The Windy Road to Nowhere

pconn062

Mile race tomorrow? Bound to be a PB anyway!

ThePiedPiper

pconn062 wrote: »

Mile race tomorrow? Bound to be a PB anyway!

yeah maybe.. Chance for you to kick my ass!

pconn062

RunForestRun wrote: »

yeah maybe.. Chance for you to kick my ass!

I wouldn't bet on that! Training from 7-9 now, first race @ 7.20.

ThePiedPiper

Time for a bit of an update I suppose:

Thurs 8th May: 5 miles in 34:30

Did that as a progressive tempo on the treadmill, going from 12km'h up to 16.5 or so.

Monday: 12th May: 4 miles, maybe in 30 minutes

Can't remember it too well, Garmin was dead, so have no record.

Weds: 14th May: 7.5 miles in 6:58 pace

Did my Sandpit loop for this, heading off around 9:10, getting in around 10.

Fri: 4:65 miles in 7:24 pace

First run home from work in far, far too long. There's so many reasons why training has been completely rubbish this past few weeks, but it is what it is.

I'm going to do a 20 miler either tomorrow or Sunday, which will determine the strategy for Cork. I'm hoping that I haven't gone backwards too much in terms of sub-3, but when I compare the big work I would've put in for all previous sub-3 marathons, this has been nowhere remotely close. I can only hope that I had a lot of time in hand before things went pear-shaped. The long run this weekend will tell a lot.

pconn062

I was talking to JK and he is out of the marathon now? Are you still going ahead with it yourself?

ThePiedPiper

pconn062 wrote: »

I was talking to JK and he is out of the marathon now? Are you still going ahead with it yourself?

Yeah, he texted me a few days ago about that. I'll still go ahead with it. I've paid my entry, have a hotel booked, and will take it as a training run, if nothing else. Still feel like I might be able to switch it on, and run reasonably well, but won't stress about it if not. Will be hoping to step up proper training into June anyway.

pconn062

RunForestRun wrote: »

Yeah, he texted me a few days ago about that. I'll still go ahead with it. I've paid my entry, have a hotel booked, and will take it as a training run, if nothing else. Still feel like I might be able to switch it on, and run reasonably well, but won't stress about it if not. Will be hoping to step up proper training into June anyway.

What's the plan from June? Another marathon coming up? Must catch up, haven't seen you in a while.

ThePiedPiper

Yeah, the aim for the year is to dip well into the 2:4x range in Frankfurt in October. Cork was only ever going to be a stepping stone to keep me focused over the spring. It has served to do that, as some of the long runs and the shorter races were decent. To be honest, school has just been so busy this fast few weeks with the inspection, exams, etc, that I just haven't been able to prioritise running. There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to sort out my routine and training come June, so I'd hope to put together a good summer worth of training.

Hopefully catch up with ya over the next week or so.

pconn062

RunForestRun wrote: »

Yeah, the aim for the year is to dip well into the 2:4x range in Frankfurt in October. Cork was only ever going to be a stepping stone to keep me focused over the spring. It has served to do that, as some of the long runs and the shorter races were decent. To be honest, school has just been so busy this fast few weeks with the inspection, exams, etc, that I just haven't been able to prioritise running. There's no reason why I shouldn't be able to sort out my routine and training come June, so I'd hope to put together a good summer worth of training.

Hopefully catch up with ya over the next week or so.

Sounds like a good plan alright, should be a nice weekend in Cork as well. Important dates for your diary, Novice: 5/10/14, Senior x-country 2/11/14. Plenty of notice for you!

ThePiedPiper

No problem with the novice, and I'll definitely be there for the seniors. Can't guarantee I'll be recovered properly though, I was in a hoop after last year's marathon for a couple of weeks..

