Couch to Boston - or Bust

BenMicheal

After a recent trip to Boston and seeing how highly regarded the Boston Marathon is among the locals, on the flight home i decided - I want some of that - and set myself the goal of one day running the Boston Marathon.

One problem - I've never ran in my life!
So I got to work and immediately signed up for the Samsung 10Km Night Run and began to train. After 3 weeks of unorganised training consisting of 'go down to the beach and run until my lungs gave in!' I completed the 10km in a time of 49 Minutes 54 Seconds and enjoyed every second of it. After the joy/thrill of finishing my first race subsided I began to look for other events as well as training plans with the aim of getting that 10km time down and ultimately the long goal of running the Boston Marathon.
So in a bid to maintain discipline and seek advice I've decided to set up this training log. So please feel free to comment and help me along - I'm a novice so all help is grateful!!
While my ultimate aim is to run Boston I do understand that to go from the couch to a 3:10hr qualifying time would be ridiculous and so see Boston as a (Very) long term goal. In the short term I aim to run at least one event a month with this year’s ultimate goal being the Dublin City Marathon.

jester1980

Good luck with the log, decent time for your first 10 k too.

BenMicheal

Today was a productive one on the goal front – from an organisational point of view at least.
After finishing the Samsung 10k last Friday, both my right foot & hips felt tender so decided so thought it would be wise to take it easy for a few days and rest before re-starting training. In total I ended up taking the week off & filled the gaps with takeaway and a sneaky pint - after running 10k I felt I deserved it!
Tonight was my first run since the 10k race and I took it lightly, Ran 3k’s at an average of 5.23 mins /Km. Nothing special but just wanted to get a feeler in and see how the foot/hip which were slightly stiff, yet nothing of major concern.
I also looked at the calendar of races on the site, (Very handy so fair play to all who compiled it!!) and penned in the following races to help me on the way to the Dublin City Marathon –
May 22 – Docklands 5km
June 17 – Park West 10k or June 19 – Docklands 8k
June 30 – Dublin Race Series, 5Mile
July 7 – Clontarf Half Marathon
July 22 – Dublin Race Series, Fingal 10k
August 25 – Dublin Race Series – Frank Duffy 10 mile
September 15 - Dublin Race Series – Dublin Half Marathon
October 29 – Dublin City Marathon

It’s going to be an interesting few months :-p

red face dave

That's a busy few months of races there seems to be a big jump there in miles between June 30 - July 7. You are going from 5 miles to 13. Maybe you would be better off skipping the half marathon and aiming for another 10 mile. You are not leaving yourself much time for training. Doing a LSR (Long run) each week is a great way off building up the miles in the legs

There is also a good 20 mile race in Athlone a few weeks before the marathon which would be a good benchmark for the marathon.

Maybe someone with a bit more experience might give their two cents. Also check out the DCM 2012 log at the top of the log page some great advice in there.

Best of luck with the log.

BenMicheal

red face dave wrote: »

That's a busy few months of races there seems to be a big jump there in miles between June 30 - July 7. You are going from 5 miles to 13. Maybe you would be better off skipping the half marathon and aiming for another 10 mile. You are not leaving yourself much time for training. Doing a LSR (Long run) each week is a great way off building up the miles in the legs

It’s a big jump alright but my logic behind it was that the Clontarf Half is my main short term point of training focus, and entering the other races before hand is an attempt to gain experience of running in races.
This could be a very backward way of looking at it however so more than grateful for anyone’s advice. I'm a total novice who’s all ears to experience :-)

red face dave

If you have a reasonable level of fitness you will probably finish that half marathon alright, but if you have more miles in the legs you will be able to enjoy your first half and a few sneaky pints after it and still be able to walk the following morning:D:D

