2013: Can I improve??

sb78

Wednesday 27/02/2013
AM: 4.05 mile easy paced run. Took 31:26. Avg pace: 7:45

PM: Ran 3 x 1 mile intervals at race pace on running track. In between each interval, recovery jog of 400 metres. Warm up/down of 1200 metres.
Recorded mile paces were 5:57, 5:49 and 5:46. Tonight I did some 5k specific training for Saturday's planned race.
I tried not to go out too hard for the first interval, I wanted to do 6:00 pace for first, then 5:50 and then try 5:40...
Probably went too quick for the first interval. I find it very hard to pace yourself on a running track, temptation always there to go too fast on this surface. Everyone flying around you doesn't help. I felt comfortable for the first interval. I increased the tempo slightly for the second interval and still felt reasonably comfortable. But I struggled a bit for the last interval when I was trying to go all out. At least now I know what pace to run at on Saturday, so I won't be running as fast as tonight. My race plan will be to start at 6:10, then 6:00 and if I'm feeling good I'll try 5:50 for the third mile and a bit. Well that's the plan anyway, I don't mind if it goes astray as its my first attempt at this distance...

Thursday 28/02/2013 REST DAY

sb78

Friday 01/03/2013 ran 4 miles easy pace in 30:47 (avg pace per mile: 7:42)
Kept this run short to save energy for Saturday's 5km race. I felt fine, a lot fresher this week compared to last week

Saturday 02/03/2013
5km race: ran 5km in 18:50. Avg pace per mile: 6:00. Finished 5th place overall.
This was just a fun run event so above time not official. I haven't been able to find the race results online yet.
Mile splits were: 6:10, 6:03, and 5:52.
At the start of the race, everyone around me was flying and I found myself going too fast early on. Was feeling strong but I had to rein myself in a bit in order to get a strong finish, so I slowed down to 6:10 pace, that was just as well as there was a tough hill later in the first mile. I managed to pass 2 people by the end of the first mile, and moved into 5th place early in the second mile. I was still going ok. I slowly closed in on 4th over the next mile or so, but in doing so I think I used up too much energy. Also, as mentioned, the 5k loop wasn't flat at all, you were either on a downhill or uphill terrain. I caught 4th place by the last half mile, but then he quickened clear of me again, whereas I could only keep going at the same pace...I had no turn of foot left in me..
still pretty happy with the result, I had no aspirations going into it other than to just get a time for future reference, given that it was my first 5km race. I had a rough target in my head to try and do under 18 minutes, but the course was just to hilly and undulating to achieve this. After race, my legs were sore and I felt tired and weary, even after only 5km..probably running at the higher tempo took its toll..

Sunday 03/03/2013
Ran 4.8 miles in 36:08 at easy pace. Avg pace per mile: 7:32
Today I felt better than expected, legs were fine, no sign of tiredness.
This week I managed to get more sleep and crucially got good nights sleep on both thursday and friday night before race on Saturday.
Next week I am down in Wexford for the week, off from work. I wont be able to train with my group so I'm going to miss out on those quality training sessions on Monday and Wed..gonna have to compromise a bit on my own.. probably will do some cross country/grass running...

sb78

Last week: 25/02/2013 to 03/03/2013

Mon 25/02/2013
AM 5.5 mile E pace run + 6 strides.
PM Group track session: 5 x1000metres at faster than 5k pace, with 200m recovery jog in between.

Tues 26/02/2013
5.1 mile E pace run in 39:31 + 6 strides. Avg pace per mile: 7:45

Wed 27/02/2013
AM: 4.05 mile E paced run + 7 strides. Took 31:26. Avg pace: 7:45

PM 3 x 1 mile intervals at race pace on running track, with recovery jog of 400 metres in between. Warm up/down of 1200 metres.
Recorded mile paces were 5:57, 5:49 and 5:46

Thurs 28/02/2013 REST

Fri 01/03/2013
ran 4 miles E pace in 30:47 + 6 strides (avg pace per mile: 7:42)

Sat 02/03/2013
5km race: ran 5km in 18:50. Avg pace per mile: 6:00. Finished 5th place overall.
Mile splits were: 6:10, 6:03, and 5:52.

Sun 03/03/2013
Ran 4.8 miles in 36:08 at E pace. Avg pace per mile: 7:32

Total mileage for week: 35 approx

Am currently roughly following chapter 19 5-15k running plans of Jack Daniel's running formula book. Its kind of hard though for me to follow it exactly. The problem I have is I usually do 2 out of my 3 quality sessions per week with a group, so your workout will be whatever the coach decides. Usually the group workouts are fine though, its just that its up to the coach what they want us to do. My only choice would be to go solo and train alone following the Daniels plans by the book but I don't want to leave the group...

sb78

Monday 04/03/2013
Warm up and down of approx 1 mile.
Then 5 x 1k intervals at fast pace...recorded intervals of 3:43, 3:37, 3:32, 3:34, and 3:35
(or in mile pace 5:52, 5:45, 5:36, 5:39 and 5:42).
This was a tough session, I got up early and was ready to start by 7:30am. I had downed some coffee beforehand to get me going...though by the last interval, I thought I was going to see the coffee again...thankfully not...
Its very hard on your body doing these Q sessions early in the morning. Doing them at lunchtime or evening always seems easier....

