The Chase: 6.2 miles in 35 minutes

myflipflops

Double post.

myflipflops

DogSlySmile wrote: »

Thanks for the advice re 4 weeks recovery. If thats what the 2:40 marathoners are doing I'd be foolish not to listen!:eek:

I don't think it is hard and fast but I was heavily advised to take at least 4 weeks just ticking along before doing anything else. You seem to be in a similar spot to me in that you feel you left everything you had on the course so a break before you jump back into training seems the right call.

DogSlySmile

Mon, 12 Nov - 4m AM, 4m PM to and from work.

Tue, 13 Nov - Same as above. I could feel the marathon leaving my legs on this run. It felt nice and easy and had to force myself to slow down.

Thu, 15 Nov - Did 8m on grass through the fields near my place. Threw in a set of pyramid strides (20, 40, 60, 40, 20). Felt good to be running fast again!

Fri, 16 Nov - I ran an old route that I havent done in a while down and around Dun Laoghaire. Av pace 7:25 m/m.

Sat, 17 Nov - Just did a slow 5miles around the park on Saturday as I knew I had my first long run planned the following day. Did two sets of pyramid strides as well.

Sun, 18 Nov - 16m run. Jogged down to Shankill and met up with wrstan and his mate. They took me along a great route that follows the Dublin Mountains Way from Shankill towards Barnaslingan and back around again on a big loop. Fantastic place for a run! Great mix of terrain and some lovely views. Some good climbs along the way too. Its amazing that there is a route this good so close to so many people but its a bit of a hidden gem.

Running total: 53.6m

A good week, really felt like I'm getting back to normal following the marathon. Thanks to myflipflops for advising to take 4 weeks recovery I'm looking forward to getting back to a training plan though. I have P&D's Advanced Marathoning on the way so I'll try and start that next week and get ready for the Wicklow Way Ultra that is (hopefully) on at the end of March. Also, I did a couple of runs first thing in the morning with no food beforehand, under the premise that my body will be forced to use fat for fuel. It was only for a couple of 4 mile runs so not sure what good it will do in the end, but I'll try and build on that and do longer runs with no food in the coming months. I have a race penciled-in for next Saturday, I'll give the Blue Light Mountain 5k a go if I'm in the mood.

EDIT: Ah sh1te I just checked and thats only 3 weeks recovery since the marathon boo...

DogSlySmile

Mon, 19 Nov - After Sundays long run I just did a handy 5.5miles on grass around my local parks.

Tue, 20 Nov - Took a route that a did last week. Its basically a big loop of Dun Laoghaire. 7.5m.

Wed, 21 Nov - 4m AM, 4m PM in and out of work.

Thu, 22 Nov - Same as above - 8m in total. Took it easy on the way in and upped the pace on the way home.

Fri, 23 Nov - Considered taking a rest day but did my usual to/from work run. 8m.

Sat, 24 Nov - Blue Light Mountain Run 5k
COMPLETELY forgot this race was on!!!:eek: I was having a few beers on Friday night when my phone chirped with a reminder about it, I hadnt had a rest day yet this week but I decided I'd give it a go anyway. I did this race last year and unknowingly took a wrong turn towards the end and crossed the finish line before anyone else, technically a DNF, super embarrassing!:rolleyes: So I felt like I had a bit of unfinished business with this race.

I left my house in plenty of time as its a tricky cycle up to the blue light pub. Its not very long (only 8m) but it theres a lot of climbing and I didnt want to be too tired starting the race. It was frosty cold and a freezing rain had stated up as I was doing my warm up. The gun went and I thought I started quickly enough but I was in about 8th place on the first climb towards the trails. Gradually picked off a few places as the trail started to narrow. Onto the fire road in ticknock and I was in third place. I decided to sit in behind the two leaders and catch my breath. More climbing from the fire road onto more tight trails, I noticed here that the two guys ahead of me kept slipping as they were wearing road runners, I knew from doing the race last year that we still had to descend the boneshaker so the slippiest/muddiest part of the race was still to come. More climbing after this(the first 1.3m was all up hill), back on fire road again. As we came out towards the aerials in ticknock I was in second place and feeling good. As we hit the start of the boneshaker descent I shifted gear, darted ahead of the guy in front and made a break for the finish line. Still about a mile to go at this stage but I felt like I was descending at a good pace and I knew this part of the course well. I had built up a good lead now but was eager to keep pushing as the trail veered off into some tight slalom-type turns and mud and puddles covered the path. When I hit the tarmac on the last steep descent I knew I had the win in the bag so I sprinted for the finish and finished in 24:32.