BenMicheal

After taking the Bank Holiday off from running and stocking up on running socks and compression gear in Lidl (Great promo on at the moment if you didn’t know) today was my first day back on the trail.
I set out with the aim of going for a light jog with distance being the goal rather than pace. In went the headphones, on went the GPS app and away I went.
I ran my normal route along the beach, resisting the temptation to view my progress on the GPS app – today was about lightly running and distance nothing else. I hit a comfortable rhythm and was going well until I reached the bottom of the sea front I started to feel it in the legs. I couldn’t have run more than 3K so I looked at the app – I had run the guts of 3k at a pace of 4.34 – which was a faster pace than I had run the 10k race in.
On my run back up the beach I decided to keep an eye on the pace meter and try to run it no quicker than 5.30/K which I struggled to do as it felt awkward. My stride lengths were significantly shorter and it felt like I was running as if I was limping.
I ran 4.5k’s in total today, although I was hoping to run at least double that.
The question I need to solve, and would be 100% grateful for peoples insight on this, is why when I run at what feels like a comfortable pace do I run at a rather higher than intended pace and when I purposely try slow it down does it feel awkward as if I am shuffling and off balance with short er than comfortable strides?
My only conclusion is my height (I’m 6’6) results in the comfortable long stride, but my fitness levels are not high enough to maintain it? But that’s a guess and as a novice any advice is welcome!

bonaparte2

Running at different paces is just a skill you will acquire as you run more. Read any training book ,they will all prescribe runs , some of which will feel ludicrously slow and pointless. Run more, run slower is the basic message of a lot of coaching. If it feels weird, I would say its just your body is unused to doing something .
I salute your enthusiasm. Your main challenge will be harnessing it and avoiding injury.

BenMicheal

bonaparte2 wrote: »

Running at different paces is just a skill you will acquire as you run more. Read any training book ,they will all prescribe runs , some of which will feel ludicrously slow and pointless. Run more, run slower is the basic message of a lot of coaching. If it feels weird, I would say its just your body is unused to doing something .
I salute your enthusiasm. Your main challenge will be harnessing it and avoiding injury.

So simply its something that I have to practice/train at? Just at the moment it feels as if its unnatural and awkward running shuffling along at a small stride.

BenMicheal

Today was a rather positive day in some respects.
My goal was to do a twenty minute warm up followed by intervals (200m fast runs followed by 100m slow jog/rest) finished off with a 10 min cool down. After my problems yesterday regarding my inability to run at a slow pace, I pretty much intended to run as slow as I could without walking/falling over.
Away I went running at my snail’s pace doing my usual route from the top of the beach to the bottom. I knew this route was roughly 2.5km, running at a 6 min/km pace would hopefully mean hitting the bottom after 15 mins. After a light enjoyable jog I reached the bottom in a little over 13 mins/roughly 5.30 min/km – progress considering yesterday’s problems. I turned and kept up this pace for the next seven minutes. This played into my hands as I reached the long straight stretch of the route which was perfect for my intervals (Last thing you want is to come around a corner at full speed and trip over a dog walker).
This was the first time doing intervals on ‘real ground’ (i.e. not a treadmill) and I gave it gusto. As soon as I got upto top speed a gale wind hit me head on. This coupled with the higher acceleration drained me - I was beat after the first one. I maintained discipline and took my 100m light jog recovery and went for the second one but had to stop half way through because any energy was gone.
Sickened that I had only completed one ‘interval’ I walked for a minute and got my legs back and feeling better decided to finish some sort of a run to make up for not being able to complete the intervals. I returned to jogging at 5.30/km pace and jogged towards a somewhat hilly pathway at the top of the beach and continued until I crossed the 5km. Today I ended up running 5.37 km in 30.46 a pace of 5.44 min/km.
Somewhat proud that I didn’t give in after completing just 1 and a bit interval I came home to bacon & cabbage for dinner – a well-earned reward. And sure, If I could complete all 8 intervals at ease what’s the point of the process that is training?