BTW this was all done on grass (makeshift cross country circuit of 2 fields around the house). I bought cross country shoes in Jan but had never actually used them until today. I was unsure of them at first, they seemed a bit too light..but when I started using them they were fine. The spikes obviously helped, and the land was dry.
The last time I had ran this course, I couldn't get through the heavy ground, and my intervals were really slow...but that was back in Dec when it was much wetter. I think I startled a few farmers who were driving past in their tractors at that unearthly hour, as I was running my speed intervals....

RunningKing

sb78 wrote: »

Am currently roughly following chapter 19 5-15k running plans of Jack Daniel's running formula book. Its kind of hard though for me to follow it exactly. The problem I have is I usually do 2 out of my 3 quality sessions per week with a group, so your workout will be whatever the coach decides. Usually the group workouts are fine though, its just that its up to the coach what they want us to do. My only choice would be to go solo and train alone following the Daniels plans by the book but I don't want to leave the group...

Difficult one. There's a lot of people on here who are in clubs, but may only do 1 session with them or just even race under their name.

This is a small part of the reason why I'm not in a club.

Have you spoke to your coach about it?

sb78

RunningKing wrote: »

Difficult one. There's a lot of people on here who are in clubs, but may only do 1 session with them or just even race under their name.

This is a small part of the reason why I'm not in a club.

Have you spoke to your coach about it?

I hear you. I have spoken to one of them alright, there are 2 coaches, and they are very different in they way they handle the session. Anyway, its not a pure running club, it is catering for triathletes, runners and people who just want to get fit so I guess from their point of view its going to be hard to keep everyone happy

sb78

Tues 05/03/2013
5.5 miles easy pace run in 42:02, with 8 strides. Avg pace per mile 7:38.
Ran this cross country. Terrain wasn't conducive to running, would have been more suitable for those Hell & Back events...As a result couldn't get into any kind of rhythm. Didn't enjoy...

Wed 06/03/2013
1 mile warm up/down
Then 3 x 2 mile intervals at threshold pace, with a 3 minute jog in between at recovery pace. Using my race results to date and Daniel's book, my current T pace is about 6:23. So, that was my target for these intervals. Done this again on grass/cross country but changed the route as yesterday's route was too rough for running on, and my calves were aching after it. Early morning so I found the going tough. It was mild enough but it was starting to rain steadily and the ground was getting softer so I found it hard enough getting through it even with spikes on...
Discarded my running jacket after the first interval, and felt better during the second interval, though I think the last interval I found hard work. Still, given the conditions, it was a good effort.

Thurs 07/03/2013
ran 5.03 miles easy in 39:04. Avg pace per mile: 7:46. 3 days of running cross country on uneven surface starting to take its toll on the legs, back to the roads tomorrow!

Friday 08/03/2013
Back to base.
Ran 11 miles in 1hr18:23. Average pace per mile 7:07.
Mile splits: 6:57, 6:51, 6:47, 6:48, 7:03, 7:12, 7:13, 7:26, 7:25, 7:08, 7:30
Was debating taking today off running, but then I knew Saturday I wouldn't be able to run at all, so decided in the end that I felt well enough to do my weekly Long run today. What a mistake..!!
I was beaten after 4 miles. Very flat and poor performance. In fact, even after a mile, I knew I was going to struggle...I wanted to start off at 7:00 pace and do negative mile splits until the end. You need to be in good form to achieve this...I abandoned that plan after mile 5, and finished the rest of the run at what was I guess Marathon pace..
I realize now that I had not taken a break from running since the previous Thursday, that time period included a hard 5k race on Saturday and amazingly I had not given myself a rest since then.. I won't be making that mistake again, hopefully! I'm sure this accounts for the weak run today.

Saturday: REST, about time!

Sunday
1 mile warm up/down
10 X 400 metre intervals at I pace, with a 1 minute recovery jog in between.
Split times: 1:31, 1:23, 1:24, 1:23, 1:22, 1:22, 1:25, 1;28, 1:29.
According to Daniel's book my current I pace for 400m is 1:28, based on my race results so far..so my goal for these intervals was to try and beat that if I could.
Very windy out there today, so it was quite hard to get nice steady split times, all of them were affected by the wind either positively or adversely. Got blown all over the place for the last 2 intervals, though I was really tiring by that stage anyway.
I don't feel like I'm 100% right at the moment, feeling a bit drained in the latter part of last week, so need to try and get more sleep/rest this week if I can. Might reduce the number of sessions I do also

RunningKing

1 min recovery is tough, but based on your 5x1km splits and 5km race, I think your 400 splits are soft. What vdot are you basing those off? I reckon you're at 54 which should be 1:22 400's.