Chuffed with the win! Cringed when they made the top 3 finishers stand on the podium though! Jumped on the bike and glided home for 8miles. I was still buzzing from the win when I got home so did a quick 3m recovery run with a few good tunes:D.

Sun, 25 Nov - legs were a bit stiff from the race so did a 5m recovery to shake 'em out.

Total Running: 50.5m

Im pretty bored with all this recovery running! That was a long 4 weeks! Its over now and I've got P&D's 55-70m plan lined up to take me through to the end of March and the Wicklow Way Ultra. Looking forward to following a plan again, its gonna be tricky though - end of year is approaching so will be very busy in work. I'll do what I can though.

wrstan

Really well done on the win DSS, great run up at the Bluelight. It must feel really satisfying to finish off your unfinished business. You're turning into some animal though - 16 mile cycle, hard hilly race, podium finish and then still did 3m recovery. And all the time gagging to get back into some focused training! I've been impressed with the consistent and decent mileage you've been doing over your "recovery" period :rolleyes:. Good luck getting started on your next programme, watching how comfortably you're running right now, I reckon you have some really big performances ahead of you.

myflipflops

Great running but I am much more impressed that you managed to go to the Blue Light without having at least one pint. One of my favorite pubs in the world.

DogSlySmile

wrstan wrote: »

Really well done on the win DSS, great run up at the Bluelight.

Thanks man, feel like I'm on a bit of a roll at the moment. Everything I do seems to be building nicely on top of the previous work that I've done and I've thankfully never had any issues with injury. I've been making good progress in the last 6 months and I put that down to having a structured plan to follow rather than running aimlessly like I was before that. Wish I had have followed a plan from the start!! How did the XC recce go??? Hope it wasnt too muddy for yas!

myflipflops wrote: »

Great running but I am much more impressed that you managed to go to the Blue Light without having at least one pint. One of my favorite pubs in the world.

Tis a grand spot for a pint I agree. However, the toilets will not be winning any 'cleanliest place in Ireland' award any time soon! :eek: yikes...

nerraw1111

Great stuff on the win. Nice way to start a marathon plan.

If you're planning on doing the Dublin mountain way anytime soon give me a shout. Half thinking of doing it sometime in December.

wrstan

DogSlySmile wrote: »

How did the XC recce go??? Hope it wasnt too muddy for yas!

Ok so we're a pack of wusses. Headed out on the road as planned, but kept going and never made it back to the park. Using the excuse that it was just too muddy! Had a fab 22k run along the Killiney/Dun Laoghaire route though, tide was fully in and the early morning sunshine was raising steam off the sea. And I had some serious alcohol to run out of the petrol thank.

DogSlySmile

nerraw1111 wrote: »

Great stuff on the win. Nice way to start a marathon plan.
If you're planning on doing the Dublin mountain way anytime soon give me a shout. Half thinking of doing it sometime in December.

Thanks bud. I'll defo be on for doing that, it'll take a bit of planning but would be great to do.

wrstan wrote: »

Ok so we're a pack of wusses. Headed out on the road as planned, but kept going and never made it back to the park. Using the excuse that it was just too muddy! Had a fab 22k run along the Killiney/Dun Laoghaire route though, tide was fully in and the early morning sunshine was raising steam off the sea. And I had some serious alcohol to run out of the petrol thank.

Haha take it easy man! You guys already go running at a crazy hour of the morning so doing that run hungover and hungry (I presume you had no food again) would be pretty damn tough!