BenMicheal

After taking yesterday off (running 5km + before going to do a weight session in the gym had taken its toll) today I launched back into it planning to do a nice easy run hopefully for an hour in length.
So on went the shoes shorts and stretched – away I went. Taking pretty handy I reached the 3km mark and looked at my GPS app – 5.10 min/km – the problem of thinking I was running a lot slower than I was that I experienced a few days reoccurred. So at the 5km mark I completely bombed. I took a few seconds break and got the breath back and then continued had another stab at it determined to reach the hour mark. After kicking off for the second attempt I tried to maintain a slow steady pace but with the energy gone it was tough and I broke into a walk once more but persevered on, eventually finishing the hour (59.14) clocking a distance of 10.01km at an average of 5.55Min/Km.
After my hour run I got a gym weight session in so am now sitting on the couch pretty jaded. My plan suggests intervals tomorrow – after my previous attempt it could be interesting, but hey Boston Marathon qualifying time is sub 3.10 and I’d be delusional if I thought it would be easy!

BenMicheal

After taking Saturday off due to the reoccurrence of my hip pain and work on Sunday I had planned to return to training hard today with the focal point being the upcoming Docklands 5km on next week.
It started well and due to time constraints I broke with my usual tradition doing my Run before weight training in the gym and got in a pretty intense weight session and planned to run after I got home and got some dinner. Rookie error – within 15 minutes of finishing my dinner I was asleep in front of the telly, the toll of the day had left its mark. I eventually woke up to the end credits of Coronation Street at 8:55 and jumped to get ready for my run as the sun was soon setting.
Stretched, suited and Ipod ready I kicked on. My goal was to run a consistent 3km and a hard fast final 2km as I planned to do for the race. About 2km in and all was going well until I looked at my Ipod and realised I had cancelled the start and was recording no data for my run, stopping and resetting the ipod, I kicked on and eeked another Km before the legs & motivation went.
I don’t know if it was a mixture of just waking up or drained from the weight session but I was truly beat. I turned for home and ran up the beach towards home trying to do intervals and I half succeeded but all in all today was a disaster on the running front. However I have made it my goal to make up for it tomorrow, and have planned a long run, so fingers crossed.

BenMicheal

Today was a fun day and although I had planned to bank a long run I decided to limit it to 5km in an attempt to prime myself for the Docklands 5km run next Tuesday.
I got kitted out and kicked off in what was lovely sunny weather, by the time I got around the corner (100meters max) it started lashing. With the iPod blaring and with an eye on gauging my 5km pace I kicked on. At about half a km I approached the turn onto the beach and got blasted by a strong wind which was soon followed by a hail shower – really experiencing the best Ireland had to offer but I was determined to get a 5km time in. As I turned for home and hit the last 1.5 Km I started to feel the effects of running at race pace against the elements but eventually reached the 5km mark in 24 mins 40 sec running 4.55 min/km – pretty much on Par of what I expected to run but will be interested to see how I run in proper race conditions and (hopefully) decent weather.

Have to admit it was a bit of craic running in the hail and rain tho!

Trig1

nothing better than running in the rain, keeps you nice and cool. well done on 5k, thats a nice time after few weeks of training

Johnnio13

Great log, good improvement there and time for 10k is good. Good luck on Tuesday. Remember the cobbles, walkers and footpaths are a bitch!

BenMicheal

Another day over, another training session completed - Woke up today aching all over after thanks to yesterday’s run & weight session so was a bit reluctant to do anything except sit on the couch. My goal for the day was simple - try get in another 5km session before hitting the gym.

Due to time constraints my run was delayed and took off after dinner around my usual route around the beach and harbour area with the intention of finishing up at the gym and getting home in time for the Apprentice (All work and no play etc.. :-p) The wind was light, the weather was cloudy but nothing like yesterday’s run so I was hopeful of getting in a good time to boost the confidence for the Docklands 5km this Tuesday.

