October 2013

jfh · 12-09-2013 1:42pm

10th Sept
3 mile WU - 10 * 1k(3:30 - 3:17) pace getting progressively quicker-2 mile WD
11 miles in total.

11th Sept
50 min 10km

12th Sept
30 min WU - 18 * 100m strides - 30 min WD
17km in total

pconn062 · 12-09-2013 11:23pm

jfh wrote: »

10th Sept
3 mile WU - 10 * 1k(3:30 - 3:17) pace getting progressively quicker-2 mile WD
11 miles in total.

11th Sept
50 min 10km

12th Sept
30 min WU - 18 * 100m strides - 30 min WD
17km in total

Awesome session!

jfh · 16-09-2013 11:42am

Fri 13th sept
2 mile WU - 8 mile @ 6:20 - 2 miles WD + 4 * 400m
wore support shoes with orthotics which are heavy & was slightly worried about keeping the pace, i did a 1.5 mile flat loop which was ideal & easy to keep a steady pace.

Sat 14th sept
very tired & sore after yesterdays session but awoken early with baby so donned the running gear & out into a beautiful morning.
50 min easy on hurling pitch.
followed this with a fairly intense days work on farm, this was needed felt i've got a bit weak from all the running, definetly lost weight.

Sun 15th Sept
left this until the evening, usually do my long run on sundays just out of bed so this was a change & i think i was all the better for the extra rest between sessions & more energy.
17 hilly miles, thankfully the wind didn't affect me as it's sheltered.

total mileage 72. new PB

jfh · 23-09-2013 12:49pm

Mon 16th Sept
40 min easy with strides

Tues 17th Sept
30 min WU - 18 * 100m - 30 min WD

Wed 18th Sept
core work & vaccinating cattle, so altough offically no running, still a steneous enough day

Thurs 19th Sept
17 hilly tough miles early in the morning before work.
this was the first run where i was actually stuggling since started this plan. might be the fact that i had no breakfast. did the exact same run as sunday but time was a little down.

Fri 20th Sept
40 min on a treadmill at lunch

Sat 21st Sept
50 min easy

Sun 22nd sept
the plan was to do a 10 mile race, however it was cancelled very late so change of plans.
Luckily Charleville was still accepting entries so this wasn't a bad fall back plan. great course & did my first sub 80 min there last year so time to return.
super day for it, i do like the bit of heat but it was bordering too hot, at mile 8 i would have welcomed a light shower.
i think the fact that i'm light may have helped me. a lot of the faster stronger runners were suffering as the race wore on. I was not passed from the 2nd mile & reeled in a good few in the closing miles.
saying that i could not keep my pace consistent, had to take a gel at mile 8 to give me some help.
all in all a good enough day.
1 hr 19 min 16 sec

it was a manic week, so did a lot of running early morning, but luckily stress free. i can deal with busyiness but looking at other logs on here i feel i'm relatively lucky.

jfh · 30-09-2013 5:51pm

Mon 23rd
recovery run, sore & tired after the Half. The mornings are now dark when i start so complete with head torch & high vis. was really not feeling this at all.
sideways glance at the hurling pitch & noticed the gate left open, so went in & slowly came to life. what a morning, it was warm & foggy when i started & just watching the sun burst through was worth it. returned home a new man & 5 miles in the bank.

Tue 24th
of course it had to happen, only last week, i was saying that although i'm busy, it's not of the stressful kind. received some bad news today & had a bad feeling in my gut about things. So i was chomping at the bit to get running & running fast preferably. As luck would have it, i was down for a Pyramid Session. it was tough going trying to gauge this without a track so ended up going harder than i should have.
did burn off any anxious feelings though so mission accomplished.

Wed 25th
still feeling the effects of the half on sunday, very sore & stiff getting out of bed. combined with a baby with a tummy bug. only did 30 min very slow.
later that evening felt a bit guilty & got out again for another 30 min of easy running. all in all, 6.2 miles.

Thur 26th
early morning, really am blessed with the weather so far for this marathon training. got so warm i had to remove the high vis.
30 min E pace + 20 * 100m strides + 20 min E pace
really feel this workout, especially the last 20 min easy.

