La brea brothallach a bhi ann....

nosnagaoithe

I guess we all remember those famous words from our school days, writing Irish short stories and the like for the Junior/Inter Cert....let's hope we see some of them later in the summer...

I've lurked on here for long enough so thought I'd try a proper training log and see how it goes. My main focus is DCM in October which is marathon number 4. Target will be sub 3'15 with current PB of 3'24 from Kildare last year. Injuries are always a concern with me so I have to manage the body somewhat - especially ITB situation.

After a reasonably solid winter followed by 3 week break in March, I have 6 weeks base building in the bag with milage of 35-40 pw. Next up is Terenure 5M on Sunday which I am using as a benchmark to see where I am at. PB from Raheny is 32'40 from January so let's see how it goes.....although not sure I am in PB shape right now.

nosnagaoithe

Week so far:
Mon - 5.5M at lunchtime with 3*1M @ 10k race pace - felt ok, was feeling it a little as first time I've done any speed work for a few weeks

Wed - 12M midweek med/long : this is a staple of my week and is usually a 12-14M easy run to improve aerobic capacity. Felt strong throughout despite headwind coming back up the coast from Dun Laoghaire into the city.

My Garmin 405 packed up after Monday's run so I'm a little stuck at the minute - I've tried all avenues to get it resolved but the screen is frozen with "100% charged" and Monday's date and time locked. Think I'll send it to them and see what they can do.

belcarra

nosnagaoithe wrote: »

My Garmin 405 packed up after Monday's run so I'm a little stuck at the minute - I've tried all avenues to get it resolved but the screen is frozen with "100% charged" and Monday's date and time locked. Think I'll send it to them and see what they can do.

Have you tried raising this as a question over on the garmin thread? Dr. Krusty usually offers tremendously success outcomes!

nosnagaoithe

belcarra wrote: »

Have you tried raising this as a question over on the garmin thread? Dr. Krusty usually offers tremendously success outcomes!

will do thanks !

nosnagaoithe

2nd half of the week was ;

Thursday - 5M recovery run around Irishtown reserve , legs in a jock, very heavy

Friday - 8M easy on grass around Newbridge Demesne, Donabate. Again, legs were like lead and no zip at all. Given I was running the Terenure 5M on Sunday this was a major concern.

Sunday - Sportsworld 5M : 34'46. As expected was v flat today and after a 6'20 first mile I struggled badly. This is 2 mins slower than Raheny this year so not good. Having said that I've upped the intensity and distance in training the last 2 weeks and did not taper for this so not overly worried. Bigger fish to fry this year....

Total for week : 37.5M
Massage tomorrow night and a step back a little in milage this week, before the next push higher.

nosnagaoithe

Monday - fairly full on sports massage , legs were in a jock and badly needed it. Day off today and back out tom night for usual midweek 12M easy. I'm mulling over running the BHAA Dunboyne 5M next Tuesday night....will see how the legs respond over next few days

Peckham

Just spotted your log after you posted on mine. Looks like our training follows similar routes - Lusk, coast road from Dun Laoghaire, Irishtown Nature Reserve. We've probably passed each other along the Lusk bypass many times.

Let me know if you fancy some company on an easy few miles around Lusk!

nosnagaoithe

Peckham wrote: »

Just spotted your log after you posted on mine. Looks like our training follows similar routes - Lusk, coast road from Dun Laoghaire, Irishtown Nature Reserve. We've probably passed each other along the Lusk bypass many times.

Let me know if you fancy some company on an easy few miles around Lusk!

No problem - I certainly will....I'll post that Lusk race in the events section also as I don't think it's getting much publicity at all.

Peckham

nosnagaoithe wrote: »

I'll post that Lusk race in the events section also as I don't think it's getting much publicity at all.

shhh....I finished third in the 12k last year. The less people that know about it, the better the chance of improving my position!

nosnagaoithe

Wed - 12M easy out East Link, Clontarf and back down Dollymount beach, into Ringsend. Decent breeze out which made the way back in tough enough. Finished a shade under 1'36'' or just under 8 min/mile pace. Had forgotten to bring my usual second bagel which I normally have at 3pm on Wed....meant I was low on energy during last 3/4 miles.

Thurs - 4M easy/rec lunchtime run down Sandymount and back. Got caught in a very heavy, squally shower, with strong winds. Meh....

Leg watch : still not great, a real lack of zip and freshness once again.

nosnagaoithe

Fri/Sat - Rest days : had a lot of family stuff on with my 2 year old daughters birthday amongst other things....decided to give the legs a break

Sun - 8M in 60'58 : out in 31'16, back in 29'42 ...happy with this as should have been a bit longer but missed getting out in the AM due to further distractions on home front. As it was a shorter run, I upped the pace to see how the legs were...happy to report feeling much fresher now.