Either way, your session was great with the weather conditions etc.
I hear ya about the number of sessions, thinking similar myself.

You're going great guns so far, keep it up, wish I had your 5x1k times......

sb78

RunningKing wrote: »

1 min recovery is tough, but based on your 5x1km splits and 5km race, I think your 400 splits are soft. What vdot are you basing those off? I reckon you're at 54 which should be 1:22 400's.

Either way, your session was great with the weather conditions etc.
I hear ya about the number of sessions, thinking similar myself.

You're going great guns so far, keep it up, wish I had your 5x1k times......

you're right, my VDOT is 54...maybe my recovery was too short? I was only able to run 1:22 with the wind at my back so that's why I was thinking I was a bit below par

sb78

A combination of laziness, work, Paddy's weekend and Cheltenham all combined to prevent me from updating this log for the past ten days. For what its worth:

Monday 12/03/13
2 mile run at fast pace. Time: 11:08. Mile Splits: 5:45 and 5:23
Unusual session, we were asked to do a 2 mile 'time-trial' on running track. No idea how this came about as I arrived a bit late and missed out on the preliminaries. Still I was delighted with the result, I think I surprised myself a bit.

Tuesday 13/03/13
5 miles easy pace run. Time: 38:34. Avg pace: 7:42 per mile

Wed 14/03/13
Group track session.
1200metres warm up (3 laps).
Then 'Pyramid' session of 400m, 600m, 800m, 1000m, 800m, 600m, 400m run at 5k pace. Recovery jog in between each session of 200metres.
Splits below:
400m: 1:23 or 5:18 mile pace
600m: 2:06 or 5:25 mile pace
800m: 2:53 or 5:30 mile pace
1000m: 3:42 or 5:36 mile pace
800m: 2:55 or 5:37 mile pace
600m: 2:12 or 5:28 mile pace
400m: 1:22 or 5:13 mile pace
Warm down another 3 laps..
Happy enough with this session.

Thursday 14/03/13 and Friday 15/03/13: REST. Only Thursday was planned as a rest day. On Friday last, both the weather and lack of motivation worked against me. No harm done though, been a while since I've given myself 2 rest days together. I'm sure my body needed it.

Saturday 17/03/13
Cross country session. Started off doing some speed intervals but after 3 or 4 intervals, my garmin completely packed it in and I had to reboot it to get it going again so lost some data. This obviously knocked me off my stride and I couldnt face into more speed work after this short unplanned break.
After that did a 4 mile tempo run, did mile 1 at 7 min pace, mile 2 at 6:45 pace, mile 3 at 6:30 pace and mile 4 at 06:24 pace. Couldn't get it down to 06:15 but the ground was very soft after a lot of overnight rain.
Not really a great session due to mechanical problems.

Spent Saturday afternoon digging my Mam's garden, was worn out after it.

Sunday 18/03/13
Ran 5 miles in 39:11. Avg pace per mile: 7:51.
Original plan was to do a long run today of at least 11 miles, and I badly needed it. I am planning on doing half marathons from next month so I badly need to get the mileage up on my long runs. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get going at all, legs felt like lead, and I knew my fate after 1 mile. All that manual labour yesterday killed me today. Cut the run short to just 5 miles, at easy pace. Disappointed...

sb78

Monday 18/03/13
1.3 mile warm up and cool down. Then 3 x 1.3 mile tempo intervals with a 2 minute recovery in between
Split pace: 6:12, 6:06 and 6:05

There was no track session today due to the bank holiday. Actually, no one had told me, so I ended up wasting time going down only to find the place locked up. Sounds dumb but last week I thought they had said it was going ahead, I must have picked the story up wrong (wouldnt be the first time for that to happen!!).
I improvised and moved to the local park and ran 3 laps of the park (1 lap is approx 1.3 miles)...Tempo pace, started with aim of running 6:15, then 6:00 and then 5:45 for the 3 laps...only managed 6:12, 6:06 and 6:05...
have to admit wasnt at my best...lacked motivation, it was cold, windy and dark. On a bank holiday evening, I felt like I had better things I could be doing with my time. At least I kept going I suppose...
I am struggling at the moment with motivation. Too many distractions at the moment...

Tuesday 19/03/13
Ran 10 miles in 1hr 10:06. Avg pace per mile: 7:01
Mile splits: 7:51, 7:40, 7:32, 7:16, 6:59, 6:47, 6:44, 6:31; 6:30, 6:14
Long run today, forced myself to do it. Lasted 10 miles, wanted to go for longer but I suppose its better than nothing. Started off slowly, at 8 min/mile pace and gradually upped the tempo. Didn't really run out of stamina, which is a good sign..it was quite late by the time I got to mile ten so decided to stop. I'd be hopeful I can go longer at a faster pace the next time I do a long run...