Fri 27th
was not feeling great, off my grub, dull coat, if i was looking at an animal i would have deduced that this animal is sick, however i'm very slow to admit such common sense when it comes to myself. didn't want to think to much about the impending session, took 2 hours annual leave.

really had to dig deep for this, i often read other peoples logs where they say that they come though a work out.
well this marathon training has been a voyage of self discovery. prior to this, if i felt bad, i wouldn't fight it but take that run easy, however i decided to keep at this, eventhough i found the warm up tough. promised myself, i'd do the MP + a few seconds or i would only do 5 miles MP, so when i got to 5 miles, i was actually starting to feel a bit better, a dropped the pace down to MP.
was really feeling like a proper runner. the fact that i did this on my own was a real boost of confidence.
2 Mile WU + 9 miles MP + 3 * 300m afterwards.
i cut the warm down short as i had limited time.
i got back to work & man flu got progessively worse. headache, cold, no hunger, maybe i over did it..

sat 28th
this is the first hiccup in what has been a fairly good run of training. woke up feeling wretched, originally was considering going up to Croker for the replay but no chance now. the thoughts of not going to the game & missing out a recovery run were depressing. looking back it was only a recovery run but i got the marathon madness bad.
unbelievable match. So if i wasn't going to the match or run, i might as well drink whiskey & eat a big heap of take-away, so that's what i did.

Sun 29th
still feeling weak when i woke up so more dodgy eating, a big fry. the euphoria of the game still pulsing though the veins, i was determined to do something today, wasn't sure what..
there was so much activity around & the feeling in village was one of contained excitement, waiting for the team to return, & boy did the they..
more on this later.
wife & kids headed off to grandma's house, i'm still supposed to be in quarantine so few simple jobs were left to me. ideal oppurtunity to get in a LSR. i did 19 hilly miles in 2 hr 25 min. it sounds slow and it was, i went exploring routes that came to complete dead ends, at one stage i was on all fours climbing up a sandy pit only to come to another dead end, this would normally not be my thing as i like to stick to tried & tested routes but was in that kind of mood. it was more a case of staying on my feet for over 2 hrs. which woudl be the longest since i ran the marathon a few years ago.
i ran over slippy stones over a small stream & tweaked my ankle slightly but it came round. think this trail running has been really beneficial in that respect, legs have got a lot stronger, hopefully that will help in 28 days time.

my post run recovery consisted of standing for ages, welcoming the team, lots more whiskey & pizza, falling in the door at godknows what time.
that's it for the month. it's either a feast or a famine, was very good for the last few weeks so time to buckle up & finish of this plan with the respect it deserves.

jfh · 03-10-2013 9:59am

Mon 30th
after very little sleep from the drunken slumber, i was hanging all day.
it was after 9 & not sure if bed was a better option, but trudged out the door for 3.18 recovery miles, the avg pace was 9:46 says it all.

Tue 1st Oct
i've been waiting for this day for a few months now, the month of the marathon but it sneaked in under the radar.
session was 5* 1km @ 3:17 pace off 90 sec rec + 5 * 200m.
this looks ok on paper, wasn't sure if it was the over indulgance or the speed but i found this exceedingly tough as Mr kipling would say. few enforced toilet breaks, got it down eventually. still dog tired.

Wed 2nd Oct
short on time, 30 min on treadmill during lunch
this sould have wiped the last toxin from my system as i did sweat profusely as Bronte would say of her romantic hero.
find 30 min on the treadmill a lot more effort than 30 min in the great outdoors.

Thurs 3rd Oct
had to get this session done before work, not too keen on intensity this early but it was strides on grass so just a dash of intensity.
30 min WU + 20 * 100m strides + 30 min WD
10.4 miles in total so good to keep the mileage up.
first run in a while that i feel like i'm coming around again.

pconn062 · 03-10-2013 12:47pm

Those stride sessions you do sound really interesting jfh, so you just warm up and then do stride/jog over and over or do you stop after each stride?

jfh · 03-10-2013 1:45pm

pconn062 wrote: »

Those stride sessions you do sound really interesting jfh, so you just warm up and then do stride/jog over and over or do you stop after each stride?

those stride session are a new thing for me, i do a warm up on road, then strides on grass with 40 sec easy running recovery, no stopping for streching etc.
they do take the stuffing out of you, the warm down is particularly tiring as the legs are tired. presume it's much the same as those JD sessions in the plan A, except waaaay easier, but still 10 miles done in a session.

jfh · 07-10-2013 9:37am

4th Oct
2 mile WU + 10 mile @ MP + 2 E + 4 *300m
15 miles in total.
i wore the racers for this & it seemed much easier than the previous week of 9miles MP, but the payback was the legs were a little tighter & generally sore. so i went for a quick rub down. seemed to freshen them up.

5th Oct
eventually picked up the mizuno sayonara's, plan was to get out for a few miles to break them in somewhat for the athlone 3/4 race, however didn't get a chance all day. i should have wore them for the day as i did enough tearing around after the young ones:pac:
no running

jfh · 07-10-2013 10:14am

After much deliberating, went to Glasson & did the athlone ¾ marathon.
The idea was much the same as everyone else, a dress rehearsal for the Big one.
Glad I did it now, there’s a lot more to running the marathon than the running..

