sub 20min.

BennyMul

Congrats on the PB sir, great running

catweazle

Am happy to see that 20 minute barrier broken, our running is around the same and I am fairly confident of getting under 20 minutes when I have a go. So good to see someone of a similar standard dipping under - great last kilometer you must have given it all you got.

Sub 42 should be no problem once you have the endurance right

Kurt Godel

Nice one Griff, delighted to see the shorter stuff working well for you.

There's a couple of short runs (with a short bike in between) in Tinahely 5th May if you're free?

Dory Dory

Well done Griffin!! So delighted for you!!

Izoard

Great stuff!
If you were wearing the XXXL Blue jacket, you could knock another min or so off...:)

griffin100

Eeehh......I've just realised that my first triathlon of the year is in less than 4 weeks and I haven't even looked at a bike since my last one 9 months ago Even by my standards that's taking the p!ss. Can I use the race as my first cycle of the year?

griffin100

Feeling pretty tired all week. Did a short run on Wednesday and I was fecked afterwards. Had a swim session yesterday with a few 100m's of kick drills and I almost died. Could Sunday have taken that much out of me? I wouldn't have though so

Back in the pool today for a better session. 400m wu followed by 100 x 10 off 2.15 with all except the last two in on 2.00. Very pleased with that.

Must get the bike sorted this weekend and get a few miles in before TriLaois.

griffin100

Nice swim today. Brought the 400m time down to 7.38. Did some bilateral breathing practice to finish and despite feeling like I was floundering I seemed to be holding an ok pace. Think I'll try my next 400m TT with a set bilateral breathing pattern.

In other news I've signed up for this despite not having been on a bike in months. Had to really..........

griffin100

So after roughly nine months I got back on a bike today....well on the turbo at least. I haven't even looked at my TT bike since Hardman last August so I took it out today, cleaned it, oiled it up, etc etc and then decided it was too cold to ride outdoors :rolleyes:. So I got my road bike and tried to put the turbo tire on when my hands were freezing and ended up taking large amounts of skin off my knuckles and fingers - I hate changing tires :mad:

I did a very short session to get the legs going - 5 mins warm up / 2.5 mins hard / 2.5 mins moderate x 6 / 5 mins cool down. In the hard bits I alternated between 2.5 mins pushing a big gear in the saddle and 2.5 mins standing and pushing a monstrous gear. Afterwards my legs were like jelly

In other news last night was Carlow Community Games swimming finals. My two older kids came home with two silvers and a bronze . Two were relay medals but the lad came second in the 25m individual under 8's front crawl final after destroying the field in his heat - I don't know who was happier me or him:D It is a bit disconcerting though watching 12 year olds swimming faster than I can with sublime form.

griffin100

So after a weekend when I spent some time looking at swimsmooth.com for the first time in ages along with feelforthewater.com which I newly discovered, I was chomping at the bit to get back into the pool today. Plan was to keep it simple and to do 1,000m x 2 with 1 min between.

Did the first 1,000m in 19.48 - this is the fastest I've ever swum a km. I went under 20mins once before just before my first IM in a 20m pool so I've delighted with that time. It ain't that fast but I'm very happy, especially in a 50m pool. My second 1,000m took 21mins dead - yet again a very clear indication that I need to get my swim fitness back up to a decent level.........especially if I want to have a go at the Warrior Of The Sea swim this summer.

griffin100

Swimming seems to be improving. I always said I'd be happy if I could get to a stage when I could do 4-5 x 100m repeats off 2 mins. Today in my main set I did 100 x 4 off 2 mins in in 1.39; 1.45; 1.52; 1.59 (this was after 200 x 2 off 4mins in on 3.35 and 3.45). I know I should pace the repeats better but feck it I'm happy with that. Better fitness will hopefully come with more swimming. I also managed to do a 400m repeat whilst breathing every three strokes for the entire time - it would appear I have finally gotten a handle on this bilateral breathing stuff.

griffin100

Today is Good Friday.......a day for all good catholics to abstain from any vices they may have, to get closer to their maker and to contemplate their navel.

However today is also my 40th birthday. So I'll be doing none of those things. There is a large group of peole on the way to my house to help me avoid doing any of those things and I have a couple of bottles of good Amarone (my very special occasion wine) to get through. It's all ok though, I did an interval session this morning

catweazle

AH no foreign Ironman allowed to avoid the party - hope you have a good one!

Brick Session

Welcome to the most competitive age group

Happy 40th Griffin, enjoy the celebrations

BennyMul

Merry Brithday Griffin

I do believe the tradition is age*100 off 2min,
let us know how you get on

Dory Dory

Happy Birthday Griffin!!! Woo Hoo!!! I hope you have a super, super day full of excesses and indulgences!!

griffin100

Big breakthrough in swimming today - 400m TT in 7.10 in the 50m pool. That's 23 secs off my time from a couple of weeks ago and 1.10 off since January (although my January time was soft due to illness). I was pushing hard today but was not flat out so may have a few more seconds in me. The big improvements have come because I've finally mastered bilateral breathing after 5 years of breathing to the same side. That coupled with concentrating in keeping a good arm position and working on this drill (especially the arm position and squeezing the shoulder blades) have really helped.

My first sprint tri in two years is on Saturday, Trilaois, one of my favoutites. I am in wave 6 which is a pain with all the waiting around but I'm looking forward to it. I gave a predicted time of 14.30 for the swim but I'm hoping to do a bit better after today but then again pool swims can be lotterys. I still haven't been outside on my bike yet but I've done a few shortish turbo sessions. I seem to be a lot stronger on the turbo since the last time I used it, I can hold a 5 minute interval of out of the saddle in the hardest possible gearing / turbo setting easy enough.....but then again I am about 5kgs lighter than the last time I used it. Running isn't too bad, what with a recent sub 20min 5km. So overall under 1.20hrs and I'd be happy, what with a slightly long run and bike route (but in reality it'll probably be closer to 1.25). I'm actually a bit worried about my stamina though, I haven't done a training session of any kind of longer than 75mins in months

shotgunmcos

Well done. 14 mins in the bag

griffin100

Today I did the Trilaois 750m swim in 13.50. Nothing else about the race is relavent , this brick went sub 14 (albeit with some drafting). I am now in my head at least, a half decent swimmer

I'll post a report at some stage - tonight is my belated 40th birthday piss up / dinner so I'll be somewhat engaged.