Its about Time

RunningKing

Thursday 27th
6x800 with 400 recovery in Porterstown park. Nice 1m path around some football pitches.

Been wanting to do this interval session for a while now, forgot how hard it was! Last time I done it was in September (& was 8x800 with 200 recovery).

Done the mile warm up and then the following splits:
(1) 6:02/m 3:01mins (off too fast)
(2) 6:16/m 3:07mins (at this stage I wanted to stop. Breathing was all over the place, legs were jelly, HR was elevated - just 1 more I said)
(3) 6:32/m 3:15mins (Felt terrible at this one - walked the recovery 400m - thought long & hard about stopping - just 1 more - but do them at 10k pace rather than 5k pace)
(4) 6:27/m 3:14mins (this one felt better, breathing had 'normalised' but still tired at the end. Just do 1 more I said - give it a go then stop)
(5) 6:08/m 3:04mins (where did that come from? felt great on this one - amazing how your body can adapt)
(6) 6:16/m 3:08mins (Just one more, got me through the 6!!)

0.7m cool down jog then home!

Total 6miles.

Delighted that I finished this - I really wanted to quit after 2 reps as my breathing was terrible and I felt so tired (last nights pints weren't helping) - delighted I kept going.
As I was doing these I was thinking of something I read in a log this morning about being 'stubborn' - cant recall who said it - but it helped my mindset to finish it.
What also helped was after 3 reps, I told myself to do them at 10k speed and then I changed direction and ran the opposite way around the loop, although I ran then faster than 10k pace, the change in mindset really helped me.

Running is definitely a lot more than just a physical sport - so much mental strength needed.

RunningKing

Saturday 29th

Was out in city center last night for a meal & few beers with Mrs King, well ok, it was more than a few.
Woke up at 11am (!!) and felt surprisingly good, bit of breakfast and then watched Spurs beat Sunderland, all good so far!

Wifey hadn't moved from the bed, she was meant to walk the dog today, but when she asked for a hot water bottle, I knew I better get my running shoes on.

Went out to my usual route, down by Farmleigh, Furry Glen, Acres pitches, Khyber and the up Chesterfield - felt increasingly strong and knocked out some great miles. Sprinted up the Furry Glen and also up the Kyyber (clocked a 6:10 quater mile up the Khyber). Had to stop twice to wait for my running buddy going across the roads, but apart from that it was a great tempo run.

7:34 miles @7:23 ave pace.
Forget about recovery drinks, getting blotto the previous night is the new 'IN' thing........................

blockic

RunningKing wrote: »

watched Spurs beat Sunderland, all good so far!

Good run there RK, but I might have to unfollow this log becuase of the above!:D;)

Edit: Never mind, 7-3 more than makes up for it!

RunningKing

Ahh Jaysus. Say it can't be. A Gooner!!

tang1

RunningKing wrote: »

Ahh Jaysus. Say it can't be. A Gooner!!

And hes from Cork!!!

RedRunner

Great running RK.

Spare a thought for us poor Liverpool fans though..at least the Gunners and Spurs can score on a regular basis. We need some more firepower and fast!

Got my own running shoes back on today too with a challenging 10k.Keep up the good work .Might be out at next weeks Park Run but next goal race is Raheny 5. What's next big one for you?

RunningKing

Need to sign up for the 5k on NYD in Ph park, will try to do as many Park Runs as I can in '13, may also do next week.
My main races will be the Great Ireland Run in April, Clontarf HM in July, all the DCM race series races and of course the DCM.

Hopefully I'll do some of the BHAA this year and may do some other runs, but the training is geared to the races above.
5k plan til feb, 10k plan til April, HM plan til July, Marathon Plan til Oct.

RunningKing

Redrunner: regarding L'Pool, sorry for your troubles.........

RedRunner

RunningKing wrote: »

Need to sign up for the 5k on NYD in Ph park, will try to do as many Park Runs as I can in '13, may also do next week.
My main races will be the Great Ireland Run in April, Clontarf HM in July, all the DCM race series races and of course the DCM.

Hopefully I'll do some of the BHAA this year and may do some other runs, but the training is geared to the races above.
5k plan til feb, 10k plan til April, HM plan til July, Marathon Plan til Oct.

Apart from the NYD run I'd be thinking along same lines as did all those races last year. I might throw in HM in Balbriggan on Paddy's day for good measure.
Not sure if I can structure my training to suit that but will see about that.I definitely need to start putting some structure on it.

