Its about time - 10 Green Bottles

RedB

This is intended to be a log that continues on from 3 earlier ones ( 2009/2010 Log - A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, 2010/2011 Log - Chasing the pack......one step at a time., 2011/2012 Log - Its about time - IMAT12 )
but is not focused on just one event or season. Its still my attempt to squeeze the best out of my creaking carcass with a limited amount of time, energy and ability but its goal is to chart my attempts at knocking down these 10 'Green Bottles'

1. 3:30 Marathon
2. 1:30 Half Marathon
3. 40:00 10km
4. 30:00 1500m Swim
5. 1:15 Sprint Tri
6. 2:40 HOTW
7. 2:30 Olympic Tri
8. 5:40 HIM
9. 12:00 IM
10. Mystery Target :rolleyes:

Obviously there are those who may scoff at such 'weak' targets. Obviously they can figure out what to do with themselves . These are challenging targets for me and I expect it'll take me more than one or even two seasons to get there. The intermediate targets may even evolve in an attempt to complete them all. I have no current plans to do an IM and won't even be penciling one in until I'm in a position to put in a 'decent' performance (and of course have 'that' talk). I don't want to just complete events anymore even though that was part of my original motivation. I'll never compete at the 'pointy' end even in terms of AG. I just want to clock up some respectable times and the above list is what passes in my book as acceptable at the moment.

As some may know I'm starting this off a somewhat disappointing IM Austria but hope to build on what I've learned in that process. I did SFA for a few weeks afterwards and then decided to go back to the beginning and just run with a loose plan to do DCM. I played catchup with the P+D 55M 18wk plan after missing out the first few weeks and that was tough going for a few weeks but I've made all the sessions to date and am running well. Cycling and Swimming are off the agenda at the moment. I'm in the process of switching across to a specific 3:30 DCM training plan (thanks JB ) and hope to be be able to manage the upcoming Peak Weeks but it looks fairly challenging to be honest. But that's why I'm doing it :pac:

I'll post up more specifics the next time but this initial post is just about setting out my stall for the time being.

griffin100

Very similar targets to what I'd like to achieve myself for no.s 1-4 and maybe no. 12. I'll follow this log with interest

Dory Dory

Ooooooo.....the Mystery Target. Love it!

Good luck with all of your more than respectable goals that will be building from your amazing and impressive Austrian IM. Oh, and I can't wait for all the upcoming epic reports!!!!

catweazle

Dory Dory wrote: »

Ooooooo.....the Mystery Target. Love it!

Laughed myself at that, Reds logs are always filled with intrigue

Some nice targets there, some you might get already I would think in 1 and 8

Good to see you have another IM planned in the future

RedB

Well, this may just become the shortest or longest log ever as I got news on the work front late last week that blew my Tri plans out of the water. Next year is probably going to involve a lot of travel and its going to be a very challenging time so I don't know how that's going to play out just yet. I've a slot of 2.5 months and then who knows . I'll keep the show on the road as long as possible and try to adapt but its going to get rough all round.

RedB wrote: »

I have no current plans to do an IM and won't even be penciling one in until I'm in a position to put in a 'decent' performance (and of course have 'that' talk).

catweazle wrote: »

Good to see you have another IM planned in the future

I DO NOT HAVE AN IM PLANNED and now I no plans at all

Anyway, best foot forward for the time being and time for a brief update.

I switched to JBs plan for DCM last Sat week (22/9/12) and did a 30km long run as follows:
0:45 @ 5:20/km
0:50 @ 5:00/km
0:50 @ 4:45/km
Naturally the last part was a bit of a challenge since I was just jumping into the plan from P+D but I managed it.

W/C 24/9/12 was a Recovery week so no worries there apart from trying to find and hold the proper paces for the Tempo and Interval sessions. I missed Friday's 0:45 easy run when I got the big work news and had to start replanning my life :rolleyes:

However I now find myself with 2 big Peak Weeks ahead and it looks wild.

Bring it on

RedB

So I came into the week rested and fresh and with a new pair of runners full of bounce. I had a hill session yesterday and a tempo one today and I managed to do one too fast and as a result, did the other too slow plus I did one yesterday evening and one early this morning so limited recovery in between .

Mon 1/10/12 - 1:10 Hilly Run at steady effort
The sub 3:30 plan actually targets 3:25 so has a MPace of 4:52/km. The steady effort training pace is 4:35 - 4:50/km but I'm parachuting into this plan very late so I have no hillwork done and that pace was relatively tasty for me until recently so I haven't got that groove quite dialed in yet. While I was aiming to hold the 4:50 pace around the hills I actually took off like a rabbit and went too fast for my own good :rolleyes:. I knocked the hill session out of the park but paid the price this morning on the tempo run.