Wednesday 20/03/13
Track session.
1200m warm up/ cool down
Then 4 x 90 seconds with 90 second recovery jog in between (recorded mile paces: 5:40, 5:34, 5:21 and 5:21)
Then 4 x 60 seconds with 60 second recovery jog in between (recorded mile paces: 5:08, 5:08, 5:08 and 5:15)
Then 4 x 30 seconds with 30 second recovery jog in between (recorded mile paces: 4:51, 5:11, last 2 didnt record properly)
Then 4 x 15 seconds with 15 second recovery jog in between ( couldnt time these on my garmin - too short)
I felt good throughout this session, some pretty good intervals there, so this was a confidence booster. I think I'm ready to to race again now, I have nothing booked yet, but hopefully will get something in the calendar for easter weekend..My speedwork sessions seem to be improving over the past few weeks but I need to work on my stamina and endurance.

Thursday: 21/03/13 REST

Friday: 22/03/13 5 mile easy pace run. Time 39:25. Avg pace/mile: 7:53

sb78

Saturday 23/03/13
5.75 miles easy pace run with 8 strides. Time: 43:19. Avg pace/mile: 7:33
Intended doing a 10km 'time trial' this morning in local park, which consists of a loop of about 1.3 miles, mainly flat.
Did a warm up of 1.2 miles or so.
After 1 lap I gave up, couldnt get the pace...ended up finishing the run at easy pace.
Although my track work is going well at the moment, I'm not training well on my own. Giving up too easily.
Try again tomorrow....

sb78

Sunday 24/03/13
ran 6.25 Miles at 10km pace. Time: 39:44
Mile Splits: 6:30, 6:28, 6:26, 6:12, 6:20, 6:20, 5:55
Felt a lot better today than yesterday. Maybe a better night's sleep helped.
Conditions were tough for running, felt a lot colder than 4C with the constant cross wind, which was really annoying to be honest.
Ran this at 10km pace around local park...all things considered it was a good effort.

Monday 25/03/13
Group track session
Warm up and down of 3 laps (1200m)
Main session: 5km 'time trial'. We were encouraged to try and beat our PB over this distance.
My PB is 18:50 at the moment.
My time tonight was 19:34, but on my Garmin we ran 3.26 miles, which is about 5.25km. Either my watch is wrong or else we ran too many laps!
Mile splits: 6:17, 5:59, 5:47, 5:48
We started in a group of runners. I think I lost a bit of time at the start, as the pace was too slow early on and I had break off on my own. I find it very hard to set my own pace, so not surprisingly I found the last few laps very hard going.

Tuesday 26/03/2013
5 mile run at recovery pace. Time: 40:51. Avg pace/mile: 8:09
Early morning run. Wanted to get this out of the way so that I could free up the evening to watch the Ireland-Austria Game.
My body certainly didn't appreciate running again so soon after last night's efforts.
Leg muscles felt jarred and heavy. It was a struggle even at this slow pace.
No more running until Wed night....

Today I entered the Slieve Bloom half marathon on Easter Sunday.
It looks a tough course with the first few miles uphill!
I am well behind on the mileage (longest run has been a slow 11 mile effort) so i'm going to just use the race as a training run and see where I am after it. Normally I wouldn't put myself in that position but haven't had a lot of time to do longer runs for the past few weeks, or the enthusiasm...weather being the way it is certainly doesn't help..
I think I can do myself justice but don't think a PB is on the cards..

EMPM

good week running sb.

I also find it very difficult for pace longer distance on the track, think its the boredom of going round and round, hard to keep focus.

Good luck in half, who knows you could surprise yourself but at least it will be a great training session and give you an idea of what need to be done.

I just did the Wicklow half, wasnt expecting a pb but certainly prepared me for the next race. I am now going to sign up for the Enniscorthy half in May, hoping to get a pb there.

sb78

EMPM wrote: »

good week running sb.

I also find it very difficult for pace longer distance on the track, think its the boredom of going round and round, hard to keep focus.

Good luck in half, who knows you could surprise yourself but at least it will be a great training session and give you an idea of what need to be done.

I just did the Wicklow half, wasnt expecting a pb but certainly prepared me for the next race. I am now going to sign up for the Enniscorthy half in May, hoping to get a pb there.

Thanks and congrats on your Wicklow Half marathon time. I ran the 10km version of that event in 2011 so I know how tough some of those hills are, well done! I wanted to do the Wicklow half this year but I didnt feel ready.
Probably still not..

Yeah running around a track is great for speed training but not great prep for long distance races, you go dizzy after a few laps...
looking forward to Sunday, Races are always more enjoyable than training!