DogSlySmile

Tuesday: Lactate Threshold Run

There’s no messing about with P&D! This is the first run of my new training plan and I thought I’d be eased into it with a short and gentle base-run but no, straight into the hard stuff!! The plan called for a 9 mile run with 4 miles at threshold pace (6:08m/m). As I was doing my warm up I was thinking that there was no way I was going to be able to hold close to 6m/m for 4 miles :eek: I gave it a whack anyway and it was a lot easier than it looks on paper. Found a good rhythm almost instantly and really enjoyed the fast running.

Splits: 6:05, 5:59, 6:12, 5:59

Felt really strong throughout and felt like I could have held a quicker pace without too much effort. If I can get one of these runs in a week I think I’ll knock lumps off my 10k time in a couple of months.

nerraw1111

Did you see Fit Magazine today?

DogSlySmile

Just saw it there on my lunch break! Dissapointed with the picture of me though.... I'm not gonna get many more chance to give the Black Panther salute on a podium!

nerraw1111

Quick question. When you started your 10km plan, what pace did you run your mile intervals? Did you do at 35min 10km goal pace?

Also, yup, totally wasted that podium.

DogSlySmile

nerraw1111 wrote: »

Quick question. When you started your 10km plan, what pace did you run your mile intervals? Did you do at 35min 10km goal pace?

Also, yup, totally wasted that podium.

Yea I did all mine at 35 min pace (5:36 p/m if memory serves). I think my plan built up to 1 mile reps after a few weeks though. Started with half mile, 1k, 1m etc. Dont know if I'd do all mine at 35min pace if I was doing it all over again though. When I started the plan 5:36 p/m was probably closer to my 5k pace (still is for that matter!), so when the plan called for intervals at 5k pace I was really going hard and think the most I could hold was 800m @5k pace. So maybe a better idea would be to start 10k pace intervals at 5:45 p/m and work towards 5:36 p/m as you progress. Depends on the length of the plan though and how far away your A race is. Daniels is a 16 week plan yeah? Which level of the plan are ya following? I'll be following your log closely as I'm planning on starting a Daniels plan next year

wrstan

nerraw1111 wrote: »

Did you see Fit Magazine today?

Ha ha, great article Ferg! You look like you might have fallen off that podium if you did a Black Panther salute! And they didn't half rub it in about you loosing your way last year. But well done again on the win

DogSlySmile

Week 1

Tue, 27 Nov - Lactate Threshold run. 9 miles w/ 4 miles @ 6:08m/m

Wed, 28 Nov - Medium Long run. 11 miles @ 8m/m. Did this on the way home from work and was feeling pretty rough from about 7 miles onward. Picked a very boring out-and-back route along the N11 - good for measuring distance but no fun to run.

Thu, 29 Nov - Recovery run. 5 miles @ 8:30m/m. Again, did this on the way home from work.

Fri, 30 Nov - General Aerobic run. 9 miles @ 7:30m/m. Rolled out of bed at 6 in the morning and got straight out the door to do this run before work. Had no food before this run but didnt feel tired at all or feel like I needed food. Picked a hilly route through Killiney.

Sat, 1 Dec - Recovery run. 5 miles @ 8:30m/m. Just bobbed around the park.

Sun, 2 Dec - Medium Long run 15 miles @7:30 m/m. A horrid run. It rained pretty solidly throughout this one. Accidentally dunked my feet in a couple of puddles coz I just wasnt wet enough :rolleyes: Fecking Lunarglides are going in the bin. As soon as they were wet the insoles started sliding up the inside wall of the shoe and somehow began folding over on itself :mad: Had to stop 3 times to take off my runners and adjust them!:mad: Fuming I was!

Total running: 55 miles

First week of the plan went well. My job did its best to disrupt the running but I think it worked out grand in the end. Its an 18 week plan but theres only 16 weeks until the Wicklow Way Ultra so I'll have to shave off a week of the plan at some point. Probably better to do that earlier rather than later. The week started off pretty heavy but eased off towards the end of the week which I liked. I've been listening to Ultra Runner podcast on my runs. Its pretty good, its mainly interviews with ultra runners but its a good listen. Its American, so you have to put up with that, but they talk about beer a lot which appeals to the Krusty in all of us

nerraw1111

Give the Talk Ultra podcast a go. Really good. Most of the top lads and lasses are interviewed on it. They seem to have great access to everyone.