1:10:02, 15.11km, 4:38/km, 150bpm

KM SPLITS
4:51 130bpm
4:40 148bpm
4:38 155bpm
4:28 154bpm
4:38 153bpm
4:38 154bpm
4:34 151bpm
4:32 157bpm
4:35 152bpm
4:45 153bpm
4:42 152bpm
4:39 152bpm
4:34 152bpm
4:38 154bpm
4:38 149bpm

The route involved 3 x 4.5km laps of Monaleen, Dublin, Golf Links and Schoolhouse Roads which have some good up and down sections and were a decent enough challenge.

Tues 02/10/12 1:35 Tempo Run
Out at 6:30am today for 0:10 easy, 1:10 @ 4:45/km, 0:10 @ 4:30/km and 0:05 easy but didn't work out like that .
It was dark initially and I couldn't see the Garmin display enough to get the pacing right but after a bit of surging and slowing I settled in. However, after 10km I finally blew up after struggling to keep the legs going. Quads, Calves and Hamstrings were protesting bigtime so I eased off for 1km to regroup and tried again but same result. I slogged out the rest of it at an easy pace but was still feeling the effort all the way. Not good .

1:35:04, 18.38km, 5:10/km, 140bpm

KM SPLITS
5:47 119bpm
5:25 128bpm
5:01 135bpm
4:53 142bpm
4:46 149bpm
4:42 151bpm
4:45 149bpm
4:41 149bpm
4:44 148bpm
4:47 152bpm
5:26 145bpm
4:45 149bpm
5:50 140bpm
5:24 142bpm
5:30 135bpm
5:20 133bpm
5:29 135bpm
5:39 136bpm

The only other thing to note is my HRMax is approx 176bpm (=220-44) so 150bpm is over 85%HRMax and I basically did a Lactate Threshold run 12hours before attempting a Tempo Run which is extra challenging without building that up over the course of the plan. So I'm not going to beat myself up too much about it although I do feel a bit chastened.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Red given you just jumped into the plan i would go much easier on the Monday session, keep effort easy and concentrate on tempo, interval and LPR during the two peak weeks.
Its hard jumping into it straight away and expect to hit every session. Nail the Thursday and Saturday session this week and you will be flying. Plenty of sleep and eating well required this week and next.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Just to add you will no doubt be running with the 3:30 group so it will be 4:58km pace, those few secs per km will feel easy:).
Another thing which i probably should have made clearer is that the steady effort on the hills on Monday should be by RPE rather than sticking to the indicated pace at the top. No wonder you were fecked trying to hold that pace going up the hills and of course it would have affected Tuesdays session.

RedB

Weds 03/10/12 Recovery Run
8km, 46:04, 5:45/km, 126bpm
Was still fairly shook from Mon+Tues sessions so appreciated the easy pace bigtime after a decent nights sleep.
Did a decent stretching session afterwards too which I never normally do. Got this to help as I really don't know what I'm supposed to be doing . Nice photos and descriptions help me to get it right.

Thurs 04/10/12 Pyramid Tempo Run
22km, 1:46:57, 4:51/km, 146bpm

This was a toughie and to be honest I was afraid of it. As my earlier P+D training had limited speedwork I had been generally comfortable seeing low 5:xx/km on the watch and I was dreading this pyramid of 1,2,3,4,3,2,1 km at 4:30/km, as it definitely wasn't going to be comfortable especially as I wasn't used to the session (boring :rolleyes: HTFU ). Anyway it pushed me hard (which is what I need) and the middle section had me under serious pressure with quads, hammers, calves, hips, nausea and blurring vision all on the agenda. Thankfully though, they only came on me one at a time and I could bat them back down and hold the line. So, overall, I'm relieved and satisfied to have got it done but it was definitely putting me under pressure.

There was a initial 10min easy warmup and then 5 x 1 min as 30sec fast, 30 sec easy as a leg opener.