I hoping to do the Wexford Half and Enniscorthy half this year as well, theyre local events for me so why not..

sb78

Wed 27/03/13
Group track session
warm up/down of 1600metres
Main session: 1 mile tempo run at 10km pace. achieved 05:49. Probably went too hard but felt comfortable at this pace.
Then 10 x 400m intervals at 5km pace.
splits: 5:47, 5:39, 5:32, 5:26, 5:24, 5:37, 5:36, 5:30, 5:21, 5:44
Found this a struggle, had to run them on my own (everyone in the group at different speeds)...wasnt at my best...

Thurs 28/03/13 REST

Fri 29/03/13 ran 4:13 miles on grass, 6 strides included. time: 32:45. Avg pace: 7:56.

Sat 30/03/13 ran 4 miles on grass, with 8 strides. time: 30:53. Avg pace 7:43

sb78

Sun 31/03/13
Slieve Bloom half marathon.
Time: 1hr 28mins. Finished in 9th place overall.
Mile splits: 6:50, 7:16, 6:59, 7:04, 6:56, 6:27, 6:19, 6:04, 6:34, 6:59, 6:30, 5:58, 6:50, 6:28
The race route was a big loop around village of Clonaslee, Co Laois. Very varied route- some parts run on road, but also a lot of forest trail/gravel and some forest path also. Very scenic route, some lovely views and forest trails.
Definitely not a course that you're going to set a PB on...
The hardest part of the race was the first 4 and a half miles which was all uphill. You then got some relief until mile 6 where there was another short but steep climb. All sharply downhill then until the next climb at mile 8.5-mile 10. Then it was downhill until it flattened out once you got back into the village for the last mile.
My plan was to conserve energy on the hills and try and stay at around 7 min/mile on all of the climbs, and for the downhill or flat sections, I wanted to be close to 6 mins/per mile pace...looking back that was very optimistic.
From the off there was a group of about 6 guys in the lead..it would have been foolish of me to try and stay with them so I just tried to get into a nice relaxed 7 min per mile pace. Thought this would be easy up those hills, but after 1 mile I was struggling at this pace on the first long climb...the road up the climb was mainly dead straight so that made it harder. Passed a couple of guys on this climb but it wasn't intentional, everyone was struggling at that point I think.
After mile 2 we went from running on road to forestry road - gravel like. I found this surface hard enough to get through, maybe if I'd had trail runners it would have been easier? My pacing plan really went out of the window as I kind of forgot that you cant really go from running 4.5miles uphill at a slower pace to suddenly press a button and get your pace down, you need time to adjust..it took me at least a mile to recover form that long climb..after that I felt ok in the main. I almost took the wrong course at mile 10 where went from road into forest, there was a sharp left and you had to jump over a stile, only for someone behind me shouted I was gone astray!
The most pleasing thing for me on this run was that my stamina really held out well, I felt like I was flying from mile 10-12 whereas in the past this is where I've really struggled in half marathons.
The negatives for the race were mainly things outside of my control. Unfortunately the wind decided to hang around, and it felt like it was in our face up the first long climb, and also for the last mile of the race, it was awful - this was just where you needed it to be at your back but unfortunately not. I think the last mile was really difficult for a lot of people. I certainly lost time here.
Also I don't think I coped well with running on trail -but same for everyone I suppose.
Maybe I could have tried to push on a bit and improve my finishing position but doubt I'd have been able to catch more than 1 or 2 runners.
Overall, really enjoyed the race, tough, but would certainly do it again. This is a course more suited to mountain runners, would like to try a few more of these events in the future.
I'm looking at the wexford half marathon as my next event in a few weeks, so I doubt I'll be doing any long runs between now and then. That's going to be a very different route to today so I'm hoping to get the PB there.

EMPM

Thats a very decent time on what seemed like a difficult but certainly interesting course. might have a look at it for next year, i love running on trails, not ideal for speed though.

You will certainly run a faster time on the road in Wexford.

sb78

Mon 01/04/13
REST.
Didn't look after myself the way you should after a hard race. After the half marathon race I had to rush off to a family gathering. Hadn't time to do a proper cool down and no stretching was done either, and as a result woke up today with very stiff and sore legs...possibly could and should have gone for a very slow recovery run but was too lazy
No group track session tonight due to the bank holiday

Tuesday 02/04/13
Easy pace 5.1 miles in 39:37. Avg pace 7:46. Had to do a lot of stretching beforehand. Left hamstring doesn't feel right -very tight and feels like could be strained. Didn't feel it during the race itself but after these kind of races you never know what will crop up in terms of injuries, I've got to take it easy this week so probably no fast work unless I'm up for it.
Used new pair of Asics Kayano 18's on this run, I know there are 19's out now but I'm always a year behind!. First impressions not so good, didnt feel that comfortable.

Wed 03/04/2013
easy pace 5.1 miles in 40:38. Avg pace: 8:07. Legs still very sore and stiff. Pace very slow - more like recovery pace. I'm using these easy runs this week to try and rid the stiffness. Hamstring still a bit tight and sore but have been doing plenty of stretching with it.
Decided to give tonight's group track session a miss as I'm not up for it physically, hamstring would probably snap if I went...