ThePiedPiper

Sun 18th May: 20 miles in 2:19 (6:59 avg pace)

Very pleased with this one. Got out very early, 8 o clock on the button with no breakfast. Took 2 gels and a drink with me and set off. Was quite a breezy morning. After the first warm-up mile, I did miles 2-7 at 7:00-7:15 pace before taking my first gel and getting ready for the PMP miles.
Settled into them very nicely, and for the first 7 or 8 of them felt comfortable enough. The wind was sort of blowing across me for this whole segment, not getting any real advantage from it, but I knew I'd have to brace myself for running straight into it for the last segment.
Coming out of Grangebellew, I turned south, and immediately had to increase the work rate to account for the hillier road and the headwind. Got through the last 4 PMP miles alright, but was huffing and puffing a bit on this stretch, as always.

The splits for the 12 PMP miles were as follows:
6:46 / 6:45 / 6:52 / 6:38 / 6:46 / 6:45 / 6:41 / 6:41 / 6:48 / 6:49 / 6:46 / 6:41

To be fair, that couldn't have gone much better, and any time I've managed that session 2-3 weeks out from a marathon, I've hit the goal time. Hopefully so. Looking forward to giving it a good rattle in a few weeks. Despite the fact that I'm no longer unofficially pacing sub-3, I think I'll still keep it close to that time frame. There's no point going aggressive on it, the training just isn't there, and it'd come back to bite me in the ass.

ThePiedPiper

Better catch up on my useless lazy training taper of the last couple of weeks:

Mon 19th May: 4.75 miles at 7:55 pace

Was a tired runmute with the previous day's long run still in the legs.

Weds 21st May: 5 miles at 7:26 pace

Sat 24th May: 7.5 miles at 6:57 pace

Had a nasty old cold hanging over me there for about a week, and decided after last autumn's brush with disaster, coughing up blood the morning of a marathon and the like, to not push the training too much. Did 4 miles at MP on this run, and felt reasonably comfortable. Still dosed for a few days after that all the same!

Tues 27th May: 4 miles at 6:41 pace

Again, nothing too hectic, just a bit of a shake-out to keep myself from going stale. However, not even sure this did me any good. Whether it was something I did on that run, or a bit of work in the garden, my groin was feeling very tight for a couple days after that. Postponed the runmute on Wednesday.

Fri 30th May: 4.75 miles in 35 mins (7:xx pace)

Not sure of pace or distance, and didn't really want to run home from work to be honest, but had no choice. Groin still feeling a bit weird, but I think it'll be fine by Monday.

So, that probably wraps up what's been, bar 2-3 decent enough weeks at Easter, a fairly rubbish training cycle. Mileage has been inconsistent, motivation has been poor, and ambition average. On the plus side, I suppose, I hammered out a couple of very good 20 milers with 12-14 PMP, did a bit of racing, and survived a few demanding months in school. I'll be delighted if I run sub-3 Monday. It's not going to be a formality, but I think I might just about get away with it if I'm prepared to suffer. Looking forward to meeting a few boardsies and having a few pints on Monday afternoon.

pconn062

Good luck man, hope it goes well for you. Hopefully you will be able to make it into the track a bit more often when the school work dies down a bit.

P.S. you're a lunatic!

ThePiedPiper

2:58:50...

Toblerone1978

RunForestRun wrote: »

2:58:50...

Happy days! Well done, enjoy those pints!

blockic

RunForestRun wrote: »

2:58:50...

Easier or harder than you imagined / hoped?

ThePiedPiper

blockic wrote: »

Easier or harder than you imagined / hoped?

about what I imagined blocky.. Was pretty much on cruise control till about 21/22, was feeling it a bit then, but not very uncomfortable. Fair enough course, and I gotta admit, I actually met quite a lot of decent people from Cork, which was a bit of a surprise!! Not all langers 😎

blockic

RunForestRun wrote: »

about what I imagined blocky.. Was pretty much on cruise control till about 21/22, was feeling it a bit then, but not very uncomfortable. Fair enough course, and I gotta admit, I actually met quite a lot of decent people from Cork, which was a bit of a surprise!! Not all langers 😎

Nice one! Sure we are lovely folk down south! Nice base for you now for the autumn!