As I reached the point for turning around and running back up the beach I started to feel it sightly, at least I thought I was feeling it slightly. This is something I have noticed at the very same point the last few times I have ran this route and have put it down to a mental barrier. Determined to beat such a barrier I kicked on back up the beach which at this point is generally pretty sheltered. By the time I turned the corner onto the flat open part of the beach the wind was howling directly towards me. My final 2km were not gonna be fun. As I persevered it felt as if I was standing still, hardly moving but kept the mental goal of putting of finishing with a good time while also trying to beat the mental stumbling block of my brain saying ‘that light jog is enough now’ at the turning point of my run. I eventually reached the 5km mark with a time of 24.54min and an average pace of 4.58min/km. Pretty consistent with yesterday’s time albeit a few seconds slower.

Interestingly, according to my GPS app my last 2km were 13 seconds slower (both 5.11) than my average min/km (4.58min/km) & 20 seconds each km slower when compared to my final 2km from the very same run yesterday – so definitely positives to be taken from todays training! Roll on Tuesday!

In the meantime, I’ve hit the idea of a gym session on the head and might slump it with a cup of tea and a Twix after all!

BenMicheal

I had big plans for today as I viewed it as my last run before the 5km race on Tuesday (Heineken Cup + Championship Playoff + Champions League = A small child’s weight in Beer).
Expectations were not met however and rather than running on the beach I took a lazy route and jumped on the treadmill in the gym. This did feel like cheating and I practically tortured myself on the fecking thing, but got in some decent interval training at very high inclines so I my legs definitely got a work out! Ended up running 6km & 240+ vertical meters in 40 mins burning 632 calories – so a good session was had according to the machine, after this followed a dreaded weight session but all in all a good days shift was put in – I think.
P.s Might be joining an Ice Hockey team in Santry tomorrow which could have a detrimental impact on this log but we will see.

red face dave

I am in the same boat as yourself with regards tomorrow whooper day of sport. So I had to run 5 days in a row this week because there is no way I will be able to move on Sunday

Ice hockey deadly now that is something you don't hear of every day in Ireland. Best of luck with that.

BenMicheal

Today was race day, Docklands 5km run, and I had ambitions to run it well – under 22 minutes to be precise – and with weather good, a flat course and positive training up to this I didn’t see why I couldn’t achieve this.

The race was at 7.45, as I still had to collect my race number I got in nice and early (about half 5) and collected my gear and got a light snack and a cuppa to keep me going. During this I thought over my race plan and decided to go with the simple but effective ‘steady pace till the final 2km and then bolt till your lungs give in’ that I used in the Samsung 10km.

Everything going to plan so far I walked over to the start area & dropped off my bag before heading to the start line to try find a decent position for the start.

After what seemed like a stuttered start from the starter it eventually got going. Problem was that with no waves or any organisation I was stuck behind what must have been 3 different groups of walkers and was penned in, I eventually found some room to start running but was severely hampered by people walking or slow jogging while not having any courtesy for others. (This is only my second organised event, so apology if this is harsh criticism) after about half a Km clear space started forming and I hit high gear and felt like I was flying. Peeling off the 2nd & 3rd Km with good pace I was feeling good and ready for my attack on Km 4 & 5 and then the wheels spectacularly came off the wagon.

Coming up to the water station and some guy pulled right across me to get to the table causing me to effectively swerve to avoid him and in doing so went over on my ankle and messed it up bad. Hobbling trying to continue to at least get to the end I got a further 10 meters and had to stop.

I eventually got to the physio tent by the start finish line and before I uttered a vowel they had me up on a table, iced and assessed the injury –really can’t describe how brilliant they were – after which he recommended its need for a dreaded X-ray.

What really rubbed salt into the already very painful battle wound was the text I received with my timing info, all of which wasn’t completed with the exception of my 3km split which was a low 13 minutes – definitely on track for my 22 min goal time.

In physical pain with my ankle & I think I’m more gutted about the time I never ran!!

macinalli

The joys of doing fun runs! Walkers getting in your way and people without the experience of running in a crowd. Sadly it's a common thing - you often get runners moving across a road without any regard to their fellow runners.

