A fourth major - Chicago 2013

Peckham

Having recently looked over one of my previous training logs I've decided to dip my toe back into this world of trying to make witty remarks about my training and experiences out pounding the roads.

More seriously though I'm hoping to benefit from the wisdom and encouragement here, and have a record I can look back on after the event.

This will be marathon number 7 for me, and the fourth of the so-called majors. Haven't really done any systematic training since this time last year for Boston, and after some good base building months at the end of last year work pressures got in the way and running was a bit haphazard in the early part of this year.

Looking to get into decent shape now and have a shot at my 2:58 PB when toeing the line in Chicago in 205 days time. Have a rough plan in place with 10ks in May and June, probably the Frank Duffy in August.

So, here goes....

Peckham

Thursday 21 March
A windy few miles from work in Blackrock into the city centre. Fortunately wind was at my back most of the way, so made it relatively pleasant. The worst bit was the 10 minute wait at the bus stop on the quays for the bus home, when the cold and wet entered the bones!

This route will be a key feature over the coming months, as the plan is that it will become my long run route as office is 18 miles from home, and some ongoing road improvements near home mean that it is now feasible to run the whole route. Should make it much more straightforward to ensure that long runs get done and the family isn't abandoned on weekend mornings.

6.3 miles @ 7:23 pace

Krusty_Clown

Good to see the log back. Any thoughts on a plan for Chicago?

Peckham

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Good to see the log back. Any thoughts on a plan for Chicago?

Probably something based on the Pfitzinger 70/12 plan, preceded by the McMillan 10k sessions. Yet to be decided though.

belcarra

I'll be following your log with interest Peckham as I'll be joining you in the windy city!
I'll probably be looking at about 3:10 or so but have a mate (DukeofDromada) who will be in around your time running also.

Best of luck with the training!

Peckham

Saturday 23rd March
Didn't get out for a run yesterday, as once I had gotten home from work it seemed that little bit too miserable outside to venture out. But had great plans for Saturday.

Was on parkrun duty this morning, which would normally involve a 15 minute drive to Malahide, swan around Malahide Castle for 2 hours before retiring to Avoca Cafe for an excessively large scone and coffee and then the drive home. However, today the plan was run to train station, train to Malahide, and then run home after the event (sacrificing the excessively large scone).

Left the house late, so the leisurely jog to the train ended up as a 10 minute PMP run in the freezing morning air. Recovered on the train before a more leisurely jog around Malahide to find WalkedIt and hook up for pre-run set-up. Still did the swanning around bit during the run, and was so cold at the end of it that I needed the coffee, and sure might as well have the accompanying scone while I'm at it.

Hit the road again for a the 8 mile run home, but this turned in to a 9 miler as I took the scenic route back out of the park (not that there's any other type of route). Was looking forward to trying this route home as it's one I haven't run before and part of it is going to become the final 5 or 6 miles of my long runs home from work during the summer. It's going to be a tester, the road between Swords and Lusk is certainly no picture postcard scene. It will be a real test in keeping the mind focussed and the head down (whilst avoiding getting hit by cars in close proximity at times).

Finished off a week with 5 running days and 30 miles. Doesn't look like much, but given that it brings my monthly total to 41 miles, it's clearly much better the preceding weeks!

2 miles @ 7:10 pace
9 miles @ 7:07 pace

blockic

Good luck with the log Peckham, hopefully see you at the start line in October. I'll likely be aiming for a time similar to yourself so I'm looking forward to seeing the path you'll take on here!

Peckham

blockic wrote: »

Good luck with the log Peckham, hopefully see you at the start line in October. I'll likely be aiming for a time similar to yourself so I'm looking forward to seeing the path you'll take on here!

Cheers blockic. Just found your log, so will be following you with interest too!

Peckham

A full week to catch up with here. Got off to a shaky start as work was busy and only managed to squeeze in a few short runs. These were the sort of times when it would have been easy to just skip the run, but getting out the door is more important than the number of miles run, so even if it was for only 3 miles it was worth it.