Thurs 04/04/13
easy paced 5.04 miles. Time: 37:41. Avg pace: 7:28.
Recovery starting to kick in. Felt good throughout this run, hamstring better too

Fri 05/04/13
REST. Legs feel fine today - no running, just went for a walk in the evening instead with Mrs B. Loving the long evenings!

Sat 06/04/13
Pyramid speed session.
Did these speed intervals: 0.1m, 0.2m, 0.3m, 0.4m, 0.5m, 0.4m, 0.3m, 0.2m, 0.1m
Gave myself a 2 minute recovery jog in between each one.
Avg pace resp: 5:46, 6:01, 5:10, 5:26, 5:31, 5:46, 5:45, 6:15, 5:46
My pacing was all over the place but it wasnt intentional, to be honest I wasnt too bothered with the pace of this run, I just wanted to see if the hamstring was able to cope with a faster pace, and it was fine. I went off a bit too quick in the early intervals, and got very tired for the last 3 intervals. I'm still feelings the effects of the race a little.

Sun 07/04/13
5 mile easy pace run. Time 38:48. Avg pace: 7:46.
Took it easy again. Tried out my Kayano 18's again, but still not liking them, not sure what it is..they fit fine obviously but the 17's felt like they had more support.

This week was all about recovery. I hadn't ran a half marathon since last December, I think I took it for granted that I would recover quickly. Its easy to recover from a 5k or 10km race, but for a half marathon, you need at least a week, maybe more...

I've lost the plot as regards following training plans, they've really gone out the window as you can tell from my posts. I tried to follow some of Jack Daniel's running plans for a while, but found them too inflexible. I do most of my quality training with a group and I'd rather do that than train on my own. I think JD's plans suit someone better who is coming back from a break,. Maybe that's what I need to do, as I haven't taken a long break from running since December 2011, when I had to take 1-2 months off running due to injury and family stuff. Amazingly, the longest complete break from running I've had since then was only 1 week. But now the summer is coming (although it doesnt feel like it) and I dont want to stop running for the moment...

sb78

EMPM wrote: »

Thats a very decent time on what seemed like a difficult but certainly interesting course. might have a look at it for next year, i love running on trails, not ideal for speed though.

You will certainly run a faster time on the road in Wexford.

sorry re late reply...thanks for comment,
it was definitely a race for trail-lovers...I might look at a few more of these over the next few months...must check out the IMRA website

sb78

Its been 2 weeks exactly since I last updated this, a lot of catching up to do:

Mon 08th April: REST. Meant to do usual group track session, but couldn't get going, so decided to give it a miss. Feeling very tired today...

Tue 09th April
1 mile warm up/down.
Then threshold run of 3 x 2 mile intervals at T pace. That's roughly 6:23 mile pace for me, based on a VDOT of 54. In between each interval, 2 minute jog.
I achieved the target pace, my recorded average mile paces for the 3 intervals were 6:18, 6:18 and 6:20.
For the first interval, I felt like I was cruising, almost felt like I was going too slow. Halfway through the second interval, I started to tire, and I really had to work hard to keep up the threshold pace. For the last interval, I was again struggling to keep up the pace, and was all out for the last quarter of a mile or so.
Maybe still feeling the half marathon a bit.

Wed 10th April
Usually the night for group track work and one I normally look forward to. However, circumstances dictated that I wouldn't be able to make it tonight. Had something on at the same time and couldn't get out of it. Got home at 9pm, and was feeling pretty wrecked, watch the end of champions league and managed to talk myself into going for a run...In hindsight not a good idea:
Mixed speed session.
1 mile warm up/down.
Then 6 x 1k at i pace (that's 3 min 41s for me, based on my current VDOT of 54), with a 2 min jog in between.
I recorded times of: 4:10, 3:58, 3:57, 3:55, 3:39 and 3:36. So, I only achieved my i pace goal on 2 of the 6 intervals.
Then 4 x 200m at r pace (that's 40 second pace, again based on my current VDOT of 54)...
recorded times of 40, 39, 34, and 40 seconds, found the target pace easily achievable over such a short distance.
At the end of the last speed interval and also during my warm down, I felt my left achilles tendon/heel aching a bit. I've never had this issue before, and didn't think anything of it at the time.
Very tough session and so late at night. I think it was nearly 11pm when I got back to my house...mad stuff!

Thursday 11th April
ran 3.36 miles at recovery pace in 28 mins. Avg pace per mile: 8:20
Left achilles tendon very stiff and sore. Not sure exactly what happened, I didn't notice a pop or anything, only felt it at the end of the session. Did some stretching and massage on it. Still not too concerned. Went for recovery run but I just couldn't get going at all, even at a slow pace, and stopped early. Think I may have made the achilles worse, should have just left it alone and rested it. Bit worried as my next race is Wexford Half marathon on 21st April.

