Confessions of a never has been.....

ThebitterLemon

Great session DD, some very quick reps in there, you're obviously over those holiday blues.

Have you decided on your next race?

TbL

Duanington

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Great session DD, some very quick reps in there, you're obviously over those holiday blues.

Have you decided on your next race?

TbL

Thanks TbL - the walked recovery definitely helped to be honest - I still found the reps tougher than I would normally find them.

Well its DCM all the way now but I'll be looking to run a 10k and a 5k during August, possibly the DLR 10k over the bank holiday weekend to get the ball rolling.

What about yourself?

ThebitterLemon

Duanington wrote: »

Thanks TbL - the walked recovery definitely helped to be honest - I still found the reps tougher than I would normally find them.

Well its DCM all the way now but I'll be looking to run a 10k and a 5k during August, possibly the DLR 10k over the bank holiday weekend to get the ball rolling.

What about yourself?

Good man D,

Next up is the Streets of Galway 8k around the first week in August, although if I don't knock the ice cream consumption on the head, they'll be using me as an inflatable bouncy castle for the kids!

Also doing the Longford HM, and I'm looking around for a few 5 & 10ks as well.

TbL

Duanington

18.07.2014

Feeling back to full health today so met the bro for a run this evening, we took in the coast road, some of Bull Island and St Anne's

Did a few hill sprints to try to convince him that they'd be good to introduce into his training, we ran them about 80% and my legs\energy levels felt great all the way through which was nice.

Not sure he enjoyed them too much but I suspect he'll go away and master them in his own time and kick my a$$ in a few months.

Ran a couple of easy miles home then got stuck into a mammoth Chinese

Total miles 7

Duanington

couple of easy days running to report

Saturday: 5 miles easy
Sunday: rest
Monday 5.5 miles easy, swallowed at least 40000 flying ants

Currently toying with the idea of scrapping DCM this year in favour of sticking to 5k-half marathon races. I've enjoyed this years running so far and I don't know if I can commit the time required to do myself justice in DCM this year.

I'm leaning towards sticking to shorter stuff for the Autumn\Winter but I'll call it later this week.

ThebitterLemon

Duanington wrote: »

couple of easy days running to report

Saturday: 5 miles easy
Sunday: rest
Monday 5.5 miles easy, swallowed at least 40000 flying ants

Currently toying with the idea of scrapping DCM this year in favour of sticking to 5k-half marathon races. I've enjoyed this years running so far and I don't know if I can commit the time required to do myself justice in DCM this year.

I'm leaning towards sticking to shorter stuff for the Autumn\Winter but I'll call it later this week.

Jesus DD, careful now or we'll soon be calling you AMKlite

You'll definitely go a lot quicker over the shorter stuff and best of luck with it whatever you decide.

TbL

Duanington

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Jesus DD, careful now or we'll soon be calling you AMKlite

You'll definitely go a lot quicker over the shorter stuff and best of luck with it whatever you decide.

TbL

I'd gladly take his times TbL !

Duanington

23.07.2014

Tuesday - after a long day in the office and a bit of a delay getting home, I was in no mood to leave the comfort of my chair but time is tight these days so I got on with it and headed out for 12 easy miles with a couple of HMP thrown in towards the end.
I thought heading out that the heat had died down from earlier in the evening but within a couple of miles I was sweating buckets and hating the run.

Took in the coast road, my usual climb up the Kilbarrack road ( which felt like Everest because I had started the HMP miles here) and Raheny before heading home through St Anne's.

This felt tougher than it should again but sure its done now.

HMP miles were 6:55 and 6:50

Total miles 12


Wednesday

Out before work this morning for 4 easy recovery miles around Citywest, beautiful morning and I didn't feel as bad as I was expecting for some reason. Heat picked up towards the end of the run though which was an issue for me ( again!)

Duanington

Decision made - no DCM this year, I just don't have the time to commit to it. Most of my runs are at night time or early morning and I can't see how I could get enough 20+ mile runs in.

I have to admit a sense of relief though and I'm also going to work my socks off to improve my 5k\10k\1/2 times over the next 6 months.