ThePiedPiper

Registration and expo

Had a bit of fun with this yesterday afternoon. I went off to City Hall, with no letter of confirmation. So, told the info desk my name was Axxxxxx RFR. Grand, no worries, says he, and writes A RFR and a race number on a piece of paper. Over to the other desk, where I'm given a race bib that says Seamus RFR on it!! I was assured that there was no Axxxxxx RFR on the list, that it must be a reprint, so headed off on my merry way. Half an hour later, looking through the book, I found my own name in it, but with a different race number. Back to City Hall to get my real number!!! Must've been my accent!!! Anyway, after spending an hour as Seamus, I was happy to have my own name back.

The race

This was the first marathon I'd ever done with the two kids with us. Got all sorts of helpful advice, such as 'run really fast' and 'don't stop'. Did my normal routine of nearly missing the start of the race, so was in with the 3:30 pace group at the start.

Got off nicely, and took it handy enough, having a brief chat with Rob Heffernan in the first mile, and scratched my head about how your man, O'Shea, was going to run a marathon in full fireman gear... The family all gave me another bit of a shout-out about a mile in, just as I was reeling in the 3 hour pace group.

Bit old gang in the group in those few early miles, which looped in and around Blackpool, I think, before heading back into the city. Having a look around, I didn't think that the group would last, there were just too many huffing and puffing too early on. By the time we were out near the Jack Lynch tunnel, the sunshine was definitely having an effect, and I was sweating it a bit. Got plenty of fluids in and the first of three gels I'd stashed in my pockets.

Took a quick pitstop just after the tunnel. I took my time, about 1.5 miles catching back up with the group, no point in bombing it, but there were a good few people falling after the back of the group. Thankfully, the strong hazy sunshine didn't last too long, only about 45 minutes or so. Shortly after halfway, there was a lovely sort of forest park, with loads of shade. The paths were a bit narrow here, but no major issues.

Around about this point, a couple of spare pacers jumped in with us. For a couple of miles, we had 4 lads leading us, and at about 16 miles, two of them wished us well and made their escape. Around here, there were a couple of little hills that were enough to shake a few people up a bit. The pacers did a great job of trying to encourage people to stick together, and kept us up to date with the clock every mile. Excellent job by all, I must say.

About 20-21 miles, I started feeling like I was needing to work a bit. The group was suffering, I was doing ok, but the last uphill section at about 21 miles felt hard on the legs. Pace never really dropped, but the breathing was starting to get a bit iffy. The pacers maintained it was flat right to the end, so it was in the bag apparently.

About 23 miles, I thought about making a bit of a break for it, and hammering in the last 5k, but knew it might be risky, so just kept it steady. With a mile to go, the pacers told us we'd about 50 seconds, so they were hanging back to try and get the stragglers over the line. I moved on without speeding, but just holding steady 6:45s. Got a great boost from seeing Mrs RFR and the kids just before 26 miles, and knew that I'd sub-3 in the bag.

The support here in the last stretch was excellent, and I got a great buzz out of running the last 300 metres down Patrick St. Pushed on a bit to make sure I got in under 2:59, and went under the clock for a chip time of 2:58:52 for 39th place.

I was fairly uncomfortable for a while after the race, and decided after showering that I'd forego the pints, and hit the road. Very pleased to run my first Irish sub-3, and third in succession. It's exactly what I wanted, a good time, without having to totally empty the tank, and hopefully a good base to build for the summer and autumn.

Apart from the 'Seamus' situation, the entire set-up in Cork was excellent. Very good atmosphere, plenty of crowd support, good pacers, and friendly runners. I'd definitely recommend the race to anyone.

yaboya1

Looking forward to seeing what you run in Frankfurt when you allow yourself out of your comfort zone

ThePiedPiper

Right, time for a bit of a catch-up, I've managed to have a reasonably consistent post-marathon week.

Took last Tuesday off, was planning a couple of miles to loosen up, but was absolutely wrecked so drank some wine instead.