Yeah I think the Daniels is 16 weeks but still waiting for the book. Ordered it over a month but still no sign. Attempting to squeeze in the Art O'Neill. The wicklow way ultra is tempting me at this stage too.

DogSlySmile

Your doing the Art O'Neil and the WW Ultra?? Fair play to ya! The only reservation I have about doing the Ultra is that the recovery time that will be needed after the race is going to eat into my 10k training planned for next summer. I know its only ~4 weeks but we only get so much summer! So if you were to do the Art O'Neil and the WW Ultra that would be at least 8 weeks you would have to commit to tapering and recovery. So if the Daniels plan is 16 weeks long you wont be able to do 8 of those weeks as is laid out in the book. Where you planning on starting Daniels right away?

nerraw1111

To be honest, I haven't a clue how it's going to work! I want to run faster and longer. Love the idea of hitting a few 50km races.

I'm also pretty poor at scheduling so trying to squeeze everything clearly isn't going to work. Didn't realise Ultra WW was in March. Thought it was late April early June for some reason.

The Art O'Neill is a bit of craic and reckon most of the marathon training done will be enough and recovery time would be short enough. There will be a bit of hiking rather than a constant effort. I was going to start Daniels ASAP and do a couple of long runs ahead of Art. Then continue Daniels into March interspersed with long runs.

Really need to have a think about it. Doing things half arsed vs doing it properly. The latter pays massive dividends.

DogSlySmile

Well they say marathon training and 10k training is 90% the same. So if you followed the Daniels 10k program (which I believe would be pretty high mileage anyway) and threw a few miles on top of your long run and one midweek run you'd probably be more than capable of building speed and getting in good marathon shape at the same time. There's no reason why you cant do it.

One of the mistakes I made last year was focusing too much on sticking to my 10k plan. I was so determined to do every run as it was lined out in the program that I avoided races such as WAR Powerscourt, Dublin half mara and some IMRA races so that I could do all the runs in the schedule. Wont be making that mistake again!

Racing is too much fun. Pushing your boundaries to do events such as DCM and the WW Ultra is what running is all about, I'm not going to look back on my running and remember the time when I did 4x1m @ 10k pace on the track!??? But running a sub 3 marathon and completing an Ultra in the Wicklow Mountains is the sort of thing that you'll remember forever.

nerraw1111

That’s pretty much my philosophy.

But therein lies the dilemma. If you want to get into the top end of the races, you have to train.

Last year’s summer IMRA races were brilliant. There was a group of 6 or 7 of us, who were in around the same ability. Some fantastic races between us every week. One week, you’d come out top, the next, you’d struggle to hold on to them. This went on for the whole summer. Definitely pushes you harder than any training and you start to climb the rankings.

Of course some weeks, you would go into a race bit tired on the back of training but it was always great craic. I’d never miss one without a good reason.

Re Daniels. I was impressed with your sub 3 off the back of 10km training and I reckon I could replicate that without impacting too much on the Daniels plan. Hard 10km training with long runs.

myflipflops

DogSlySmile wrote: »

One of the mistakes I made last year was focusing too much on sticking to my 10k plan. I was so determined to do every run as it was lined out in the program that I avoided races such as WAR Powerscourt, Dublin half mara and some IMRA races so that I could do all the runs in the schedule. Wont be making that mistake again!

Racing is too much fun. Pushing your boundaries to do events such as DCM and the WW Ultra is what running is all about, I'm not going to look back on my running and remember the time when I did 4x1m @ 10k pace on the track!??? But running a sub 3 marathon and completing an Ultra in the Wicklow Mountains is the sort of thing that you'll remember forever.

Good post. Something i need to keep in mind.

DogSlySmile

Tue, 4 Dec - 10 miles w/ 5 miles at LT pace (6:08).

This was a toughie. I really enjoyed this session last week, but after two medium-long runs on Sunday and Monday I was a bit tired starting this one. I did this in my local park, its pretty much a straight line from one end to the other and almost exactly 1 mile long. So the plan was to do 5 lengths of the park in a row. The wind this week has been pretty crazy so I had to contend with running into the wind on two of the five lengths. After a 2.5 mile warm up I started the LT section.