Objective one – Ensure at least 5 running days – Done (6 running days)
Objective two – Run 35 miles – Done (36 miles)
Objective three – One run of 10 miles – Missed (but 3 consecutive days of 8 miles makes up for this)

Was away on a big family weekend over Easter, so had the opportunity to get out for a few runs. Had mapped out a nice 8 mile route in advance, and Plan A was to run that route on each of the three days I was there, but as often is the case with these weekends away, running plans can slip by the wayside. However, managed to escape on each of the days and hit the road. Very enjoyable despite the cutting wind when I turned out the hotel gates. Pace looking a little fast on these runs, but expecting things will slow down as the mileage increases.

Monday – 3 miles @ 7:35 pace
Tuesday – 0 miles
Wednesday – 5.1 miles @ 7:12 pace
Thursday – 4 miles @ 7:37 pace
Friday – 8.2 miles @ 7:11 pace
Saturday – 8 miles @ 7:12 pace
Sunday – 8 miles @ 7:18 pace

Peckham

Monday 1st April
Yet another run that would have been easy to skip. Got home mid-afternoon from the family eggs-travaganca, and would have been easy to not head out into that cutting wind for a 5 mile plod, but I encouraged myself out the door.
5.28 miles @ 7:18 pace

Tuesday 2nd April
The longer brightness in the evening and a prompt departure from the office meant I was able to hit the country lanes for this road, instead of having to rely on the brightly lit, but mind-numbing, bypass road and housing estates. Same route as yesterday, same result
5.28 miles @ 7:16 pace

Noticed the Aer Lingus sale earlier today, so flights to Chicago are booked for myself and Mrs Peckham. 980 euro return for the two of us. Reckon that's as low as it's going to go and will stop me having to pricecheck the website every few days! So, that's the serious financial commitment made, just need to match it with the training commitment.

Peckham

It's been a while since I've updated this, so here goes.

Thursday 4th April
The same route as the Monday and Tuesday runs, but somewhere along the way I managed to pick up an extra .02 of a mile. A wider corner? A few extra steps up the driveway before I hit stop on the Garmin? Who knows?
5.3 miles @ 7:12 pace

Friday 5th April
A run home from work, well part of the way home from work. Eventually these runs will be building up to 18 miles which is the full distance from office to home and will be an efficient way of getting the long runs done. However, this one was a nice run from Blackrock along Sandymount strand and then up the canal, over the Phoenix Park and then down the quays to Connolly Station for the train home. Should really have taken an alternative route through town, and the quays on a Friday rush hour are not conducive to running.
12.06 miles @ 7:20 pace

Saturday 6th April
parkrun day, so plan was do the Run Director duties and then run home from Malahide. Got a little delayed with some problems with the results upload but hit the road and got the dull 8 miles done.
8.43 miles @ 7:10 pace

Totals for week
35.35 miles (34 planned)
5 runs (5 planned)

Peckham

Monday 8th April
Planned to run from office part of the way home, but got delayed in work so wasn't leaving until after 7. This is not uncommon, and previously I would have scrapped the run and headed home by train. However, that sort of approach is not conducive to good marathon training, so have resolved to make sure I get these 1 hour runs in, regardless of being delayed in work. Was a nice spring evening, and nice to be out in the brightness running along the coast again.
7.06 miles @ 7:36 pace

Tuesday 9th April
Carbon copy of Monday. Delayed in work again, but got the run home done regardless. However, this time there wasn't a bus at the train station so had to run the final mile home.
8.26 miles @ 7:23 pace

Thursday 11th April
Third run home from the office in a week, which is a record for me! However it also means that half of my wardrobe is now sitting in the office.
5.66 miles @ 7:11 pace

Nothing done since Thursday. Ended up working late at home on Thursday night, and was so tired on Friday morning that I couldn't motivate myself to pack the running gear into the bag for a planned 13 miles from the office on Friday. Was a shame, as was feeling great by the end of the day, got out on time and the sun was shining. Ended up stuck on a delayed train, and a long journey home. Karma.