Another bit of bad news for you is that if you do want to chase a time, then the races you've picked are not good. The race series now gets massive crowds and the likes of the Docklands 8k is another fun run (I think) so you could have more walker issues. It's worth checking out the like of the BHAA and other smaller club races as they're invariably better organised.

As for the injury, that's pretty crap luck. Best advice is to do exactly what the doc/physio tells you and let it heal fully. Starting a marathon training programme on a half-healed ankle is only going to end one way...

BenMicheal

Was looking at the BHAA events and club stuff but as last night was only my second race i wanted to get a bit more experience before joining them as I don’t want to be 'that guy' who gets in peoples way or that. I also wanted to set down some initial base times before joining a club. Maybe it’s a confidence thing though!?

As for the Doc/Physio they will be followed to the letter! Although I am climbing the walls already not being able to run/gym so it might take discipline not to try something light!

BenMicheal

The last two weeks have been very VERY frustrating. After going over on my ankle during the Docklands 5km Run, and my foot turning a shade that can only be described as the purple sweet from a box of roses, I was chomping at the bit to get back – today was that day (Well sort of).
During the injury I had maintained going to the gym at least three times a week and maintained where possible my regular workout. As the injury started to heal I did some light cardio on the bike and rower – but nothing substantial.
With the foot well on the mend and with my new ‘support sock’ (P.s. explain to me how these work because all it did was make my foot sweat) I promoted myself to the treadmill. After my weights session and 15 minutes on the bike to get me going I hopped on the treadmill and aimed to do pyramid intervals (regular intervals but kicking up the high speed/incline after each rest period till I hit the peak then doing the opposite) as I didn’t want to put prolonged stress on the ankle. All in all I managed 15 mins clocking in 2.5 km and 100 vertical meters. Not huge distances but a nice jaunt to break me back into things.
As well as this I have been advised to do workouts on a bousu board – these may be gospel to some already, but if not I would highly recommend using them. I have only been using them a few days but can already feel my ankle joints and hips are a lot stronger.
All this said my short term plan is to get back up and going and run the 5miler in the Dublin Race Series. I also had ideas of running the Clontarf half marathon but may have to rethink it and leave it 2 weeks before making a call on that one :-/

BenMicheal

After a setback in the injury healing process that was compounded by the ease of sitting on the couch watching Euro 2012 my running training has been what you could call ‘non-existent’.
That all changed today!
After Irelands crushing defeat on Thursday, I decided that from Monday I would properly throw myself back into the training process with an eye on getting my original goals back on track (next stop Clontarf Half-Marathon). Utilising being a student, and on the advice of people who know what they are talking about, I have decided to split my training into 2 Cardio in the morning & resistance training in the evening as well as get the diet in order.
So with the plan in place – nothing left to do but to get down to it!
As I don’t have the confidence to run on the foot on the pavement due to another flare up I have decided to hammer away on a treadmill (Softer on impact etc) as well as incorporating non-impact training such as stationary bike and elliptical trainer.
All in all today I ran 30 minutes interval training and chalked up 5km. Cycled a shade short of 12Km in 30 minutes as well as a 10 minute cool down on the elliptical trainer – not bad for my first day back and I have to admit I was more than delighted with my first session. After devouring a bowl of pasta when I got home I already started to think about the muscle pain tomorrow morning :-/

BenMicheal

So what has been a nightmare 3 months or so, I finally (Hopefully) am back in training.
Already plagued by injuries as mentioned in previous posts these were compounded by suffering a dislocated hip in a car accident.
All said I have had to re-adjust my goals and training regime.
On the long-term goal front, currently, I have adjusted my goal to finishing the Dublin Marathon rather than having a goal time.
Short-term, I have my eye on the 10km Dublin Port Tunnel run for ‘a comeback’ and hope to follow this up with joining back into the Dublin Marathon race series. Although all things considered it could be too soon.
On the training front, starting today, I’ve had to focus on rebuilding leg muscle/tendon strength – In other words lots of squats and leg resistance training.
Simple – No way! It was hell. I’ve been going to the gym steady for about 2-3 years and legs have always been my least favourite and usually an area I skimp on if I’m honest. However I persevered and got through the hour session. I bracketed the workout with a warm up/cool down on the stationary bike and thankfully felt good.
I’m hoping to get up on the treadmill tomorrow and try and will try getting a half hour intervals in - fingers crossed.