Splits:
5:57
6:08 (head wind)
6:03
6:11 (head wind)
5:57

Looking at the splits I obviously made this tougher than it needed to be by running a bit too quick. But its pretty hard to know how fast you have to go when running with a head/tail wind. I wore my flats during this one, I've had them for a few of months now but I'm still not used to them. Calves were tight after it and I feel like I'm slapping the ground as I'm running. I'll hang onto my spongy lunarglides for a while longer so.

DogSlySmile

Week 2

Mon, 3 Dec - Medium-long run 12m.

Tue, 4 Dec - Lactate threshold run. 10m w/ 5miles @ LT pace. This was supposed to be 9m w/ 4miles @ LT pace but I read the wrong page of the book!!:eek:

Wed, 5 Dec - Rest day. Cycled ~8 miles

Thu, 6 Dec - Recovery run. 4miles @ 8:40m/m

Fri, 7 Dec - Medium-long run. 12m @ 7:30m/m

Sat, 8 Dec - Recovery run. 5miles @ 8m/m

Sun, 9 Dec - General Aerobic run. 8 miles. This was supposed to be my long run of the week but the hangover won so I cut it short. Feel like a wimp now:o

Total Running: 52.3m

So, not a great week. I did the two most important runs of the week wrong. My LT run was longer than it should be and my long run didnt happen. My hamstrings have been tight all week too, think its a result of the long LT run in my racing flats. The next couple of weeks are going to be tough. Long hours in work coming up to Christmas wont leave me a lot of running time. Bring on January...

DogSlySmile

Its been a mad few weeks for me recently, work has been mental, I moved house and Christmas happened so I've got a back log of logging to do!

Week 3

Mon, 10 Dec - 4m Recovery

Tue, 11 Dec - General Aerobic run - 8.7m @7:30m/m

Wed, 12 Dec - Medium-Long run - 14m

Thu, 13 Dec - Recovery - 5m

Fri, 14 Dec - Medium-long run - 11m

Sun, 16 Dec - Long run - 18m. Down to bray, up bray head and back again. I was pretty zapped after this one.

Total Running: 61.6m

TBH I cant remember much about this week but it looks pretty solid on paper. Most of the runs were done before work so I was up at 5:30am most days getting it done in the dark. Got about 30 miles in on the bike too.


Week 4

Tue, 18 Dec - Lactate threshold run - 9m. 2m warm up, 5m @6:09m/m, 2m warm down

Wed, 19 Dec - Medium-long run - 14m. I did this one at 6 in the morning which was less than 12 hours after the LT run so I was pretty wrecked after this one. Work did not go well as a result...

Thu, 20 Dec - General Aerobic - 8.5m

Fri, 21 Dec - Medium long run (12m) on the way to work, recovery run (4m) on the way home.

Sun, 23 Dec - Marathon pace run. 4m warm up, 10m @ 6:30m/m, 4m warm down. This was tough, ran the initial miles of the MP phase too fast and paid for it. Needed a gel after 4 miles but felt better after it. These runs will be good dress rehearsals for longer races. Not just because I'll be running at MP pace but I'll learn how much I need to speed up/down when I'm off target pace. Finished the 10 mile section in an unofficial PB of 01:04:06.

Total Running: 66.2m

Another pretty solid week. I ditched the bike this week in favor of running to work and doing recovery runs on the way home (I get about 30 mins more sleep that way! :eek:). This is my longest mileage/week to date so a well deserved recovery week is on the cards now.