Peckham

Sunday 14th April
Hasn't been a great week of running, but wanted to end it with a solid 1 hour run. Busy day (of work ) ahead, so got out reasonably earlier into some pleasant, albeit windy conditions. Enjoyable start to the day, listening to the Marathon Talk lads chatting away.
8.46 miles @ 7:10 pace

Totals for week
29.42 miles (38 planned)
4 runs (5 planned)

Happy enough that I got some runs done that previously I would have skipped on the basis that I was too busy.

Peckham

Another busy week at work, so time for runs was at a premium. Managed to squeeze them in, which is important, as there'll always be busy life getting in the way of a training plan.

Planned to run home from work on Monday, but got caught late in the office - and then terrible news came through from Boston.

Tuesday 16th April
The heart was on Boylston Street during this run. Felt really affected by the events in Boston, found it really difficult seeing the pictures of the finish line - looks so familiar from last year.
11.4 miles @ 7:19 pace

Wednesday 17th April
Back out for the 5.30am run. It may only be a short gentle jaunt, but at that time of the morning it tests the resiliance rather than the legs.
4 miles @ 7:52 pace

Friday 19th April
Late evening in the office, but that's the final deadline passed that has made the last two weeks so tight for time. Hopefully a clearer run at next week. Nice sun shiny run from Blackrock into town.
8.3 miles @ 7:21 pace

Saturday 20th April
parkrun day. Decided to have a crack at the course myself today - only my second run. Combined it with a post-run volunteering role, so kept the volunteer tally high.

Had identified this as a great way to get a good session in and it being 8 miles from home, I could still get a few miles in as well.

Decided to follow the TRR strategy and tackle this with no watch. Well, with a watch but have it set to a time-of-day screen so I wouldn't be tempted to check the pace. As usual, the start was fast (despite the hill), and found myself back in about 15th place, but over the first lap a few of the guys dropped back and I was up into 9th starting into the second lap. No Annette Kealy to chase this time, who served as my unknowing pacemaker last time. However, found myself sticking behind someone in a Donadea 50k tshirt and kicked passed him with about a mile to go. Well, I went passed him to share the pacing duty but he just dropped back as I did. Really thought I was flying and would be looking at a sub-18 finish, but watch stopped on 18:14 which is 3 seconds slower than my previous run here. A little disappointed. Won't be taking racing advice from TRR anymore.

A jog around the park to pick up the directional signs afterwards, followed by coffee and scone before my 8 miles home.

3 miles @ 6:00 pace (18:14 5k)
10.3 miles @ 7:23 pace

Peckham

Sunday 21st April
After following the heroics in London all morning, it would be a shame not to go out and honour them through a few miles of my own. Also wanted to push the weekly total over the 40 mile mark. Legs were a bit stiff from Saturday, so it was just going to be a few easy miles to shake them out a bit. Started in the sunshine, finished in the hail!
3.6 miles @ 7:37 pace

Totals for week
40.9 miles (40 planned)
5 runs (5 planned)
1 race

Peckham

Monday 22nd April
Legs very sore from Saturday, but wanted to keep them ticking over. Had scheduled a 6 miler, but eased this back to 3 miles.
3 miles @ 7:50 pace

village runner

Peckham wrote: »

Monday 22nd April
Legs very sore from Saturday, but wanted to keep them ticking over. Had scheduled a 6 miler, but eased this back to 3 miles.
3 miles @ 7:50 pace

Great to see you back at it. Chicago is class.

TRR

Peckham wrote: »

Really thought I was flying and would be looking at a sub-18 finish, but watch stopped on 18:14 which is 3 seconds slower than my previous run here. A little disappointed. Won't be taking racing advice from TRR anymore.