Wednesday 4th June: 4 miles in 32 mins

Very stiff and sore. Just about crawled around the loop. No injury issues, just soreness.

Thurs 5th June: 4.6 miles at 7:47 pace

This was a run home from school, so a tougher route, but pace was better. Not nearly as stiff and sore, didn't try and do any sort of pace, just keeping it nice and easy.

Fri 6th June: 2 miles at 7:06 pace

Did a fair bit of sprinting, jumping and throwing at Sports Day at school, and after driving down to Connemara, squeezed in the last couple of miles of the journey over the mountains. I was hungry, so ran a bit faster.

Sat 7th June: 8 miles at 7:46 pace

Body was more sore on Sat than in a long time, my fitness for ball games has become really poor, so was suffering a bit for it. However, lovely day in the West, was at two different beaches, drank some nice craft beer brewed in Carraroe, and then a very nice easy run in the mountains. Took the pace very easy, and loosened up a lot by the end of it, which was good.

Sun 8th June: 2 treadmill miles at 8:00 pace

Sore and stiff again, so did nothing to run at anything faster than jogging pace.

Mon 9th June: 4.8 miles in 7:50 pace

Nice run home from work. Took it nice and easy, just enjoying the good weather. Very hot out there. Hopefully a sign of things to come. I can nearly smell the summer holidays, or maybe that was just that the local farmers were spreading slurry, not sure...

ThePiedPiper

Tues 10th June: 4 miles in 30 mins

Nothing interesting, just was feeling a bit stiff, and didn't feel up to anythin longer or faster. Cork possibly took a bit more out of me than I thought, just general weariness.

Weds 11th: 4.5 miles in 7:46 pace

Easy-paced run home from school. Had been doing a bit of hurdles and long jumps in PE, and as a result didn't feel like track work in the evening.

Thurs 12th: 2 miles in 8 min pace

On the treadmill after about 4 beers. First proper beer mile training. Felt a bit wobbly as I upped the pace to PBMP for the last half mile.

Fri 13th: 2 miles at 7:30 pace

Decided after more beer, and a couple glasses of wine that my beer mile running pace could be 7min/mile. That's current pace anyway, hopefully that will improve. Stomach felt very full, with some mild indigestion. This is really my base building phase, I'll give it another week or so before some specific beer drinking at race pace.

ThePiedPiper

Sat 14th June: 7.5 miles in 53:40 (7:10 pace)

Didn't go out on this one til 9:30 at night, and it was still actually quite warm, even at that. Decided while out on that one that I'll need to make this sort of length of run the norm, shouldn't really be going out for 4 milers too much more.

Sun 15th: 10 miles in 1:12 (7:14 pace)

Again, late in the evening, but a nice time of night for running. Finally feeling like the stiffness and soreness is working its way out. This was the longest run since Cork, and felt great.

Monday 16th: 2 hours, maybe about 17 miles

Had just an old-fashioned watch for this, and it was in the absolute heat of the day, but it felt like I was running at a decent enough pace for a lot of it. Was up in Carlingford, so the whole way along the Lough, nearly into Newry, before turning back, running as far back as Greenore, then back to Carlingford. Despite the heat, a lot of dehydration, I felt good on this. Should've planned it a bit better though, as I had no sunscreen on, and it was absolutely scorching.

ThePiedPiper

Tues 17th June: 4 miles in 7:08 pace

Weds 18th June: 4 miles in 7:08 pace

Thurs 19th June: 2 (beer) miles at 6:23 pace.
Got confirmation of being full-time employed for the next school years, so celebrated by downing a can of beer and running 2 miles.

Fri 20th: 4 miles in 7:07 pace

Sat 21st: 3.1 miles in 7:08 pace

Sun 22nd: 10 miles in 7:20 pace

Mon 23rd: Rest
Didn't want a day off, but went straight from school to a bbq, and didn't get home until after 12:30, so it got away on me.