Duanington

25.07.2014

(Thursday)

Plan was for 4x1k reps with 90 second recovery ( standing - jogged recovery would have been pointless for me given how I've felt this week)

Home fairly quickly after work for once, ten very quick minutes of weights and then off nice and easy towards St Anne's Park. The heat from the sun was beautiful to start with, less beautiful after 5 minutes and a bit daunting once I got to the park.

I decided to run these on grass again to limit the impact on my legs - they've been a bit ropey for the past few weeks and although I am definitely starting to feel good again, I'm still not fighting fit.

Got started on the reps which worked out as

3:41
3:43
3:47 ( starting to fade here)
3:43 ( sucked it up and ploughed on)

I toyed with the idea of doing a 5th rep but the heat really was intense in the park and I was short on time - made my way home nice and easy.

Happy that I got through this one as I was genuinely starting to worry a bit over the past few days, I just haven't had the same energy levels that I would normally have and even easy runs were a struggle. Gradually getting back to feeling good and strong



Total miles: 5.5

Duanington

25.07.2014

(Friday)

AM: Out early before work for some recovery miles around Citywest. Another scorcher of a morning but I was feeling nice and fresh for the first time in a couple of weeks, kept everything nice and slow - I don't wear a watch on recovery runs, I just run them verrry slow and make sure my breathing is relaxed at all times. ( 4 miles)

PM: Late one this evening so the sun had gone down by the time I got out which was nice, the evening was still balmy and incredibally still along the coast. I took in my usual 5 mile route and threw in a good set of 10x80 metre strides over the 2nd last mile

Total for the day: 9

Duanington

26.07.2014

No time for a run this morning with a load of family stuff on, I did get a decent session of corework\press-ups in during the afternoon though.

Got out this evening for 4 steady miles , no warm up just straight out and back along the coast. Really nice evening for it and I would have loved to have the time for a few more miles, really feeling strong again thankfully - beautiful evening for it with the sea breeze too.

Kept the pace in around the 7:30 mark and did some light stretching when done.

Tempo run tomorrow and then I start a new plan for the Athlone half

Duanington

27.07.2014


Back to tempo work tonight and it seems like an age since I last ran a decent tempo run ( which had me a little nervous if I'm honest!).
Spent 20 minutes or so doing some weights before getting started.

The plan was for 4 miles tempo with a couple of easy miles either side.

Ran 1.5 easy to start with then headed back towards Howth for the tempo section. I felt good over the first 2 miles, less good over mile 3 but then good again for the 4th even though it was uphill.

Splits worked out as follows:

6.33
6.36
6.30
6.23 - upped the pace a little over the last .5 mile


Ran 2.5 miles easy to warm down and felt good afterwards.

This has been a strange couple of weeks but tonight's session puts me back into a good frame of mind for the new plan.

Total miles for the day: 8

Duanington

29.07.2014

(Monday)

First day of the new plan - which will actually have less mileage than the last few months, more focus on quality sessions, recovery and rest days when I feel I need them. I would expect to hover around the 50-55 mile per week mark, fingers crossed it works out


LSR night last night - not ideal because I was still feeling the previous night's tempo miles in the legs ( not much but enough to remind me they were there) - however, I won't get a chance to run a long run for the rest of the week and I need to get back into a routine of running 90 minute - 2 hour runs once per week.

Started off down along the coast as always, turned up onto the Howth Road at Fairview, down into Clontarf, back to the coast, up the Kilbarrack road then onto Raheny\St Anne's

A bumpy enough route with a couple of steady climbs along the way, my legs were feeling it by the end but felt good to have this one done and dusted.

I had planned a recovery run this morning but I think a rest day will serve me better so I'll go with that instead then 2\3 easy runs before the next session

13 miles @ 8:25 min\mile

Duanington

30.07.2014

Tuesday - no running, 30 minutes core\press-up work

Wednesday - 5 miles easy
Nice early morning run around Citywest before work this morning. Felt good from the start for the first time in a while. Kept it all nice and easy, added on a mile to my usual loop to make up the 5 miles.

A little cooler than recent weeks which made for a much more pleasant run too

Duanington

01.08.2014

(Thursday)

Toyed with the idea of running a short easy run in the AM but ditched the idea and decided to put all of my energies on the planned session in the evening.