Mon - 5M easy at lunchtime in 39 mins ish : went down to inspect the damage done at merrion gates and it looks like someone took the gate clean off. Hope the train home isn't delayed tonight like this mng....:rolleyes:

Plan for week : 43M to get done this week - will bring midweek 12M forward to tom night due to Ireland match on Wed night. Have scrapped the idea of racing Dunboyne tom night.

nosnagaoithe

Tuesday - 12M easy run : moved this forward one day as wanted to watch match tonight ....tipped out to DL and back to work at Ringsend. Nice evening for a few miles but got hungry again on last 3 or 4 miles as had forgotten my afternoon bagle. Seems to make a big difference to my energy levels. Time was a shade over 1'34.

Wed - OFF : will do a decent stretching session and spend time on the Foam Roller working the ITB.

nosnagaoithe

Wed - spent 30 minutes stretching and foam rolling the damned ITB...feeling reasonably ok

Thursday - 6M tempo at lunchtime out the canal and back. This was great. First decent session in ages. Went out in around 23min and came back in 20'54 (Garmin took forever to lock in so guessing first half). Lots of zip in legs and was up on the toes throughout. Great eye candy along the canal at lunchtime which helped

nosnagaoithe

Over the last week or so I'm finally starting to feel confident again and seeing some of the base miles translating to improved fitness levels. I always find the drop in "easy" pace a good indicator of this and easy pace now feels like 7'40 compared to 8 mins at the start of April when this cycle started.

Friday - 7M after work ....nice and easy out to Rush and back to ease into the long weekend. Felt good after previous day's quicker run.

Sat - rest

Sun - 13M in the afternoon in a handy 1'44. Just a leisurely trot to get the second long run of the week in. No issues and ran the last two miles quicker just to see how it felt...think last was 7'20 which will be MP for me.

Week summary : 43M in the bag which is bang on target. Job done.

Next week : 46M target including midweek 13/14M, and longer run on Sunday of 15M ...again focused on increasing the endurance work.

nosnagaoithe

Monday - 1M easy my 5 yr old has been asking me to go running for a few days so I took him out for a bit. Just some sprints and a lap of the football pitch, finished off with some stretches ....he loved it

Tuesday - 6M steady at lunchtime. Started off 1M easy, then ran 4M @ 7'15ish pace, 1M easy to finish Had been using a mate's Garmin which ran out of steam half way through so guessing at pace on last 2M or so. Nice to run in some decent heat for a change.

Legwatch - a little on the heavy side so a good stretch tonight, and some foam roller action

nosnagaoithe

Wed - plan was a minimum of 12M up to 14M max. Given the heat, was happy to get 12 done. Took it handy, so clocked around 1'38 mark for the distance (just ordered replacement Garmin yest). Mulling over running the Docklands 10k on 20th June as that week is a step back week for me, so milage won' be too high, and I could do a little taper into it to freshen the legs.

nosnagaoithe

Thurs - busy day in work so lunch run was reduced to 4M recovery on grass in Sean Moore Park. Legs tight initially but loosened up after a couple of miles. Looking forward to rest day on Sat.....

nosnagaoithe

Friday - 6M easy at lunctime - pace 7'50 mile. Legs badly in need of some respite and the good news is tomorrow is a rest day. LSR on Sunday to round off a decent week. Have made the call to race the Docklands 10k on June 20th - have a soft PB of 42'10 to address.

blockic

nosnagaoithe wrote: »

Friday - 6M easy at lunctime - pace 7'50 mile. Legs badly in need of some respite and the good news is tomorrow is a rest day. LSR on Sunday to round off a decent week. Have made the call to race the Docklands 10k on June 20th - have a soft PB of 42'10 to address.

Whats the target for Docklands nosnagaoithe? Looking at the training you'll be looking at well under the 40?

nosnagaoithe

blockic wrote: »

Whats the target for Docklands nosnagaoithe? Looking at the training you'll be looking at well under the 40?

Hi Blockic

Not sure tbh - certainly target a sub 40 later in the summer ....I'd say anything sub 41 would be acceptable right now. I've only really cranked it up in last 2 weeks after 7/8 weeks of base building on just easy miles. No real speed work done as such, but aerobic capacity, etc is building from the endurance work. Later in the training I'll do longer tempo runs (10M) and use longer intervals (such as 10M runs inc 3*2M reps off 4 min rec) to aid speed endurance. After a few of those sessions hopefully the sub 40 will come. Could do with shedding half a stone also

Are you running it yourself?

nosnagaoithe

Sat - rest day...although ended up at Greenann Farm at a work family day. Was a great day out and we had a blast....

Sun - 15M LSR (no Garmin/felt like 8min mile effort) : decent effort this, around the undulating terrain of North County Dublin. Lusk-Rush-Loughshinny-Skerries- Lusk loop.... getting some decent hill work during it as well. Felt good throughout, 1 stop in Skerries for a sports drink, no gels taken. Headed out around 5pm as it was starting to cool off a little - had a nice easterly breeze keeping me cool as I tipped around.