Friday 12th April
REST. Injury feels better, still a bit stiff but stretching seems to help.

Saturday 13th April
Injury felt much better so decided to go ahead and do my Q3 session for the week
1 mile warm up/down.
Then 3 mile threshold pace run. recorded average pace was 6:20.
Then did 3 x 400m at r pace (that's 1min:22secs for me) . Recorded times of 1:21, 1:25 and 1:26, so failed on 2/3 intervals.
I cut the session short as I felt the recent injury it was enough..

Sunday 14th April
REST. No chance to run today, spent day travelling and visiting friends and family.

Really feeling run down this week, finding all of the speed training hard going. Also I missed my 2 group track sessions, and I tried to catch up by doing my own speed sessions. Nearly injured myself in the process
Overall I'm not where I'd like to be with the Wexford half marathon coming up in a week's time. My form seems to have dipped a bit.

sb78

Monday 15th to Sunday 21st.
Away for this week, on work assignment and staying in hotel. Bit of a dilemma here as wont be able to do my 2 key track sessions with usual group. I'll see what the facilities are like before deciding what kind of sessions to do. Given that the race is on sunday, I dont need to kill myself this week.

Monday 15th April
1 mile warm up/down.
Then threshold run of 3 x 2 mile intervals at T pace. Recorded average mile paces of 6:20, 6:25, and 6:32, so failed on 2 of the 3 intervals.
I ran this on the roads near the hotel. This felt like really hard work throughout. I wasn't comfortable at all in any of the intervals, and that's a bit disappointing, and certainly at this stage before a half marathon I would have expected to find this threshold pace a good deal easier. The injury felt fine, so not an excuse. I can't put my finger on whats wrong, maybe just burnt out.

Tuesday 16th April
Spent about an hour in the hotel gym on the bike and treadmill. Nothing strenuous. Not really that impressed with the gym. I'm not fond of treadmill running, but again found it hard work.

Wed 17th April
Did about 40 mins on the treadmill. Alternated threshold, i and r pace. Again, not feeling that great and struggling to keep going. I'm not sick, or feeling like I'm coming down with a dose so not sure what's up. It could well be all in my head, and mind over matter, that kind of stuff.
Tomorrow is my entry deadline for the Wexford half marathon, usual last minute stuff with me!

Thursday 18th April
REST. Pulled out of the race. I don't think I can do myself justice so no point. I'd rather not bother at all than run a slow time. Might have a last minute change of heart and enter on the morning of the race if I feel better.

Friday 19th April
10 mile long run. Time: 1:08:17. Avg pace: 6:50
Mile splits: 7:26, 7:18, 7:09, 7:02, 6:50, 6:39, 6:34, 6:30, 6:24, 6:25
Started off with the intention of just going out and running a slow easy 10 miles. Started off at 7:30 pace, and I even found that pace a bit more taxing than it would normally have been. Then I decided to up the tempo a bit, just to see could I get going at all, and gradually settled into it. It wasn't easy, and I was feeling it, but I kept going and I was proud of the fact that I didn't quit. I didn't manage to get below threshold pace though, so I feel it was the right decision not to enter the race.

Saturday 20th April
Easy pace run of 4 miles. Time: 31:40. Avg pace: 31:53. Apart from the first mile, I laboured. Feeling the effects of yesterday

Sunday 21st April
1 mile warm up/down
Then 4 x 200m at r pace, with a 200m jog in between. Recorded times of 39, 40, 37, 38 secs. Felt strong during these, no problems with r pace over this distance.
Then 3 x 1k at i pace, with a 2 min jog in between. I only managed to complete 1 interval at 3:39, which was slightly ahead of i pace. Looking back, I think I didn't give myself enough time to recover after the 4 x200m's, and also I took off far too fast on the first 1k interval. That meant that I was really struggling at the end of the first 1k interval, and even after a 2 minute recovery jog, my legs were gone and I just planted myself at the start of the second 1k. At the time I was a bit disgusted with myself, but in hindsight I was too hard on myself. I'm going to try again tomorrow this session.

My next race will be the Athlone 10km on Sunday 28th April. I'm definitely going to do this one, regardless of form, though a PB at this stage might be a bit of an ask. At least the course is flat.

sb78

Time for an update:
Monday 22nd April
Did a repeat session of yesterday's abandonment. (Yesterday was meant to be 4x200m, 3x1km and 2x400m at r, i and r pace respectively) This time I managed to complete, thankfully!
For the 4 x 200m at r pace, I clocked 40,40,40 and 38 seconds, all fine and didnt feel too stressful.
In between this set, and the next 'i' pace intervals, I took a rest of over 3 minutes. Yesterday I felt that I didnt take enough of a break in between these.
Next 3 x 1km at i pace, with a 2 min jog in between. My times here were 3:32, 3:37, and 3:39, (or in mile pace that's 5:40, 5:47, and 5:50) so again mission accomplished (target pace was 3:40 for each km). Found these tough but unlike yesterday I paced myself much better, though I was a little bit legless near the end of the last km.
Final set was 2 x400m at r pace and I recorded 1:22 and 1:19 on the clock (or 5:25 in mile pace), ran these into a stiff enough wind, was happy enough with these, easily beating my target of 1:28..
Much happier with today's effort and I think that's the first quality speed session I've managed in the last few weeks where I've put everything into it. The hardest part of today's session was definitely the 3 1km intervals where it felt at times like I was running up and down on the spot without getting anywhere, also the demons asking me to stop weren't too far away during these 3 intervals!