The plan was to run 9 miles inc 16x20 sec hill sprints ( running these hard)

Got home at a decent enough hour, started off on some weights then headed out for a longish warmup ( 4 miles) along the coast and making my way to the hill.

I felt good and fresh by the time I finished the warmup section so didn't delay and got stuck into the reps.
I decided to ease into each rep slightly to ensure I finished strong at the top of the climb and this seemed to work well for me. Normally this kind of session kills me, my legs go to jelly around the 9th\10th rep.
While it was still a very tough session, competing the 16 reps was never in doubt , I was joined by a ladies training group for some of the reps which was good craic and obviously put that extra bit of spring in the step :pac:.
I haven't checked the pace on each rep, effort wise it felt spot on - I was breathing very heavily by the end of the last one and took a few minutes to recover before heading off for a long warm-down.

A very tough session but quality wise I think it was spot on

Total miles for the day 9

It feels very odd to be hovering around the 45-50 mile mark for the week, the temptation to head out for little runs here and there is quite strong but I am trying to remind myself I will complete sessions like this with more quality this way and its all about the cumulative effect. We'll find out in 6 weeks or so !

Duanington

02.08.2014

Friday - once again ditched the AM run in favour of a slightly longer evening run, just some nice recovery miles out to the O2 and back. Kept the pace right down, ignored the watch and focused on how the effort felt instead.
The 6 miles worked out at around 8.50 min\miles and I needed it, my thighs were stiff from the hill reps the previous night

Saturday

7.5 easy miles with 10x 80 metre strides
Some work on the chin up bar then out for some more easy miles , out along the coast in the drizzle ( which felt so refreshing) then up into St Anne's, taking in the various trails\hills\bumps around the park.
Threw in some solid strides towards the end of the 5th mile, pushing the pace a little over the last few but keeping things nice and controlled


Registered for the Athlone half with the bro so that's the main focus now

Duanington

05.08.2014

Sunday

Very strapped for time on Sunday with family stuff on so I got up early and headed out to use the 40 minutes or so I had.

Felt great as I headed off on what was initially just going to be an easy 5 miles so I upped the pace almost straight away to HMP and held it that way for 4 miles, eased off on the last which served as a nice warm down.

Windy enough conditions along the coast which felt horrible at first but felt nicer and nicer as the run went on.

Splits worked out as 7:05, 6:55, 6:50, 6:50

I felt great at the end of this one and happy that I'd got the few HMP miles in.

Monday

Had a bit more time than I expected for this run so I spent some time doing core work ( found a cracking live set by Underworld to do it to) before heading out for 5 easy miles.
I am now ignoring the watch for easy miles - I fell into that bad habit that lots of people seem to fall into by keeping an eye on the pace during easy miles, the temptation is always there to keep a minimum pace which I feel is counter-productive.
Windy conditions again out on the coast but a very enjoyable easy run

Poltergeist

I hear ya Duanington. Also I find that if I force a easy pace to the watch my form goes to shot. I do my easy runs now to feel.

Duanington

05.08.2014

The plan for tonight was 14 miles with [EMAIL="4@hmp"]4@hmp[/EMAIL] thrown in.

Long day at the office today meant I was quite tired getting home, Underworld are doing the business for me lately in terms of perking the senses up though so I stuck on a live set, started some light weights and hit the road for some easy miles.

Headed over to the O2, spotted a couple of seals munching some huge fish on the way, turned back and headed back out towards Howth. Tonnes of friendly runners out tonight, quite a few football teams training on the grass too which always makes me miss that particular game for a bit.

It started to drizzle a bit just as I started my HMP section which was perfect, beautiful conditions to run in.

I purposely timed the HMP section to take in some of the drags and bumps from the coast road up into Kilbarrack and Raheny, I didn't thank myself at the time but sure its all part of the bigger picture and all that.

HMP splits went as follows:

6:54
6:54
6:50
6:47

This took me back to the edge of St Anne's ( where I stumbled across a race of some sort - maybe the weekly race that Raheny Shamrocks are putting on?) so I took in some easy miles on the way home to bring the total to 14

Delighted with this one, tough going over the last mile but it wasn't ever really in doubt

tang1

Underworlds Best of got me nicely through my LSR Sunday morning, some of there old stuff is genius.