BenMicheal

So got up on the treadmill for the first time last night and to my relief, with the exception of loss of fitness, I managed to complete a half hour on the treadmill running 4km on the gradient 5 setting. While initially frustrated at how my fitness levels have dropped compared to before my injury (Natural I know) I was pleased to have come through without any of the injuries acting up at all.

In all honesty, it felt good to finally get back into the routine. The next morning however my legs felt like wood! Stiff as a plank and struggled to even walk. After my shower and a bit of stretching they were tolerable but I thought these days were well behind me.

It really drove home how much of an uphill battle I have to get back on track for the Dublin Marathon and not quite sure how to approach it – but with a will, there’s a way, so fingers crossed!!

BenMicheal

And so another days training logged in. This in itself which should be a bonus all things considered but I’m starting to feel very frustrated.
My plan was to log in a 5k run at steady pace – all was going well until I hit the wall around the 3k mark and had to stop. Very frustrated

I sat on the bench cursing my luck as it would seem that all the effort put in April – May has gone to waste. To compound this I’m missing races I would love/originally planned to take part in. All this before I even get to the fact that my main goal for the year – Marathon – has been seriously derailed.

Still tho, I’ll just have to persevere and hope it gets better. I’m just one very frustrated runner at the moment!

BenMicheal

Had a breakthrough of sorts today as for the first time since injury I ran 5k and have no pains or niggles to complain about.

Still running on a treadmill due to the soft impact I ran intervals with an incline and although nearly dying over the last 5 minutes endured to post 5k in 30 mins climbing 159 vertical meters. This was followed up with some training on the bike as to strengthen ligaments etc and clocked 10k in 22 minutes before finishing off with a 45 minute weight session.

All in all a good productive shift was clocked in and a nice confidence boost for the next three weeks training for my ‘planned return’ at the Frank Duffy 10miler!!

BenMicheal

Another moral boosting day of training!

After taking Sunday & Monday off and cross training(Round of Golf, probably doesn’t count, but supposed to be great for rebuildingsupport muscles around the hip area) on Tuesday, today was my first run of theshortened week. As the 10 miler was getting closer I was/am pretty anxious toget some miles under the belt. Was working late today so got up early, scoffeda small bowl of porridge and went on my way. As today was my first time runningon concrete I was looking to see if my hip would start giving out while tryingto dial in a few miles while not overdoing it.

Set on my way and went my usual route of the beach (feltgreat to be back on the road again, treadmills are handy for monitoring progressbut can be boring as hell!). All was going well. The hip was in perfectcondition and had no issues with it. My Calves were a bit sore, but that’s tobe expected as I’ve had to change to a mid-foot strike rather than heel strikefor obvious reasons. Got up to the two/two and a half mile mark and whilefeeling Ok just came to an abrupt stop. Obviously the psychological ‘this iswhere we stop and rest’ reflex has crept back in. But an area I know I need towork on. Feeling good, I ended up clocking 3 miles averaging 8.15 per mile,considering finishing the 10 miler is my primary goal with finishing it inunder 90 minutes my secondary goal (although bearing in mind that based on my10k time before all the injuries the McMillan calculator suggest I should do itin 84 minutes that time might be a bit out of reach!) it wasn’t too bad of aday!