You just need to run harder were you breathing through your arse? If not the absence of the watch wasn't the issue

Peckham

Tuesday 23rd April
A beautiful evening to run home from work, so was clearing my desk at 4:55 in anticipation of a bolt for the door on the button of 5pm. Got out into the sunshine at 5.10, and off I went. Usual route along the Sandymount Strand and then out towards Irishtown Nature Reserve. Rather than doing the loop of the Nature Reserve, I continued on towards Pigeon House road and out along the South Wall (never knew that's what it was called, but that's what Google Maps calls it). Not the ideal surface for running, but perfect location for an evening like this. Wanted to run to the end of the wall, but time was pressing and I had a train connection to make up at Connolly Station, so had to spin around and head back down Pigeon House Road and up the quays.

Battery died on the watch on the way home on the train, so the last 1.2 miles up home from the station aren't logged. Since I got the 410 that keeps happening to me - it doesn't really give you much notification of the battery life. First world problems.

10.8 miles @ 7:22 pace
1.2 miles @ ???? pace

Peckham

Wednesday 24th April
Up bright and early for a dawn run. We've just started getting milk delivered in the morning, and didn't notice them on the doorstep when leaving so nearly squashed 2 litres of mile all over the doorstep. Would have been a pretty bad start to the day.

Tough to get moving, but trudged through the run.

4 miles @ 7:44 pace

Peckham

Thursday 25th April
A repeat of Tuesday's run out towards South Wall, but this time didn't run as far along the Wall in order to avoid any stress in trying to make my train. Did an extra loop up at IFSC in order to bring it up to 10 miles, and then supplemented it further with the jog up from the train station.

Listened to this week's Marathon Talk podcast which was entirely focussed on the London Marathon. Amazing that the 5th place finisher on their Marathon Talk podium this week was a 2:36 marathon! In many weeks a sub-3 would get you top of that podium.

11.4 miles @ 7:19 pace

Peckham

Friday 26th April
Off to Punchestown later today, so had to get out early this morning. Basically a repeat of Wednesday's run, but with fresher legs and a brighter sky.

4 miles @ 7:33 pace

Peckham

Saturday 27th April

Plan was run & train to Malahide, parkrun and then run home, which would give me about 12 miles including a 5k pace run.

A few pints on Friday during/after Punchestown meant the stomach wasn't up to 5k pace, the cat getting sick just before I left the house meant running to the station had to be replaced with a lift to the station, and then a bumper turnout* at parkrun meant the post-event admin duties took longer than normal which meant that the run home had to be shelved as I needed to get home for family stuff.

Ended up being a short run around Malahide Castle whilst waiting for my train home.

2.5 miles @ 7:09 pace

*Malahide yesterday became only the 4th event in the parkrun world to break the 500 runners mark, with 3 of those events achieving that in the past month. Boomtime for parkrun it would seem (last 2 or 3 weeks have seen in excess of 30,000 people run parkrun)

Peckham

Sunday 28th April
Hadn't planned on running today, but yesterday's curtailed running meant that I was a few miles short of my 40+ mile target. After two easy days I didn't see the point of heading out for another easy day, so aimed to do three things:

1) Re-introduce my feet to my racing flats
2) Re-introduce my body to 400s
3) Do enough miles to get over the 40 mile target for the week

Nice easy 1.5 mile warm-up was followed by 6x400 at faster than 5k pace. Have set myself a goal of running a 10k race in mid-July at 6 minute pace, so wanted to do these at 5:45 pace.

Back to a nice stretch of footpath along a bypass where I've done this session in the past. Felt nice and handy - alternated with the wind and against the wind and ran them in 84-81-85-84-85-78.

Bit of a hotspot on the left foot after wearing the flats, and wouldn't have been able to go further than the 5 miles I did. Will try them again on a 4 mile recovery run midweek before deciding whether or not to wear them on a 10k race next Sunday.