Tuesday 23rd April
did 5 miles at 'easy pace', avg pace 7:29. Time: 37:23.

Wednesday 24th April.
My first track session for a few weeks. Good to be back training in a group context.
4 laps warm up and warm down.
Main set: 2x800m, then 3x600m, then 4x400m, finally 5x200m, with in between each rep a 200m recovery jog.
I cant remember what pace we were told to run these at, but I tried to apply them into my own 'program' using my current VDOT 54 as the target.
I'm using a Garmin forerunner basic model so times for the short intervals are give or take a second or two!
for the 800metres, I recorded 2:46 and 2:53 (5:28 and 5:37 mile pace)..
for the 600m, 2:11 (5:22 mile pace), 2:13 and 2:14
for the 400m, 1:27, 1:28, 1:25, and 1:27 (roughly 5:25 mile pace)
finally, for the 200m, 40, 37, 38, 40, 37seconds.
This was a really tough session but it was a real confidence booster for me. Going into this I felt I was probably not at my best having missed a few weeks of these track sessions. However, surprised myself a bit given all the demons of late. Looking forward to Sunday's 10km race now

Thursday 25th: Rest

Friday 26th April
An easy 4 mile run. Avg pace: 7:45.

Sat 27th April.
Did a 3.5km easy paced run with wife who is getting into this running lark.
Trying to keep myself fresh for tomorrow...
Obviously this is all written after the event, but going into this 10km race I am not sure if a PB (below 38:50) is achievable, but its a flat course so conditions should be favourable..who knows?

Sunday 28th April
10km race in Clonown, Athlone.
Time: 39:16. Finished in 8th place. Average pace per mile: 6:17
Mile splits: 6:23, 6:26, 6:22, 6:07, 6:11, 6:15
Got there a bit later than ideal. Warm up wasn't great but not an excuse...I suppose the wind was a factor, but looking back, I would have been happier going into the race with 2-3 really good weeks of training. I didn't feel I had that.
Great set-up and race organisation, friendly atmosphere..
It actually transpired that the first 2.25 miles were into a stiff enough wind. I had a pacing plan for each mile to achieve the PB but it fell by the way side after the first mile. I was comfortable enough up until then, but after mile 1 I couldn't get the pace up enough into that damned wind. By the time we turned around with the wind at our back, which was into the third mile, I was breathing heavily and possible had used up too much energy. Miles 3-5 you had more or less the wind at your back, and for the last mile or so it was more of a cross wind. I made up some time during miles 3-5, but could never get below 6 minute pace/mile. Found the last mile a tough slog but I managed to overtake 2 others. I'm not at all disappointed with today's effort, hoping I'll be able to build on this, but maybe just thought the conditions would be a bit easier than they were.
I was a good boy after the race and managed to do a proper warm-down etc. so hoping I'll recover from this race a bit better than the half marathon.

Monday 29th April
Managed an easy-paced 4.62 miles in 35:43, avg pace/mile: 7:45.
A little bit sore but nothing too bad, this run should speed up the recovery.

Tuesday 30th April
4.14 miles easy pace in 33:03. Avg pace: 7:58. Recovery going well


Getting into a really lazy habit of not updating my training log. To be honest, I don't have the time anymore to do daily updates, but even weekly updates are proving beyond me now

sb78

next target race will probably be the Strawberry half marathon on 26th May, though wouldn't mind getting 1 more 10km race in between then, either the Kildare run on the 12th May or Maynooth 10km a week later, I'll probably go for the first one..

EMPM

Hi SB, im also doing the Strawberry Half, looking forward to it. Im going to try and keep an average of 6:50 pace. Any local knowledge of the course

sb78

yeah sure, its a bit of an undulating up-and-down route, not really that flat...don't go too hard at the start as the first mile or 2 have uphill sections...I've made that mistake before... I think the worst part is when the route comes out onto the N11 about 3 miles or so from the finish. Its gently uphill and you can see straight ahead for well over a mile. Not a great part of the race to have those long straight roads...At least the last half mile or so is downhill....there should a map my route somewhere for this race, but I don't see it on the website...

EMPM

thanks, sounds like a decent route bar the last 3 miles. Ill be happy if im still on target for sub 1:30 when i hit the n11.