Week in review : target 46M / 44M completed. Got the key sessions done so not overly disappointed to miss out by 2 miles. Endurance really improving and feeling much more comfortable doing the quicker stuff also. Will check weight situation in the morning.

Next week : 50M - first 50M week in over a year....week after next will be a step back week so fingers crossed I can hit the 50M which sets me up nicely.

blockic

nosnagaoithe wrote: »

Hi Blockic

Not sure tbh - certainly target a sub 40 later in the summer ....I'd say anything sub 41 would be acceptable right now. I've only really cranked it up in last 2 weeks after 7/8 weeks of base building on just easy miles. No real speed work done as such, but aerobic capacity, etc is building from the endurance work. Later in the training I'll do longer tempo runs (10M) and use longer intervals (such as 10M runs inc 3*2M reps off 4 min rec) to aid speed endurance. After a few of those sessions hopefully the sub 40 will come. Could do with shedding half a stone also

Are you running it yourself?

Good stuff, not running it myself but was interesting in your target. I reckon you'll be hitting sub 40 handy once you get a couple of sessions into ya. As the pace looks to be there.

nosnagaoithe

Mon - 4M recovery on grass at lunchtime. Legs were very heavy from yesterday's effort and I was tired all day, never got going really. Anyway, 4 very slow miles to get the week started. Loosened out after 3 miles or so and did a few stretches. My foam roller cracked last week so need to buy a new one this week as I can sense some tightness in the legs again. Plan is rest on Tuesday and then med/long Wed after work.

nosnagaoithe

Tues - Rest (planned)

Wed - Rest (not planned)

Thurs - 8M easy @ guess 7'50-8'00 pace (no garmin)

Have been feeling poorly all week with sore throat and head cold....think it's doing the rounds. Missed the usual Wed night med/long, as was very lethargic and short on energy. Got out this evening for usual out and back to Rush - caught in a savage heavy shower .5 mile from the gaff. Legs felt good and run was v enjoyable....hopefully am over the worst of the sickness. Highlight of the day was getting tickets sorted for the Liverpool v Celtic match on 10 Aug

nosnagaoithe

A real struggle to get out the last few days - I've just started a building project on my house and it's taken up a lot of my time (no surprises there). A grand total of 12M in the bag last week - there's no point getting beat up about it, and it's sufficiently early in the mara training cycle to write it off. One can normally expect to have 1 or 2 weeks like this in any cycle so let's hope it's not the way of things to come. The next 3 weeks the plan is 3*50M weeks ....I head off on 2 weeks holidays after that, and running 50M p.w. in 35 degree heat in Spain won't be an option. Essential to dig in and get the miles done between now and July 7th.

This week :

Monday - 5M easy at lunchtime....just getting the legs turning over again after a few days off.

SluggerOToole

nosnagaoithe, can u recommend a suitable garmin for an old school slugger like meself? also that's some mileage. I try to get 15-20 a week..I really have some work to do!! (aka Lord McNaughton!)
PS love ur blog!

nosnagaoithe

SluggerOToole wrote: »

nosnagaoithe, can u recommend a suitable garmin for an old school slugger like meself? also that's some mileage. I try to get 15-20 a week..I really have some work to do!! (aka Lord McNaughton!)
PS love ur blog!

Good man Slugger - keep plugging away and you'll be up to running a decent DCM time in October

nosnagaoithe

Tuesday AM - 6M easy at lunchtime , didn't push it at all with the race on Thursday night. Still no watch.

Tuesday PM - got out at 9.30pm for another 4M run at recovery pace of 8.30 min mile.

10M in total, and 15M so far this week. Plan for rest of week is 10k docklands race tom and 16M LSR on Sunday. I'll fill in the rest of the milage Fri/Sat to hit 50M for the week. Back on track it seems.

Got re-conditioned Garmin yesterday evening which is great.

nosnagaoithe

Ran Docklands 10k last night - some crowds doing it and atmosphere was great. Stayed reasonably close to front of wave 1 as was conscious of the tight corners around Grand Canal Dock/South Quays. 1st mile in 6'19 was decent and then the splits drifted up to around 6'40 area which was ok for me. Had a disaster at 7km marker as my left shoelace opened - this took a few seconds to unravel and re-tie which did my head in. Managed to pick it up again and finished strongly for 41'20 (garmin)/41'21 (chip). A decent PB of almost 1 min verus November 2012 on same route (Mark Pollack run). Gonna target the Malahide Park Runs to work on the speed and eventually break the 40 min barrier. Shout out to my work colleague Mark Christie who won well in 29.57.

knockoncd

Well done on the pb nos, always tough when you have something unexpected happen but it,ll strengthen you for the bigger battles ahead I'm sure.

nosnagaoithe

knockoncd wrote: »

Well done on the pb nos, always tough when you have something unexpected happen but it,ll strengthen you for the bigger battles ahead I'm sure.

Thanks Frank. Are you back from the warm weather training?