5 miles @ 7:23 pace

Totals for week
42 miles (40+ planned)
7 runs (6 planned)
1 session

Peckham

Monday 29th April
Another run home from work, on a route that's getting very familiar (but at least is scenic and peaceful, and very pleasant on a sunny evening) - although turning back into the wind on South Wall was a bit of a shock to the system and made it a drag all the way up the quays. Very envious running past those enjoying a beer outside Ely on George's Dock. But I like to think that they were envious of my smooth running style. :cool:

That's an 11 day running streak. Maybe the blister that's developed on my left foot from yesterday's experiment with flats is a bit of a warning.

11.4 miles @ 7:15 pace

Peckham

Tuesday 30th April
A nice jaunt around the backroads near home on a sunny evening to finish off April, and bring to an end a 12 day running streak as tomorrow's work and family schedule is such that fitting in a run is not feasible.

Picked up the pace a few times with Muse blaring in my ears.

6.3 miles @ 7:06 pace

|April|
Miles|165|
Days ran|23|
Average miles per run day|7.2|
Average miles per calendar day|5.5|



Feel encouraged by that, the statistics for March aren't even worth the effort of typing them.

Peckham

Thursday 2nd May
Reading my Daniel's book on the way into work this morning reminded me that I had better start getting the legs used to T-pace running again. I have a 10k plan kicking off next week, and there'll need to be one of these sessions each week within that plan, so decided to include a little tester into the run home from work. A quick look at the tables in the book suggested that my T-pace is 6:20, so plan was to kick into that pace as soon as I crossed over Merrion Gates as it gives a nice uninterrupted 3 mile stretch. First 1.5 miles felt fairly straightforward, next half mile or so a bit tougher, but was grand towards the end. Kept the pace pretty consistent which was the important bit.

I do these runs with a backpack, which isn't ideal, but not much choice on that front. Even after recovery I wouldn't have been able to kick into another T-pace segment. That's not far off target marathon pace. Lots of work to be done.

1.9 miles @ 7:13 pace
20 mins @ 6:18 pace
2 miles @ 8:07 pace

Peckham

Saturday 3rd May
Rugby training (for a 2 year old!) followed by a drive to Donegal, and then immediately out for dinner with the in-laws meant I had this day marked down as a write off in terms of running. However was back at the in-laws house by early evening so despite the 8oz steak and chips just consumed at dinner, there was opportunity to hit the rural laneways in the sun and get in a few miles to avoid having two days scratched (a late Friday in the office meant no run that day). Steak and chips is not ideal pre run fuelling! Got lost on the run too.

5.1 miles @ 7:36 pace

Peckham

Sunday 4th May
Northwest 10k, Letterkenny
39:11 (48th place out of 1,079)

Mixed feelings. Had a sub-38 in mind for this race, but knew it was a tough course with a hard climb about halfway. Was less than 5 minutes behind some high class runners, so am guessing they found it tough too.

However, what an amazing event. It's the first event in the Donegal Grand Prix Series - 50 races in 21 weeks (that's not a typo!). All organised by clubs, and all priced at €15 or less (except for the Aran Mor 5k, where you pay a bit extra for the ferry!) with most priced at less than €10. All within a county that has one-eighth the population of Dublin.

The plan: 10k is 6 miles, so if I want to run sub-38 I just need to run 6:15 pace. Sounds about right after my parkrun a few weeks ago. That would have me on track for my target 10k 12k in July with virtually no speedwork of note to date. No need to factor that pesky 0.2k into the calculations

Pre-race: After a plate of sandwiches at my wife's aunt's house I headed to the start for a small warm up. MC guy was in flying form giving a minute by minute countdown to the start of the race. Lots of club vests from all parts of Donegal and throughout Ulster/Connacht jogging up and down the road gave some idea that this was no half-arsed event. Lined up where felt about right, and was one of the few not sporting a club vest. Club athletics looks to be in a good place in this part of the country.