KM SPLITS
4:24 151bpm

4:33 145bpm
4:18 153bpm

4:29 145bpm
4:34 152bpm
4:33 153bpm

4:35 143bpm
4:33 150bpm
4:31 145bpm
4:25 152bpm

4:30 146bpm
4:24 149bpm
4:28 151bpm

4:27 148bpm
4:23 150bpm

4:19 145bpm

There was 1:35-1:57 recovery between each section. This was only supposed to be 1:30 but the watch wasn't displaying seconds throughout so I was estimating. I did another 1.6km easy afterwards on the way home to round it up to the 22km. I was running around the Technology Park so I could see the watch under the streetlights as I went out at 6:30am again but there ended up being a good bit of traffic then as factory shifts came and went so I got a few beeps for running on the tarmac roads instead of the concrete paths but I'll take that . Happy that I got it done

catweazle

Nice running - I was the same myself on that plan, dreading the intervals and tempos at the start but then seeing that 5 min k's when fresh after a few weeks were a doddle, I began to look forward to them as I could see a big jump performance wise.

I didn't go too hard on the mondays either as I knew I would screw myself for tuesdays tempo run. Usually did a flat local 8k and kept the heart rate in the high 140's which is comfortable for me

RedB

Fri 05/10/12 - Rest. Skipped a 0:45 run at easy effort

Sat 06/10/12 - Long Run. 2:40:03, 31.66km, 5:03/km, Avg 141bpm

The plan was 1:00@5:20/km, 0:55@5:00/km, 0:45@4:45/km
The reality was 1:00@5:20/km, 0:55@5:00/km, 0:35@4:45/km BONK 0:10@5:30 :rolleyes: No gels or water = crash and burn

Up at 6:15am to drop No 1 to a GAA Club bus trip to Dublin for the Kilmacud Sevens and headed off at 7am after she was gone. Spent ages first trying to get a Satelite signal and then only got 800m down the road when the battery died despite having thought I'd fully charged it the day before :mad: Straight back home and cooled my heels for 1.5 hours until it was charging and headed out again at 8:30am . It was cool and foggy and the pace reading kept jumping around the place which was very frustrating

KM Splits - BPM
5:24 139
5:16 142
5:17 145
5:22 139
5:17 143
5:13 140
5:14 137
5:11 136
5:21 132
5:24 136
5:23 135

5:03 137
4:56 139
5:03 138
5:01 140
5:02 137
5:04 137
4:57 137
4:59 137
5:01 141
4:57 141
4:53 140

4:44 146
4:38 149
4:45 149
4:35 147
4:36 148 (probably did some of these a little faster than I should've :rolleyes:)
4:33 148
4:46 152
5:06 149 CRASH

5:23 148
5:27 144

I knew I was pushing it with no nutrition but I'm trying to get the old fat-burning mechanism firing on all cylinders. Anyway after being forced to ease up I recovered a bit on the last few km home for a late breakfast.
I then spent most of the afternoon cutting the knee high grass in the field where the Cubs Den is with a heavy duty strimmer. There had been horses in there all summer as I soon found out courtesy of the strimmer . I'm sure I heard its good for the complexion but I was grateful for the safety glasses and soon learned to keep my mouth shut :rolleyes: Out that night with MrsB and was fairly wrecked the following day.

Sun 07/10/12 - Rest. Skipped a 0:45 run at recovery effort

Mon 08/10/12 - I was overtired on Sun and got very poor and limited sleep that night as a result. Off to Dublin early, home for an hour later before out again late to a social event with my buddy BB. Tired and no run Decided to shift this weeks plan out by a day and take it from there

Tues 09/10/12 - Still tired and feeling very sorry for myself. No mojo. Just wanted to curl up in a corner. Browbeat myself into going out for a run and it was yuck. Heavy legs, laboured, slog. At least that was the first half. And then I warmed to the idea a bit more and while not exactly happy, at least I stopped being unhappy :P Hopefully an early night tonight and I'll be the better of it
1:10:20, 13.21km, 5:19/km, 139bpm

Izoard

Red - a true Ironman - 32km run, followed by a Gladiator-like engagement in the Cubs field, filled with landmines - legend!

RedB

Weds 10/10/12 Tempo Run

Plan - 0:10 easy, 1:20 @ 4:45/km, 0:10 @ 4:30/km, 0:05 easy
Reality - 0:10 easy, 1:20 @ 4:45/km, 0:10 @ 4:30/km, 0:10+ easy

23km, 1:51:30?, 4:50?/km, Avg 144bpm

KM Splits / HR BPM
5:40 112
5:29 122

4:48 139
4:43 144
4:45 144
4:41 144
4:39 145
4:45 147
4:39 147
4:38 146
4:38 150
4:48 148
4:46 144
4:46 149
4:38 149
4:42 150
4:39 150
4:41 152
4:38 150

4:29 150
4:25 153

6:04 142
5:xx xxx (lost the last easy KM somewhere)

Happy to be back on plan but fairly wiped out after it. Had a proper nights sleep last night so will be trying to improve my habits there also as its a weak point.

shotgunmcos

Loving the new log Red. IM thinking all of those targets are within you. Good luck with them all. Any particular order of attack?