DogSlySmile

2012 Review

28/01/12 IMRA Ticknock Winter 10k. 48:03 Finished 13th
18/02/12 Altidore 10k. 40:10 Finished 5th
25/02/12 Urban Trails Marlay Park 5m. 31:37 Finished 8th
03/03/12 IMRA Maulin 5m. 48:30 Finished 15th
18/03/12 Hunters Trail 10k. 56:43 Finished 1st
31/03/12 Hellfire Duathlon 3k/16k/3k. 1:17:19 Finished 10th
14/04/12 WAR Glendalough. 2:28:03. Finished 9th
18/04/12 IMRA Killiney Hill Relay. 11:02 (Team time: 38:26) Finished 1st
25/04/12 IMRA Bray Head 6K. 30:36. Finished 21st
12/05/12 Dirty Dozen. 01:53:51. Finished 2nd
07/07/12 Powerscourt 7k. 26:55. Finished 7th
15/07/12 Dublin Mountain Plod. 01:38:20. Finished 10th
06/08/12 DLR Bay 10k. 37:38. Finished 21st
22/08/12 IMRA Mountain Recue Benefit. 31:35. Finished 7th
01/09/12 Reservoir Run 10k. 38:00. Finished 5th
16/09/12 Great Pink 10k. 37:19. Finished 1st
07/10/12 Hell & Back. 54:35. Finished 7th
13/10/12 dlrcoco 5k. 18:41. Finished 2nd
31/10/12 DCM 2012. 02:59:52. Finished 425th
24/11/12 Blue Light Mountain 5k. 24:33. Finished 1st

I'm really delighted with how my running in 2012 went! Comparing the results to what I did in 2011 (2011 review here) I came on leaps and bounds. I went from 30 mpw average in January to a 60mpw average recently. I got some really great results this year, I got a few wins and I finished top 10 in the majority of the races I entered. I set new pb's at 5k, 10k and 10 mile distance. In addition I also did my first half-marathon and marathon. My proudest moment has to be the sub3 in DCM, I'm still chewing the ears off my friends about that one . The only negative is I didnt make the progress I wanted with my 10k time. I did get it down to 36:28 but I still have a good bit to do to get it to 35 flat. But overall it was a great year for me and I'm looking forward to building on this and progressing even more in 2013.

Total Running: 1738 miles

wrstan

It's been a great running year for you Fergal. It's been really great to follow your progress here and then to get to hook up on a couple of runs. I think 2013 is going to hold some great results for you.
Happy New Year!

DogSlySmile

Week 5

Mon, 24 Dec - General aerobic run - 8m @ 8m/m (should have been 7:30m/m)

Wed, 26 Dec - Medium-long run - 12.5m. Very hilly - 8m/m average

Thu, 27 Dec - Recovery - 8m @ 8m/m

Fri, 28 Dec - GA Run - 8m @ 7:39m/m average

Sat, 29 Dec - Rest day

Sun, 30 Dec - Medium-long run - 15m @ 7:25m/m

Total Running: 52.7m

This was a recovery week. Much needed too.


Week 6

Mon, 31 Dec - Recovery - 5m @ 7:30m/m (too fast).

Tue, 1 Jan - Lactate Threshold run. 2.5m warm up / 5m @ 6:08 / 2.5m warm down. This was a good run. Felt strong and fast throughout the LT section.

Wed, 2 Jan - Medium-long run - 14m @ 7:40m/m av. This was tough to do the day after the LT run.

Thur, 3 Jan - Recovery - 5m @ 8m/m.

Fri, 4 Jan - General Aerobic run - 10m @ 7:30m/m.

Sat, 5 Jan - General Aerobic run (with seven 100 mtr strides) - 7m @ 7:30m/m av. I wasnt looking forward to a GA run on a Saturday - I've started to enjoy Saturdays being a recovery/rest day! But this was grand in the end and I felt great during the strides.

Sun, 6 Jan - Long run - 21m @ 7:30m/m av. Wasnt looking forward to this run either! But once I was out the door it was fine, just got the tunes on and tried to keep a good rhythm. The plan was to head to Bray and hit the trail to Greystones. But I surprised myself by running all the way to Greystones!:eek: Longest training run so far.

Total Running: 72.6m

Another solid week. Nailed every run and surprised myself with how doable I found the long run. The strides/LT pace runs have me craving something a bit faster though... Might try and stick in a 10k TT in a few weeks to see where I'm at speed-wise.

jfh

DSD, good quality week there, how're you finding the P&D plan?
your using it for an ultra right?