Duanington

tang1 wrote: »

Underworlds Best of got me nicely through my LSR Sunday morning, some of there old stuff is genius.

They're just what's called for when the going gets tough alright Tang1 - brilliant stuff

Duanington

07.08.2014


Wednesday

4 recovery miles - pre work run around Citywest. Lovely morning for this one, my legs were feeling the effects of the previous nights' HMP effort and resisted over the first mile or so accordingly.

I kept the pace wayyy down on this which ensured that I enjoyed the run, moving nice and relaxed once the legs woke up.

Thursday

Home after work and straight into some core\pressup work then off for some mile repeats

The plan for tonight was to run 3x1 mile repeats with the effort increasing on each rep. ( 2 minute standing recovery between reps) - I'm trying to balance tempo\mile repeats with the hmp efforts that I will be running over the coming weeks and given that the effort would be hard, I felt 3 would be enough.

I made my way down to St Anne's for my warm up, again running relaxed and enjoying the evening air. The park was quite busy so I decided to run the reps over the grass and trails around the park. Made my way to the GAA pitches to get started and off I went.

Felt good over the first one, running tall and focusing on form\contact with the ground: 6:12

The 2 minute recovery flew by and I was off again before I really wanted to, trying to stay positive and ease myself into the mile. Again, I worked on running tall, moving smoothly and keeping a nice quick rhythm. Harder than the first one for sure : 6:05

Another 2 minute recovery and I was off on the last one, I felt like I started a bit too quick on this but decided to stick with it and keep the momentum, hoping that I wouldn't fade at the end. I found myself blowing very hard and fighting the urge to stop from around halfway through this but stayed with it and increased the effort over the last few hundred metres - 5:57 ( I think this is my quickest mile yet)

3 minute collapsed-lying-on-my-back-in-a-heap recovery then I got on with the warm down, feeling good about the session and making my way home for a nice feed.

Total miles for the day: 6

tang1

You venturing to Athboy tomorrow evening?

Duanington

tang1 wrote: »

You venturing to Athboy tomorrow evening?

I have to give it a miss I'm afraid Tang1 - work calls :-(

Are you running?

tang1

Duanington wrote: »

I have to give it a miss I'm afraid Tang1 - work calls :-(

Are you running?

Yeah, its only down the road from me so be stupid not to. The Fr Murphy club run a good race.

Duanington

tang1 wrote: »

Yeah, its only down the road from me so be stupid not to. The Fr Murphy club run a good race.

Best of luck with it - I don't think you'll need much of it though, you're starting to motor nicely at the minute

ThebitterLemon

Nice session DD, don't think I've ever run a sub 6 min mile. You're back flying, any post DCM opt out blues?

TbL

Duanington

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Nice session DD, don't think I've ever run a sub 6 min mile. You're back flying, any post DCM opt out blues?

TbL

Thanks C - don't think I had either until this evening. This has been a good week alright, fingers crossed I keep up the momentum.

No real regrets over DCM ( yet!) although the bro (J) is training for it so I'm sure I'll start to feel it a bit more closer to the day. For now I'm just trying to keep my mind on Athlone and hopefully a shnakey 5\10k before then

Duanington

09.08.2014

Friday

AM - 4 recovery miles up and down the coast road, I can hardly remember this now but it was an uncomfortable run - I developed a nasty blister on the ball of my foot that had obviously moved up a level or two during Thursday night's session.

Upon closer inspection and the realisation that it was purple in colour, I of course took photos and sent it around to all the squeamish people I know

PM - met up with the bro who is training for DCM for another easy run and limped my way around Lucan\Adamstown for some easy paced miles.
He's cranking up the miles at the moment and his fitness is very obviously improving, if he keeps it up he'll be doing himself proud in a couple of months
No sympathy offered for my blister but I soldiered on for a slightly uncomfortable and yet enjoyable 7 miles

Total for the day: 11

Saturday

No running today, bit the bullet and decided to take a rest day and let the foot heal up. Spent 20 minutes or so doing a decent bit of work on the chin up bar for the first time in a while

Edit - registered for Frank Duffy 10 miler , I've never done a 10 mile race before so looking forward to it