Mile 1 (Flat and fast). Found myself way back down the field after hoards of vests came streaming past me. Even after half a mile there was plenty of jostling and heels being clipped, despite the wide road. (6:06)

Mile 2 (Flat and steady). I knew we were heading towards a big hill so focussed on staying relaxed. Running alongside someone in a Letterkenny AC top so decided to get some local knowledge about this forthcoming hill. I was hoping for a "Sure, it's grand, no problem", instead I got a wry smile and a "It's a f%ckin killer" (6:17)

Mile 3 (The hill). Hill started as soon as the watch beeped my second mile and it was a 100 foot climb over the course of that mile. Looks like my steady second mile paid off as I was overtaking constantly on the hill (6:39)

Mile 4 (Down the hill and back up again). Crested the hill and had some bikes alongside the group I was in. Got some good knowledge of what lay ahead and relaxed into the decline. Then it was right back up another hill onto the Main Street (61ft loss, 85 ft gain) (6:23)

Mile 5 (Cruising downhill). Good crowds along the Main Street and it was feeling comfortably hard. Could tell I was in better shape than those around me and continued to push forward (6:03)

Mile 6 (Flat and fast). Just one lap of a bypass and it was home again. Nice and flat, and was able to pick off runners ahead of me. Probably passed 25 runners over the final two miles. (6:11)

Finish: Hadn't been monitoring the watch during the race and was honestly expecting to see 37:XX when I hit the button, given that I must have been running faster than 6:15 pace. Moreso when I heard the MC saying they were still waiting on the 3rd place female. Very disappointed to see 39, then I did the maths properly and factored in that 0.2 mile.

In hindsight I guess I didn't really race it, and was treating it more as a tempo session. Great selection of chocolate at the finish line, and a very nice technical t-shirt (although I went for too small a size, so that has now been passed on to Mrs Peckham).


Weekly totals
37 miles (45 planned)
5 runs (6 planned)
1 race
1 session
No long run - need to get on top of this

theboyblunder

Very good progress coming back Peckham. There is loads of time - I was in a quite similar situation to you fitness wise last year, coming back from a break to run an autumn marathon.....with a good block of training the steady improvements are very motivating.

Hoping to pull the same trick this year

Good run in the 10K, that hill sounds like a killer alright

Peckham

Monday 6th May
Still in the hills of Donegal, I decided to do one of my favourite routes in that part of the world. It basically takes in three "country walks" and takes me on the Bluestack Way at a few stages. A nice mix too, starting with the tough climb up to Loughcrillan (270ft in 1 mile), some great views over Glenties followed by a fun sharp decline back down into Glenties again. Through the town and out the country lanes of Meenahalla, and then over Altar before an extra loop in the town to round it off to 10 miles. Kept the eyes away from the watch in order to soak in the views.

10.2 miles @ 7:08 pace


Tuesday 7th May
Had hoped to repeat Monday's run around Glenties, but we decided to hit the road early and get back to Dublin. We were taking Peckham Jnr to the playground in Ardgillan that afternoon, so plan was to run home from there after managing to extract him out of the pirate ship. Upon arriving there we met one of Mrs Peckham's friends with her little one so I left them all to it and I headed off running. Had got some good news earlier that day, so had a bit of a pep in my step as I hit the hills of Ardgillan (possible future parkrun venue). Some nice climbing (for the 3rd day in a row!), and the pep in my step had me pushing the pace a bit too much. Pace drifted into no man's land - final 6 miles at sub-7 pace (too hard for easy running, too slow for pace running), but throughly enjoyable in the sunshine with a smile on my face.

10.2 miles @ 7:06 pace


Wednesday 8th May
Legs felt the exertions of the previous days, so just an easy 4 miles listening to Marathon Talk and some interesting stats from London Marathon.

4.1 miles @ 7:38 pace