I recently set up new club at work so hoping to get a few people from work out to BHAA events too next year.

RunningKing

Sunday 30th
Rest Day - 20min (ish) core work out.

Monday 31st
Hadn't planned on running today, went to see the Hobbit with the bigger ickle 'un (Great Movie btw), and came home at 4:15pm - was still bright and Maisy hadn't got a walk, so I got the gear on and went out for 3.2m in a little park right across the road from my house. It has a path that measures 0.5m, so its great for short runs like these.........this also shows the benefit of having a dog to motivate your excercise.

3.2m @ 7.57/m

At this stage I still wasn't sure if I was going to do the Tom Brennan 5k in the Ph Park the next day - would all depend how I felt when I woke up.

Tuesday 1st

Woke up at 9 and felt ok'ish, so decided to get up and get ready for the 5k.
Was down there early enough to get Parking and there was a good buzz about the place. Met a friend of mine from work who was also doing the race.
Registered on the day, was impressed with the organisation of a 'small' race, but its a credit to Liffey Vally AC as to how well they did.

Done some warm ups and was feeling pretty fine - the pints from last night seem to have faded.

Seen a guy wearing a Boards top so went over to introduce myself - it was davemcmahon, soon after we were joined by Blockic, Tang1, carrer_move, younganne, LizzieC, Meno & MarthaStew - hopefully I haven't forgot anyone.

Soon we moved up to the start line, and I was probably a bit too far back because when the gun went off (possibly the loudest gun in history) I was blocked in.
This feeling of being blocked in, made me bolt out to try to find room and soon I was doing 5:50 pace around the 1st corner. Eased off and done the 1st mile in 6:09 which was possibly a tad fast, but not too much given it was a flat course.
As we approached the 2nd lap, I was feeling ok, then 'the burn' kicked in and I felt last nights pints come back to haunt me. Still managed a 6:15 2nd mile.
As we hit the 4km mark, I was feeling a mixture of breathing difficulty and leg burn, but still dug in - I knew it was just 'mental torture' as opposed to physical. I had seen Meno trundle off to the side earlier and reckoned that this was my chance to start a race with him and beat him (technically!! :-) ) - so I kept going, trying to pick off people in front of me.

As we approached the turn into Chesterfield avenue I was feeling the usual mental and physical torture - I had told myself in the past that I hated 5k races for who they made you feel during them and would rather have a Marathon anyday - and as I was thinking of this I felt the negative thoughts enter my head - 'just step off' - 'pretend you are sick' - but I checked my watch and seen I was doing 5:59 pace for that stretch and it was only 2-3 more mins of running.

I rounded the bend and was delighted that the Finish line was nearer than I though and took the finish in 19:29 - just 2 seconds off my PB that I got on Jingle Bells run, which was an easier course and I wasn't full of gargle the previous night.

As I finished I was delighted with my time - my 3rd mile was also 6:15 - so although I felt I was running slower and legs were burning more and more, my speed hadn't suffered as a result.
I decided later in the day that I'd never complain about how a 5km made me feel during the race. Its this complaining about it that gives my the negative thoughts and I'll never improve if I keep thinking like that.

As I finished and seen others who had finished before and after me, it actually made me feel good to be part of a running community that Boards offers us. I've been to other races where I start without talking to people and finish and go home with out speaking to anyone. Having people who you 'know' around you and picking them out in the race and comparing notes afterwards is fantastic.

The race did give me pause for thought and a lot of reflection about my running, but more about that in a later post.

5k in 19:29

** Run 2**

Went home after the 5k and decided to cool down by bringing Maisy for a little run, so got her in the car and headed to Porterstown Park and done a very slow 3 miles @ 8:24/mile.

Wednesday 2nd

Wasn't sure if I was going to run today but got up late and had an hour to kill, so went off to my usual loop in the Phoenix park - didn't go fast up the hills and avoided the Khyber as I was feeling a bit tired (more drink last night).

6.27m @ 8:08 per mile.

blockic

RunningKing wrote: »

As I finished and seen others who had finished before and after me, it actually made me feel good to be part of a running community that Boards offers us. I've been to other races where I start without talking to people and finish and go home with out speaking to anyone. Having people who you 'know' around you and picking them out in the race and comparing notes afterwards is fantastic.