Tues 24th: 2 miles in 6:58 pace

Weds 25th: 4 miles treadmill in 7:30 pace

Thurs 26th: 2 treadmill miles in 7:30 pace

Fri 27th: 2 treadmill miles in 6:28 pace

Sat 28th: 7.5 miles in 6:50 pace
First decent run in a while.

Sun 29th: 10 miles in 7:08 pace
Again, another decent run late at night, when feeling very tired beforehand. Spent half the day jumping about on bouncy castles with the kids and playing football, so was feeling a bit sore before heading off.

I realise this log has been a complete and utter joke over the past few weeks, as has my 'training'. But, both should hopefully improve starting from today. On holidays now for the summer, the last few weeks of the school year were actually very busy, and with the good weather, have been doing lots of gardening, and socialising, so running just not a priority. I've got to admit, I'm struggling to actually want to make it a priority at the moment. After having done a few beer mile training sessions, I decided on the day that I just didn't want to lose a half a day of family time by heading to the far side of Dublin for a drinking game/race. Mrs RFR has suggested I do a beer 4 mile one of the days around the area here, she'll drive around after me, give me a beer every mile.

Anyway, hoping I can kickstart proper training over the next few days. October's marathon target is aggressive, will need to work hard for it.

cianc

Looking forward to following the progress RFR. Solid call on family over drinking games, hope they appreciated the sacrifice!

ThePiedPiper

Mon 30th June: 6 miles in 45 mins (7:30 pace)

Started this off nice and easy on treadmill, moving through the gears finishing at about 6:30 pace

Tues 1st July: 13 miles in 7:27 pace

Got out first thing in the morning for this. Took a lovely route over by Broomfield, just over the Meath border, and back through Collon and Tinure. A lot of long, sharp hills, so challenging enough. I want to try and do a fair bit of mileage this month, and keep the longer stuff all at around 7:25-7:30 pace.

I've been invited to another bbq tonight, but made my excuses, as it's high time I got myself back training at the track, even if only a couple times a month.

ThePiedPiper

Just updating my yearly table here, as I forgot about May.

Did way less mileage in May than I had planned, but managed a couple of good long runs in preparation for Cork marathon.

June was definitely more heading in the right direction, started it off with the sub-3 in Cork, and got more consistent, running nearly every day during the month. However, overall mileage still behind what I'd planned, due to too many short runs. I've 260 miles on my plan for July. Hopefully I'll get close enough to that.

Month|Runs|Av Speed|Mileage
January|19/31|8.7|109
February|19/28|8.2|104
March|21/31|8.5|148
April|20/30|8.5|157
May|15/31|8.4|101
June|26/30|8.3|150


Year to date: 769

ThePiedPiper

Weds 2nd July: 4 miles in 28:15 (7:04 pace)

Back from Monaghan way later than planned, so nothing for it only the treadmill. Did a progressive run on it, from 12km'h up to 16.2.

Thurs 3rd July: 7.5 miles in 55:40 (7:25 pace)

Out for a nice handy easy-paced run round Sandpit. A bit windy, but lovely and warm. Might try again to get into the track tomorrow night. How often have I said that before?

ThePiedPiper

Fri 4th July: 7.5 miles in 50:52 (6:47 pace)

Did this one in a bit of a hurry as I was tight for time, but enjoyed opening up the legs a bit.

Sat 5th July: 16 miles in 2:01 (7:34 pace)

Got out first thing this morning, with no food on board. Felt a bit tired for most of the way around Drogheda and Termonfeckin, and was working pretty hard on the way back up the hills. The few beers last night and the fastish run yesterday evening probably didn't help, but this is what this stage is all about, running long miles on tired legs, so happy with the workout.

ThePiedPiper

Sun 6th July: 6 miles in 42 (7:01 pace)

Did an early morning progressive run on the treadmill. Started nice and easy at 13km/h, ramping it up slowly for the first couple of miles, before running at 15-16.5 km/h for the last couple of miles. Felt fairly good.