BenMicheal

Back to what is quickly becoming my arch nemeses – The Treadmill! Although I felt fine after running on the Road, I was recommended to run on forgiving surfaces and gradually increase road millage which is slightly frustrating as the thought of spending a summers evening in a stuffy room looking at nothing more than a clock and out a window rather than fresh air and scenery is depressing considering winter is on its way.

That said, I gave it my all and aimed to get a 5km HIIT session in. One of the bonuses about the gym though is that you can tinker about with setting and resistance as well as monitor progress. Set the treadmill up and stuck it at a steepish incline and continued to warm up. Ended up completing the distance (the incline kicked the arse out of me if I’m honest – Keeping honest, the kicking is what I probably needed) and cooled down. Ended up punching in 6km in a little over 35 minutes running 190 vertical meters, happy enough with the shift, I continued on and punched in an hour’s resistance training.

Tomorrow I hope to get back out on the road, punching in a decent distance! Here’s hoping!!

BenMicheal

Today started with lots of optimism but, retrospectively I reckon I could have achieved a lot more.
My plan for the day was simple – light run about two lengths of the beach and a weight session in the gym.
It was 9 o’clock and I had just devoured a slice of cheese cake before realising that this plan wasn’t going to be put into action. Feeling guilty, I decided I’d go for a quick late night run to get some distance in.

It was 10 by the time I kicked on and set out my usual route towards the beach. After completing one length and knowing that the town would be quiet I decided to do a complete lap of the town – something I have always wanted to do, but never tried.
As I was hammering up the street I felt good, my calf stiffened up but apart from that I was grand. At about the midpoint of the route stood a deceptively long and steep hill, which if I’m honest took a bit of life out of me, but I persevered purposely steadying myself and make sure I was running at a comfortable tempo. I passed three turn offs that would have shortened the distance back home, and while tempted pushed myself the long way round and in doing so hopefully banishing some of that psychological hang ups I mentioned in previous posts. I eventually turned the corner for home and while feeling quite tired, I still felt I had a bit in the tank distance wise (speed on the other hand was gone – had I sprinted in the last 400 meters as I like to do in race conditions I think I would have keeled over)

Excited at completing my first lap of the town, I got a drink of water and then looked at my GPS to check distance etc – I was gutted ONLY 3.51 miles! Although I felt I could run on more It really felt as if I had run a longer distance (the treadmills must be softening me up – see above posts) I was, with one eye on the Frank Duffy 10 miler, somewhat gutted.
All told I ran 3.51mile in a little over 30 minutes (31.26) at an average of 8.58 per mile!

BenMicheal

So with 5 days to go until the Frank Duffy 10 miler, I really wanted to put the old injuries to the test and see how they held up?
My plan was to do a full lap around the perimeter of the town. Due to other commitments I was unable to get any running in over the weekend which made me extra determent to succeed!

After getting fed and watered I got ready and kicked off my run. I felt good as I approached the first hill on the route and was really sinking my teeth into the route that I had pre planned and felt good breaking what I had estimated to be the 2 mile mark (I had the GPS on but didn’t want to look at it!). I was now approaching the most hilly part of the run and just endured trying to get to the other side. Soon approaching the 3 mile mark I started to feel it more than I hoped to at this stage. I just assumed it was the hills. My plan for the run was at a pace of 9 minute miles, but really starting to feel it I looked at my GPS for the first time and seen that I was running 8.20m/per mile. Not good! If I’m honest my concentration wasn’t the best in the first half of the run and needless to say wasn’t focused on pace like I should have been. It was at this point that I bumped into a friend I hadn’t seen in years and took this moment to get my breath back and catch up! About 2-3 minutes later I kicked on again. Focusing on pace this time I completed the last 2-3 miles averaging 9min per mile. Todays run totalled 5.25 miles and averaged at 9.40 per mile.

All things considered I found out the hard way I suppose about the importance of concentration today. It also made me realise the task at hand for this 10 miler on Saturday and re-consider my goal time for the race.
On the plus side – the injured areas seem strong which gives me confidence for Saturday as it was the one area I was worried about!!