Plan was to treat it much the same as I had planned for DCM, well I have come away with some key lessons,
1) Leave the kids at home.
2) No big dinners the night before
3) Don’t get stuck down the back
4) Concentration(stop the mind from wandering) this was my longest Steady run on road.
5) don't stop to try & catch a lose horse(shouldn't be an issue in dublin)

What worked,
1) I found the course handy enough as I train in hilly terrain.
2) normally i don’t take gels but trialled two yesterday, no problems there.
3) Left out orthotics, ankles sore afterwards but ok during, decision to be made.

overall it was a very enjoyable day out, personally i love these kind of courses, i'd much rather run this than though a city. fair play to the marshalls, never saw so many & most held bags where bottles & gels could be discarded.
i did stop the watch while i tried to catch that loose horse who came thundering down the road, so lost a bit of time there.
bar the first mile split, where i got caught up, i stayed with the preordained splits & finished strong. mission accomplished.

jfh · 10-10-2013 12:49pm

Sun 6th Oct
athlone 3/4 Marathon
2.5 miles WU + 19.66 miles(split it into quarters, 7 ,6:50 ,6:40 min miles)
finished strong.

Mon 7th Oct
really tired today, that race took more out of me than i thought, also the lack of sleep. didn't get out for my morning run, instead got 30 min very easy on the treadmill at lunch.

Tues 8th Oct
30 min WU + 5*600m(200) + 6*200m(200) + 20 WD

took the speed work handy, as well as been sore i decided to break in the Sayonara's. a bit late to be trying to get my choice of marathon shoe worn in but i've been waiting for weeks for this shoe & on first impressions, i'm not happy with them.
Don't know whether i'll go with the musha's who have a good few miles on the clock or continue with these, i'll give them another chance with a few marathon paced miles..

Wed 9th Oct
the first morning hearlding in winter , glad i wore the long sleeve top. had to use the head torch for the first 10 min but got accustomed to the gloom afterwards. 30 min really easy, still feel tired & sore, those sayonara's definetly change my stride.

Thurs 10 OCT
another very early cold morning, but a cracking start to the day, any day i can get over 10 miles done before work is a good day.

starting to feel the life is coming back to the legs after the last few days. went back to a trusty old pair of wave inspire 7s & the felt great. if they didn't have so much mileage i'd wear them for the big day.
30 min E + 20 * 100m + 25 min E

jfh · 14-10-2013 9:25am

Fri 11th OCT
today was a day to test my resolve, early start as i had to help someone out, this involved bringing a horse to gorsebridge, had contemplated bringing the runners along, but after a 3 hour drive there, on my feet all day, glad i left them at home.
eventually got home & set myself up for the task. i was psyching up all day for this session, trying to limit the buscuit intake on the journey home. it was dark when i set off, but i was running in a lighted area so no trouble there, wore the sayonara again with the orthitics, still undecided about them,
session was 10 miles MP, the first 8 went by easily enough, very steady pace. thnk i prefer running inthe dark, seem faster. the last 2 miles at MP were getting slightly difficult , the 300m after the 2 miles easy were torture.
all in all, 15 miles , very tired & sore but mission accomplished.
think this was more down to sitting in a jeep for 6 hours earlier today rather than the run itself.

Sat 12th Oct
put on the runners without a second thought & out on the road, after about 5 min, decided i could race this, was kinda burnt from it. so i jumped over a farm gate & ran around some fields, while some sheep looked on in bemusement as i ran laps of their field.
30 min very easy, 3 miles done.
went to physio afterwards just to keep these pains from amounting to something more serious. "I'm in tremendous pain" Ted

sun 13th Oct
at least 21 very hilly miles on trails, the garmin was constantly losing satellite reception. had company for the first 14 which was great as i didn't feel these miles ticking away so much. it was such a hilly test, that we went though several stages of intense hills @ 9 min miles & eased down hills at 6 min miles afterwards to recover. i don't think strength in the legs is going to be an issue for DCM. glad to have this over with. cold bath afterwards to get some life into the body, was very tired.

jfh · 15-10-2013 10:31am

Mon 14th Oct
think this log has been fairly positive so far & things have gone well, but hit a low point, remember seeing something on overtraining a while back here & i think i've gone over that fine line, swear it's not taper madness as i havn't started that yet..
ate all around me sunday & monday, muffins, chocolate, Mcfrappes, bascially had a yearning for sweet crap & i fulfilled that need.
very little sleep for the last 2 nights, kept waking up & sick baby which didn't help but i was constantly waking up, damn frustrating.
couldn't stand the sight of the runners so took a rest day, normally i find an easy jog better than a rest but this was a mental thing, an enjoyable evening a the playground
the immune system seems to be taking a battering as i've a cold, at least it's not in the chest.
to conteract this,
i'm going crazy on the fresh fruit & veg, i've made a big batch of kale & leek soup & dosing myself to the gills with Vit C & Pharmaton.
cutting out those early morning runs.
legs are still sore so wearing the compression tights to work, might even dig out that grid roller.