Bit of a strange week coming up, probably making a trip over to the west at some point over the next few days, and also want to fit in a 20+ mile long run, before a 4 mile race on Sunday. Don't feel like I've got much speed in my legs for racing, but see what happens.

ThePiedPiper

Mon 7th July: 7.5 miles in 7:14 pace

Went out about 9pm for this run, was still nice and warm. Didn't do anything fast, just kept the pace between 7:00-7:15 the whole way.

Tues 8th July: 7 miles in 48:55 (6:59 pace)

Did progressive run on the treadmill first thing in the morning. Was heading off with the kids for a couple of days, so wanted to do something halfway decent on the treadmill. A couple of miles warming up, then steadily increasing it through 6:50 pace, up to 5:20 pace by the end. 3,000m pace feels very fast on a treadmill.

Weds 9th July: 7 miles in 53 mins (7:35 pace I think)

Was staying in my sister's house, and as luck would have it, she has a decent treadmill herself, so jumped on it to get the few miles done. Didn't go too crazy on it, as I tend to pour sweat when I'm running faster on a treadmill, and my sister's treadmill is on a carpeted floor upstairs in hers. Anyway, delighted to get it done.

Thurs 10th July: Rest

I need to get myself to Monaghan this evening. Thinking about getting a lift halfway and running 20 miles on ahead up the road. It probably won't help the racing on Sunday, but the next couple of weeks might be a little awkward with regards to long runs, so want to make sure I've one decent one done. Regarding the race Sunday, I ran 22:5x for the 4 miles last year, so would hope to be in similar sort of shape.

blockic

Best of luck with the ail race Sunday A. Hope you're keeping well.

ThePiedPiper

blockic wrote: »

Best of luck with the ail race Sunday A. Hope you're keeping well.

keeping great thanks blockie, enjoying my first summer off in 12 years, and great knowing my job still there for me next year. Not quite hitting the running heights of last summer I don't think, but it's a long time til the end of October.

You loving life in the Windy City by the looks of things

ThePiedPiper

Sat 11th July: 12.5 miles at 6:29 avg pace

We were a bit late getting on the road yesterday evening, so 20 miles was off the agenda. Jumped out of the car at Clontibret, and headed on. Sort of knew it would be getting dark so didn't hang around. First couple of miles were downhill, but the fourth mile is very tough, uphill the whole way at Castleshane, did it in 6:42 but working hard. Got the pace back to 6:2xs heading for Monaghan town before having some company for about half a mile.
A heifer bolted out onto the road right in front of me, now it was about 9:15, but the N2 was busy, it was drizzly and darkening, dangerous situation. The cow ran out across to the other side then, with traffic all stopping, I stayed my side. Next thing she heads off into the middle of the road for a wander. I switched sides as I felt she may have been scared of me as well as the traffic. By this stage, she was a good 500-600 metres down the road from where she bolted, so I didn't think it safe to take her back up the road. Thankfully she jumped into an entrance to a school and emergency was over.

After the drama, I motored on holding 6:30 pace until Scotstown. Good session, but tough at the tail end, hard to believe I held that for a marathon last year, think I'm a few minutes away from that shape, but a decent effort at this point

ThePiedPiper

Sunday 12th July: 7.5 miles at 7:48 pace

Very easy paced recovery run. Was really feeling Friday's MP session, so just trying to loosen the legs up, not sure I did.

ThePiedPiper

Didn't really feel good heading down to Dunleer for the race today. Was working in the garden for a couple of hours during the afternoon, and was still feeling Friday's run in the legs. Was feeling a bit concerned about getting my ass handed to me on a plate by a couple of the lads in the club. Conditions were warm and muggy, and I was sweating gallons even doing a gentle warm-up.

Got ourselves going, with the usual mad dash down the fast first few hundred yards. Couple of NER runners were close enough to me, and one of the lads from our club got off to a very good start. Was in and around 12-14th place. First mile was 5:38, bit on the fast side.