Totally agree in relation to the sharing of satisfaction with others after the race, makes the experience so much better/enjoyable knowing someone is as mad for running as you are yourself

RunningKing wrote: »

The race did give me pause for thought and a lot of reflection about my running, but more about that in a later post.

What? That you are capable (and will be) running way faster over the coming months? I thought so!

Imagine without the drink the night before and the feed over xmas that we all had what times you could be pulling off?

It's all achievable and by putting in the commitment and work, it will pay off.

I mean that was a super run given the circumstances! Great stuff.

RunningKing

Reflections in advance of 2013

I spent time after the 5k race on NYD looking back over my training log for 2012 - its amazing how much you can progress in 1 year without realising it.
Its not just in the times you run, but its in the consistency of your runs.
Last Jan '12 I only done 17 miles for the whole month - lost my mojo for a while.
I done 80 in Feb - but these were kinda junk miles - many of them without a plan or target.

I've also thought a lot obout the 'specificity' of the training. I think I lacked this in 2012 (with the exception of the DCM).

As an example.
I trained for a 10km race (GIR) and my intervals were about 6:45-7:00 pace - even looking at this now, I know I was ill advised (my fault as it was my advice) and could have gone faster in training. Those intervals paces didn't improve over time either.

I also only done ONE 5km race in 2012 (in Feb) - even though I had told people I was focusing on the 'short stuff' for a while.

Also for my Half Marathon training (Clontarf in July) I felt I was doing good training, but only done 1 run over 13 miles in the build up to it - although I done a 1:34 - I could have gone faster with more 'specificity' in my training.

During all of 2012 I had run lots of hills in the Phoenix Park, but only as part of a run - I never focused on specific hill repeats.

On the positive front, things I done well were around nutrition - I feel I've read a lot on this and put into action what I've read. I also felt my DCM training was very well executed and I loved every minute of it.
I remained injury free for most of 2012 and only in the last few weeks before the Marathon did I pick up an injury. Luckily I got around the DCM in 1 piece, but it sort of knocked my November ans some of December out of whack.

Some of the Stupid things I've done in 2012 (just 'some' but not 'all')

Before the DCM Race Series 10m run, on the Wednesday before the race I went out and done a tempo run in a time faster than I had done the previous year. 3 days before the race. While I PB'd in the race I missed out on a sub 70 mainly due to the legs been fatigued.

Before the DCM Half Marathon I spent the previous night in IKEA getting 2 lockers and a book case for my daughters and then spent all night putting them up on my own. All the lunging etc I was doing really wrecked me the next day at the race and I felt I had no energy for the race.

So - having looked at all these things, I feel armed to approach 2013 with a new respect for running.

1st up is a 5k training plan that has me doing intervals at 3k pace. It also has me doing hill repeats - short hills and long hills.

2nd up is a 10k training plan - I'll be well armed from the 5k work that I'll have done and will be gunning for a sub 40 in April for the GIR.

3rd up is a Half Marathon Plan for Clontarf in July (or similar) - I'll be going all out for a sub 1:30. I know that the work I do at the 5km and 10km plans will really aid me for this race. I'll also do more runs greater than 13m in advance !!

Finally it will be the DCM plan - as I done 3:23 last year - I feel that 3:10 is a good target. Sub 3 is not in me yet.

In amongst all this is my final year in the MBA - and a lot of work travel between Feb and May.

statss

best of luck with the plans for 2013 - I found it hard last year to schedule running on top of work & a part time masters, never mind with a young family, so fair dues.

RedRunner

Great running RK especially after pints night before. What you have noted above is very interesting regarding "specificity". I definitely need to have a think about that myself. At the moment I'm just running to keep mileage up with easy-ish runs midweek, and a long run and maybe 5k park runs at weekend. I could definitely take a leaf out of your book.

RunningKing

Thursday 3rd

Was meant to be a day off running today and play some 5-Aside tonight, with some small hill work on Friday.
The game was cancelled due to lack of numbers, so I switched my plans and went for Fridays run today.