RedB

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Any particular order of attack?

From the top DCM peak training ongoing

BennyMul

RedB wrote: »

From the top DCM peak training ongoing

when you crack DCM does the title change to 9 Green bottles:rolleyes:

RedB

Thurs 11/10/12 Recovery Run

13km? 1:16? 5:49/km Avg 123bpm

Didn't record this fully as the lap counter in my Garmin was full and I only realised it wasn't on properly after 5km as I was out early, it was dark and I was happy to just amble along easily. Had a good nights sleep prior to it again and felt good. Ended up going a bit longer than the intended 1 hour run.

I probably shouldn't be putting this out there but I had a bit of a surprise later when checking out Dory's log and I ended up looking up the Boston Marathon qualifying (BQ) times out of interest. After doing a bit of math, I figured out that the 2014 BQ time for the 45-50 AG is 3:25:00 which isn't too far from my 3:30 DCM goal. As a confirmed back of packer this was a bit of a shock to think that I could almost be in the BQ category :eek: I had never really considered it before as it has such a reputation as a class event but its put the idea into my head now to try and squeeze an extra few minutes out of my DCM attempt at the end of the month. Probably not a great idea as I'm only thinking of it as vanity target rather than something I would actually follow up but......................:rolleyes: The downside is it could all go horribly wrong and then..........................:mad: Stupid green bottles...........why are they starting to move already;)

Fri 12/10/12 Interval run

19.76km, 1:36:55, 4:54/km, 145bpm

Well, there's nothing like a juicy carrot to get you out of bed to go running at 6:30am in the dark so I took a decent bite and loved it

The plan and the reality was:
0:10 easy
0:05 as 5 x 1 min leg openers (30 sec hard/30 sec easy)
7 x 2km @ 4:30/km with 90sec recoveries
0:05 easy

KM Splits/Avg HR
5:52 143
5:25 136
5:23 141

4:30 146
4:27 152

4:31 145
4:26 150

4:34 147
4:18 153

4:30 146
4:25 151

4:33 146
4:19 151

4:29 145
4:26 150

4:33 148
4:29 151

5:55 137 (+1:46 134 to home)

Happy with this. It was tough work but I held the line and got it done and without much backlash afterwards.
Satisfied :pac:

catweazle

The best thing you have got going for you Red is your age

Whats Kona in your age grade

RedB

catweazle wrote: »

Whats Kona in your age grade

:eek: I'm not even going to look (well, for another 10 years anyway :rolleyes:)

Dory Dory

Getting older sucks. But screw that and embrace the entry times by thumbing your nose at the youngins and smiling your way to the start line.

Dory Dory

catweazle wrote: »

The best thing you have got going for you Red is your age

Whats Kona in your age grade

You might need to change your log name to "Chasing JB's Kona dream and sipping his Mai Tai cocktail."

griffin100

Oh I turn 40 in a few months. Dublin 2013 as a qualification for Boston 2014.............see you there Red

RedB

griffin100 wrote: »

Oh I turn 40 in a few months. Dublin 2013 as a qualification for Boston 2014.............see you there Red

Sorry kid , don't bank on me being there

You'll need sub 3:15 for the 40-44 AG and Dublin 2013 would probably be too late for Boston 2014 as entries open start Sept 2013 but qualifying times from end Sept 2012 onwards are acceptable = DCM 2012 or spring/summer Marathon 2013.

griffin100

RedB wrote: »

Sorry kid , don't bank on me being there

You'll need sub 3:15 for the 40-44 AG and Dublin 2013 would probably be too late for Boston 2014 as entries open start Sept 2013 but qualifying times from end Sept 2012 onwards are acceptable = DCM 2012 or spring/summer Marathon 2013.

After Austria you'd be well able for the Boston heat never say never !!!

I've been thinking about that over the weekend........could I go 3.15 in Kildare or somewhere similar next spring? It's a big ask but it might focus the training over the winter. My PB is 3.36 from Conn and it'd be a big ask to drop over 20mins but I know some who've done that in a year. I also know a lad who did 2.33 on his marathon debut this year and he's always very helpful with training advice, I could always get him involved.......Jaysus I've nearly convinced myself

BennyMul

griffin100 wrote: »

After Austria you'd be well able for the Boston heat never say never !!!