I more or less was running by myself at this stage, about 20 metres behind a group of 3, and about 15 metres in front of another group, not ideal, but anyway. The second mile was 5:48, I was gaining on the little group in front of me, but the ones behind were catching up too. We all seemed to stretch out again, so I was left by myself working my way up the slopey 3rd mile, which I did in 6:02. Three NER runners were on my shoulder and two went by me here, which was a bit of a pain. Regrouped myself for a couple of minutes, trying to stay with the faster of the two, but he got away on me.

Had feck all left in the tank really in the last mile, so not quite so sure how I ran that one in 5:46. But, it was just about enough, as there were two of my clubmates just about 10 seconds behind me, and I was the fourth place runner from our club. Think I finished about 12th overall in 23:23. That's 25 seconds down from last year's time, which was on a much hotter day, but I was much fresher that day.

Happy enough with the time, and a decent enough session. First bit of speed work in a while. Great spread up in the clubhouse. Was hoping to go for pints straight after the race, but the lads were going a bit later, so will enjoy a couple watching the match in the house.

pconn062

Well done man, that's a solid result on a day where you weren't feeling good. And it helped us win the team prize, good day for the club.

ThePiedPiper

Was off on holidays for a couple of weeks in France, got in plenty of running.

Tues 15th July: 2 miles at 7:15 pace

Weds 16th July: 7 miles at 7:14 pace

Fri 18th July: 9.25 miles at 7:27 pace

Sat 19th: 9.25 miles at 7:21 pace

Sun 20th: 7.2 miles at 7:51 pace

Mon 21st: 5 miles at 7:28 pace

Tues 22nd: 7 miles at 7:41 pace

Weds 23rd: 20 miles at 7:28 pace

Thurs 24th: 5 miles at 7:41 pace

Fri 25th: 8 miles at 7:27 pace

Sat 26th: 7 miles at 7:30 pace

Sun 27th: 7 miles at 7:35 pace

Tues 29th: 15 miles at 6:58 pace

Weds 30th: 2 miles at 7:15 pace

Very happy to have done so much when away. Most of it was at easy pace, with the exception of a few fast miles here and there. Good to get the two long runs in, even if I was actually technically lost when I was doing them, and never intended them being that long!

I'm scrapping the R&R half, just don't feel like I'd do myself justice at the moment on a tough course, and will instead wait til early September to see where I'm at. Plan on getting in another decent month of long enough mileage in August.

cianc

Very nice chunk of mileage.

ThePiedPiper

Thurs 31st July: 9 miles in 7:05 pace

Was very hot and windy this afternoon when I got out. Was running at 6:30 pace for a couple of miles, but when I turned into the wind, and into the hills, I found 7:10 pace was hard work. It's not the sort of run that really inspires any confidence for what the marathon target is, but from experience, I know I can make up a hell of a lot of time in 3 months, so hopefully the steady mileage will bear fruit.

ThePiedPiper

Big improvement, mileage wise. I don't feel a hell of a lot fitter, but I know that it'll stand to me in the long term.

Month|Runs|Av Speed|Mileage
January|19/31|8.7|109
February|19/28|8.2|104
March|21/31|8.5|148
April|20/30|8.5|157
May|15/31|8.4|101
June|26/30|8.3|160
July|28/31|8.2|221


Year to date: 1,000

Just realised when I checked reports on Garmin that I hit the 1,000th mile today.

pconn062

5k race in Carlingford tomorrow if you fancy a bit of a blow out, big crew heading down. Good consistency recently, plenty of time to get into top shape for the Louth senior marathon.

ThePiedPiper

5k maybe. Don't feel like I've much speed in my legs, so could be a good thing to give myself a bit of a kick on.

I'll get back to you.

pconn062

RunForestRun wrote: »

5k maybe. Don't feel like I've much speed in my legs, so could be a good thing to give myself a bit of a kick on.

I'll get back to you.

Driving from Dunleer if you want a lift, leaving at about 6pm.