Regarding the plan I'm using, I had a look at a lot of plans online and I was surprised at the difference in content in each of them. For me, I'm doing this plan then going into a 10k plan, so with that in mind I wanted something that was 'Interval heavy' as opposed to other plans that call for '4m runs at 6:45 pace' - which are also fine, but not what I want right now as I feel intervals are what I need to get my 5k time down.
So I chose this one: http://www.runningplanet.com/training/5K-training-program-advanced.html

Although its a 6 day plan - I'll probably just do 4 or 5 of the days - making sure I do both interval sessions. If I miss runs it'll be some of the easy runs, but I need to be careful to get some recovery running in.

Anyway, back to todays run...........

Main aim of this run was to get some hill work done. The plan called for 8x100m hill repeats at a "very hard pace".

So, ran 3m easy pace to the Khyber pass and looked at the hills around there.
Chose the one to the right of the Magazine fort (the one on the left was too steep for my 1st hill session and the hill at the Fort was also too steep).
Ran the intervals and walked back down. Its amazing what you can accomplish is such a small workout.
Just out of interest, I had plugged the workout into my watch to see what the splits would be (& HR) - I dont plan on doing this all the time!
Splits for the 8*100m

6:01
5:49
4:51
5:30
6:01
4:44
4:55
4:24

My heart rate didn't go over 89% (on the 5th split), which surprised me, perhaps the lenght of interval didn't give it enough time to hit any higher.

Ran 2 very easy miles back to the car. Looking forward to other hill sessions - the next hill session is the very same os this one in 2 weeks time, then 2 weeks after that the plan calls for "2m up a moderately steep hill" - not too sure where to find one of those? Howth maybe??

Finished off with a bit of stretching and some core work (about 10 min total). Day off on Friday.

Not too sure if I should Park Run on Sat, will see how the legs feel.

tang1

Great session RunningKing, the 5k pb will be coming down in no time.

RedRunner

RunningKing wrote: »

Thursday 3rd


, then 2 weeks after that the plan calls for "2m up a moderately steep hill" - not too sure where to find one of those? Howth maybe??

Good stuff Rk...so what exactly is a moderately steep hill? Any indications on elevation or anything. Howth could be a good one alright ,up the carrickbrack road side.

Younganne

well done ont he 5k onTuesday and great meeting you...definitely know the face, must have met you while running in the park on many an occasion!!!
Good luck with the plans for 2013, i spend the evening before DCM in IKEA too, its a form of cross training for sure!!!

RunningKing

RedRunner wrote: »

Good stuff Rk...so what exactly is a moderately steep hill? Any indications on elevation or anything. Howth could be a good one alright ,up the carrickbrack road side.

Doesn't indicate in the plan, but I don't think there's anything like that around Dub 15. I could change it and do some intervals up the Khyber. that's 0.5m from top to bottom. But going to Howth would be something different and a 2m straight run would have different requirements than an interval run. We'll see nearer the time.

blockic

How did you get on this morning? Were ya racing it?

RunningKing

Was taking it easy Blockic, I don't want to beat your 18:45 time without you there........ Report to follow :-)

RunningKing

Sat 5th Jan
Malahide Park Run

In previous 5k races, I haven't enjoyed the experience, as mentioned above.
I went to todays Park Run race with two objectives.

1. To control my breathing.
2. To leave something in the tank for a sprint finish.

Turned up and met Redrunner, we were discussing Menos hamstring in Tuesdays 5k and other footballing injuries that both of us had got in the past.
We strode up to the line and the Klaxon went off - I was careful not to go off to fast, but wanted to get out in front of the pile as the paths are narrow. Off I went and felt fairly comfortable through the 1st mile. From the last race there I knew not to trust the Garmin in the trees, so really had no idea how fast I was going, just that it felt like 5k pace. I was making extra sure of my breathing - deep breaths etc and really trying to not take short sharp breaths. First mile was 6:17 (on the Garmin).
Came onto the 2nd mile and I was waiting for the 'burn' to hit the legs - when all the lactic acid goes into overdrive........didn't happen on the 2nd mile. Again felt very comfortable doing a 6:28 mile.
As we approached the 3rd mile, I started to feel the legs begin to burn and felt happy - this was the test I was waiting for, I really wanted to ensure that once I kept the breating right, that I could control the 'mental state' and kick on.

As we approached what was near the finish, maybe the 4km mark - I wanted to get myself into position to kick, so I planked myself behind 2 lads who had passed me after about 200m, as we approached the 3rd hill, I kept behind them - at this stage I was passed by some youngfella - I decided not to go with him.
As we turned into the home straight, I kicked hard and passed the 2 lads, one tried to come with me, but I had buckets left in the tank.

the last 0.1m was done in 5.03/m pace so I was delighted to have that kick as I never had it before.