thankfully my schedule has no long runs until saturday when i should be over this mini crisis:pac:

great to see a few others doing so well in chicago & budapest. nice to see the hard work paying off.

pconn062 · 15-10-2013 10:45am

Few easy days will do you know harm anyway man. I can't see any real signs of overtraining in your log, I'd say the taper madness is just setting in as you say!

jfh · 15-10-2013 10:56am

oh sweet jesus, you could be right, i always thought i was a relatively sane person but i have found myself running at 6:25 as that's the time i will be pacing at. Do you think this is the fabled taper madness, do you??
be gentle, new to this, i used to read these logs last year & think shur, the last 2 weeks must be a doddle, not so..

jfh · 21-10-2013 11:14am

Tue 15th OCT
So after my little hissy fit last week, i manned up and put on the running gear tuesday for some speed work.
6 *400m + 4*200m were the order of the day, don't usually look forward to running fast but i was looking forwad to something different.
this session tuned out to be the hardest iv'e done for a few weeks, not sure if this was down to feeling a bit under the weather or the fact that i'm not fast.
using the garmin on a road was my gauge for pace & i think i hit all the sweetspots, so happy out but tired.

Wed 16th OCT
30 min recovery on treadmill.
woke up this morning with dreaded hip pain, this was what put me out of action the end of last year for a couple of months so i was a little concerned, still i wanted to prove to myself it wasn't as bad so i did 30 min 10 mile avg pace on a treadmill. i had the pain all day, except when i ran on it

so it's a muscle & when it warms up it's ok.

Thurs 17th OCT
i started the year off running on this treadmill so it's only fitting that i should resort back to it again. another 7 miles easy on the treadmill. found it tough, a lot tougher than it should be.
hip pain seems to be glute related so similiar problem to last week except i know how to strech it now. on the difane & grid roller.

Fri 18th OCT
20 min WU + 15 * 100m strides + 15 min WD all on grass.
still staying of the roads. did this early & the hurling pitch was pitch black for the 20 min WU, between getting accustomed to darkness and sunrise, i had a bit of light for the strides.
hip still not right, getting a little concerned about it now.

Sat 19th OCT
this was meant to be a dress rehersal for the big day but up most of the night with teething baby so put it of until the evening. turned out to be a beautiful evening weather wise, the session was supposed to be 11 MP but my body wasn't feeling it, first few miles clipped away but then i was stuggling to hold pace & it was getting harder.
it's the first session i didn't complete but i think i did the right thing, this cold is just not shifting & although the hip is ok after i warm up, it's still a concern. i did 9 mile @ MP, 13 miles in total. just no energy.
feel totally wrecked this week, i'm told that's normal for the taper week,
glad i have another week to go.
went to physio aftewards where she man handled my piriformis, dry needling, the lot. i've gone though a few physio's in the last 12 months & finally came upon one that's excellent & probably the cheapest of the lot.
felt sore but fixed.

Sun 20th Oct
first day all week that the hip/glute isn't acting up, i do however have a bad cold, so just took it easy today. this was my lowest mileage week since i started but still had a few tough sessions.
5 miles in the refreshing rain in 40 min.
not good for cold but good for the mind.,

jfh · 24-10-2013 9:07am

Mon 21st OCT
OFF,
baby out of sorts so had to take day off work also, i think i gave her the cold.
just took it easy all day, badly needed.

Tues 22nd OCT
30 min WU - 15 * 100m strides on grass - 25 min WD
turned out to be a miserable looking evening, altough it was grand once you were out in it. luckily it was dry when i stared and turned bad once i was well into it. hip very stiff afterwards, just not built for speed, didn't wear orthotics so think it's related

Wed 23rd OCT
i was looking out the window debating whether to take annual leave & make the most of this wonderful weather. complete reverse on yesterday evening, so took the hour & hit the road for 6 easy miles @ 7:50 min mile avg.
super evening for it, glad to be able to go out and take advantage of it.
first run in a while that i've felt strong. have finally managed to kick this cold.
wore orthotics, hip fine, bit of a dilemma here as runners with orthotics are very heavy & def not suitable for the marathon

Thurs 24th OCT
OFF.
this will be my last day off until the big one, almost there..

DogSlySmile · 25-10-2013 3:56pm

Best of luck on Monday man. I was looking forward to meeting a few of the lads aiming for 2:50 on the day but injury got in the way. Your training has been going great and you look in shape for giving sub 2:50 a good bash.

Have a good one

pconn062 · 25-10-2013 6:18pm

Very best of luck jfh, you are in great shape and definitely capable of hitting 2.50. Hope it goes well for you, do you have a club vest, I'll be there on the day so could keep an eye out for you.