I've been thinking about that over the weekend........could I go 3.15 in Kildare or somewhere similar next spring? It's a big ask but it might focus the training over the winter. My PB is 3.36 from Conn and it'd be a big ask to drop over 20mins but I know some who've done that in a year. I also know a lad who did 2.33 on his marathon debut this year and he's always very helpful with training advice, I could always get him involved.......Jaysus I've nearly convinced myself

Well if ye never try you never know. dropping 20min sounds alot (and it is) but over x months with some dedicated running , it is doable and no problem to ye.

RedB

Sat 13/10/12 Recovery Run
0:50, 9km, 5:33/km, 128bpm
Easy mid-morning run on a soggy riverbank but a fabulous day for it. Beautiful out there. Loving the low HR :cool:

Sun 14/10/12 Long Run

DELIGHTED WITH THIS

The plan and the reality pretty much was 60mins @ 5:20/km, 60mins @ 5:00/km and 50mins @ 4:45/km and I just about nailed it.

Out early in the dark and cool and fog again on quite, unlit country roads so pacing was slightly unbalanced but went through 11.1km in 60mins @ 5:24/km and 130bpm. Mindful of last weeks nutrition issues I had a small banana then. The next hour was slightly more of a challange but hit 12.1km in 60mins @ 4:58/km and 137bpm. I went to take on an Isogel then but it had leaked in my pocket so I didn't get a full dose but was glad of it. The last 50mins were as follows:

KM Splits / HR
4:43 142
4:48 143
4:40 140
4:41 141
4:44 143
4:41 145
4:44 146
4:39 145
4:45 147
4:43 149
4:38 150 (0.8KM)

These were quite tough and I really had to dig deep as waves of weakness and tiredness swept over me after 4-5km and I repeatedly promised myself I was just going to finish out the KM before easing up. I went with the 'Hold the line' mantra over and over and over and just focused on it instead of the other stuff. Luckily the feeling passed by the time I got to the KM mark so I kept pressing on This happened 3-4 times and I was hanging on bigtime to reach 2:50 on the watch. I only took on a mouthful or so of water at this stage. I also deliberately stayed away from hills nearing the end so I wouldn't have an 'excuse' to ease up or quit . I was gone at the end but chuffed that I hadn't crumpled.
I walked for 3 minutes to recover and took on water and then slowly jogged 10mins more up the small hill towards home to add on another 1.65km @6:00/km so all in all 35.46km in 3 hours of running (excl the walk).
The feeling at the last section made up my mind that if this is what it takes to make 3:30 then I'm right on my limit so 3:25 is off the agenda (for the time being ).
We had a birthday party later for No 2 which initially involved a bouncy castle thing in UL Arena. They'd just finished up the Ladies Mini Marathon when we were there and they were physios giving rub downs, so after the ladies left I very cheekily asked if I could have one because of my earlier long run . No shame here as I stripped to my boxers and got a 10min light rubdown My family didn't even bat an eyelid :rolleyes: Happy days

RedB

griffin100 wrote: »

After Austria you'd be well able for the Boston heat never say never !!!

I've been thinking about that over the weekend........could I go 3.15 in Kildare or somewhere similar next spring? It's a big ask but it might focus the training over the winter. My PB is 3.36 from Conn and it'd be a big ask to drop over 20mins but I know some who've done that in a year. I also know a lad who did 2.33 on his marathon debut this year and he's always very helpful with training advice, I could always get him involved.......Jaysus I've nearly convinced myself

Its not the heat that's the issue. Its the time
Not sure what next year is going to bring on the work front so will wait and see.........<goes off to check out Kildare :rolleyes:>

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Well done on the long run Red, taper time now. See you on race day.

Dory Dory

3:25 off the agenda for DCM?? You never know what can happen on fresh legs on race day. But if not, you've got a good ten months to get the job done.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Race plan should be stick with the pacers or just in front until mile 20-22, if you can lift it then lift it then.

RedB

RedB wrote: »

The feeling at the last section made up my mind that if this is what it takes to make 3:30 then I'm right on my limit so 3:25 is off the agenda (for the time being ).

Dory Dory wrote: »

3:25 off the agenda for DCM?? You never know what can happen on fresh legs on race day. But if not, you've got a good ten months to get the job done.

Ensley Shrilling Llama wrote: »

Race plan should be stick with the pacers or just in front until mile 20-22, if you can lift it then lift it then.

I'm sticking to the plan which is sub 3:30 so hopefully I'll stick with the pacers as per JBs suggestion and lift it at mile 20 (knowing that 3:25 isn't on).