I finished in what I thought was 19:29, 2 seconds outside my PB, but the official time was recorded as 19:25. So a new PB for me today, but that wasn't important, well it was, but I sound better when I say it wasn't :-)

Also happy that I came 7th today (out of 227) - delighted with that - my 10 year old asked me tounge in cheek was I going to run in the Olympics in Rio.......her way of telling me to 'shut up Daddy'...................

The key thing today was the breathing and the removal of the negative thoughts and the final kick. I must say, I left Malahide being very satisfied with my run and at that stage had considered it my best 5k run (even though I thought I hadn't PB'd).

Great meeting RedRunner agian, but was disappointed for him when he said about his hamstring - also met npresto, who was running in his 6th Park run today, and by all accounts is a really nice man! (Great bunch are us Boardsies.......).

Onwards and upwards, may not Park Run next week, might wait a couple of weeks to race again as I want to work harder on the intervals.

My mojo was high enough, its sky high now!

blockic

RunningKing wrote: »

I finished in what I thought was 19:29, 2 seconds outside my PB, but the official time was recorded as 19:25. So a new PB for me today, but that wasn't important, well it was, but I sound better when I say it wasn't :-)

Nicely done! :cool: for taking it easy!

tang1

blockic wrote: »

Nicely done! :cool: for taking it easy!

Hate to see him when he gets his game face on if thats him taking it easy!! Great running RK.

career_move

tang1 wrote: »

Hate to see him when he gets his game face on if thats him taking it easy!! Great running RK.

+1

RunningKing

career_move wrote: »

+1

Used to like you CM

pansophelia

That was a great run altogether! Sorry I missed you and RedRunner. There was a great atmosphere there today, and I know what you mean about your daughter, I've been boring the pants off people all day, and I can't stop smiling to myself!

career_move

RunningKing wrote: »

Used to like you CM

I can't believe you don't like my high fives! So uncool :mad:

RunningKing

6.3m around the Phoenix park - nice & easy.
Paused the watch at 3.6m and forgot to restart it, so unsure of pace - about 8:20ish.

Dog wouldn't go down the Khyber again - this time I was delighted!!

Plan for this coming week: (Changed it around a bit to accomadate Football on Thursday)

M: 1m WU Run 3 x 1200 meter repeats at 5K or hard pace. Run 200 meters at easy pace between each repeat 1m CD.
T: 4 miles at easy pace
W:1m WU Run 8 x 2 minute repeats at 3K or very hard pace. Run 2 minutes at easy pace between each hard repeat 1m CD
T: Football
F: Rest
S:6 miles at easy pace
S:8 miles at easy pace

RunningKing

Monday 7th Jan.

Managed to get out early for this session - was working at home today and had some 'free time' :-)

3X1200 with 200m recovery.

1m WU @ 7.59/m
Rep 1: 6:08 pace
Rep 2: 6:10 pace
Rep 3: 6:09 pace
1m CD @ 8.17/m

Nice session - 1st rep I went off too fast and faded by the end of that rep.
Each rep took 4mins 36 secs - Walked all the recoveries.

I do like these short sessions - total distance was just 4.6 miles and it took just over 35 mins - great to get it done early too. The 5k plan is great for time - its high intensity, but low(ish) in milage and time needed. Last week I ran 32 miles total - which during my marathon training would probably be done in 2-3 runs. I ran 6 days last week (1st time ever) - so 32miles doesn't seem like much, but the short stuff is really working for me!


I use an interface called 'SportTracks' to upload all my Garmin information and it provides all sort of stats - I also use Connect.Garmin site.
When I uploaded my splits into both they were different? Vastly different.

In my last rep, I know it was fast and I was watching the pace, it was 6:09 - but once I uploaded it to SportTracks it was 6.56?? Not too sure if I can trust ST now?

In other news...................
The Malahide Park Run team were on to me via email - seems there was an issue with Saturdays Park Run results for the 1st 10-12 places. They got some tokens (how they measure time) mixed up.

I may not be getting my PB from last week, but I'm cool with that - my watch measured 19:29, so to get 19:25 official time seemed to far off. But we'll see.
It means I just got to break it again in a couple of weeks :-)