ThePiedPiper

Yeah, just chatting about it here, we'll probably all go up, Mrs RFR is getting nostalgic thinking about her glory days. is there an U-6 or an U-3 race? ;-) I'll text you tomorrow.

ThePiedPiper

Fri 1st Aug: 5 miles in 36 mins

Treadmill in the evening for this. Scrapped the 5k race as the weather was rubbish, I was a bit wrecked, and simple as, just didn't feel like I'd make a good enough account of myself.

Did 2 miles at MP on the treadmill at the tail end of this run, felt reasonably comfortable.

Sat 2nd Aug: 8 miles in 58 mins, 4 miles in 30 mins

Was going to head out the door first thing this morning, but the weather was beyond rotten, so chickened out and got on the treddy. Decent enough run. Did 4 miles this evening while listening to the Monaghan match on the radio. Wasn't really concentrating on the running at all, but great to see Monaghan finally break their Croker championship jinx. Not before time.

ThePiedPiper

Sun 3rd Aug: 2 miles at 7:52 pace

Was actually contemplating doing 20 odd miles on Sunday on the way home from a kids party in Dublin, but was absolutely wrecked, and the weather was rubbish, so decided it'd be counter-productive, so shelved it, and just did 2 very easy miles in the evening. Even this was a struggle, definitely a good call do abandon the 20.

Mon 4th Aug: 20 miles at 7:15 pace

Was up in Tayto Park for a good part of the morning and afternoon, and got out of the car on the N2 between Ashbourne and Slane on the way home. The weather was hot and heavy, but I felt very comfortable most of the way. Did the run without any water or fuel, and definitely started feeling it on the tail end. Didn't bother pushing the pace down to MP, but did 6 sub-7 minute miles in the middle of it. Tough enough old route, with some very tough drags, especially out of Slane. Pleased to get the long miles in.

Tues 5th Aug: 5 miles in 39 mins

Was up in Monaghan most of the day, so just fitted in a slow 5 miles on the treadmill. Legs a bit tired and heavy after yesterday.

Thinking about doing a 5 mile race up in Monaghan on Friday night. For one reason or another, I've not done a lot of racing this summer, so feel like I could do with a bit of a blow-out before launching into marathon training proper. We'll see.

ThePiedPiper

Tues 6th Aug: 7 miles with 6 x 800m at 5:35 pace

First time in at the track in a long time. The club has use of the track from 7-9 on Wednesdays, so I presumed there'd be at least somebody to jump in with, but when I went down at 8, a few of the boys were just finishing up their session. Turned out there'd be nobody hanging around at all for the second hour, but since I'd actually made the effort to go to the track, I should do a proper session.

Normally, I'd like to do 10 x 800m, but as I was still feeling Monday's long run slightly in the legs, and with a mind to racing on Friday evening, I was thinking I'd do 6-8 of them. The idea is that if a marathon goal is 2:45, the 10 800m repeats should be approx 2:45 each. It's know as Yasso 800s, and although quite a rough measure, but I've always found it a very good workout, and it has always been a reasonable indication of how achievable the marathon goal is.

The session was comfortably difficult, and without trying to bomb it, I was hitting the 800s in 2:45-2:48. By the time I was finishing the 6th one, the caretaker at the track was looking out the door. Decided to not bother doing any more, let the guy get away, and keep myself fresher for Friday evening. Did a couple mile warmdown on the road. Happy with the session, I know I could've done another two definitely at the pace, might have struggled for the full ten, but that would be about what I'd expect at this moment in time. Will hopefully get out for a recovery run at some point today.

ThePiedPiper

Thurs 7th Aug: 6 miles at 7:28 pace

Treadmill for this. On the treadmill a fair bit lately for recovery runs mostly, but it doesn't particularly bother me. I'm still keeping the mileage fairly high, and by running indoors, I'm running in hot and humid conditions, which can be a good preparation for possible race day conditions.

pconn062

That's not a recovery run, that's just a run. Unless you're Seán Hehir then your recovery pace is too fast.