Confessions of a never has been.....

Duanington

Dubgal72 wrote: »

That's great going D, well done! Would you mind charting your HM progress over the last two years or so please? I have an inkling that not so long ago you were around 90 min shape so that's some progress!

Thanks A - I think I've got this right

Athlone 2014 ( Sept) - 1.32.x

Waterford 2014 ( Dec) - 1.26.x

Wexford 2015 ( Apr) 1.24.x

Waterford 2016 ( Jan) 1.23.x

Clonmel 2016 ( Aug) 1.22.x

Duanington

Clonmel AC Boston Scientific Half Marathon - race report



At the start of the summer, when picking races to take on during training for Berlin, I had wanted 2 things – a really good craic at a nice 10 mile course and a hard effort on a challenging half course.

The Mullingar 10 and Clonmel half, seemed to fit the bill for each, Mullingar came and went ( with a poor result on the day) so it had been back to training for the past few weeks with the focus this week shifting towards putting in a strong performance in Clonmel.

I’d been chatting to a few people in recent weeks about going for Clonmel and my reasoning behind it, there are definitely quicker courses around that could provide morale boosting times but I had a feeling way back when I picked the race that if I could put in a strong showing 6 weeks out from Berlin, on a course that would really put me to the test - I’d gain more physically and possibly get a confidence boost too if the day went well.

The flip side of course was that if it didn’t go well, the course profile looked like the kind of route that could send you heading for home with your tail between your legs and your confidence packed away in a doggie bag.

Mullingar wasn’t quite a disaster for me but it was a poor race and I had felt I’d blown a chance to put in a solid performance on the day. The plan for Clonmel was very simple; forget about shooting out of the blocks, work hard up the hills and take advantage of the descents.
I knew that if I worked hard enough and raced smart enough, I wouldn’t have to worry about the pace or the number on the watch. They say the simple plans are the best and I was very relaxed about the whole thing this week, looking forward to putting in a good effort and carrying on with training over the next few weeks.

Having made arrangements with a mini support crew to head down to Clonmel early this morning, I found myself inheriting a puppy and an extra small person the night before – the net result was the worst night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time. No matter, I had rested well the previous two nights, made sure I got some good sleeps in and I rarely sleep well the night before races anyway - a cup of coffee after the alarm went off and it was time to wake the troops , eat some breakfast and hit the road.

Arrived at race HQ nice and early, got registered without delay, used the jacks and hung around for a few minutes sussing the place out 
As usual, I got started on my warm up with about 30 minutes to go. No strides for once, just nice and relaxed for about 1.5 miles, upping the pace a little for the rest to make up 2 miles. Temperature seemed just a little on the warm side but nothing alarming thankfully, I did regret not bringing the shades all the same. I felt very good on the warmup, I didn’t feel the need for strides because I knew the first 2 miles or so was uphill and there would be no chance to speed things up until after that anyway.

Made my way to the starting pen, waited nice and calmly for a few minutes and we were off, no traffic issues, no crowds, I was about 20 from the front and immediately settled into the front of a small group as we set off on the first ( and possibly worst) climb. Striding well, breathing well, I checked the watch after maybe .5 mile – the pace looked a little sharp for this stage of the race (6.05), I knew there were several climbs ahead so I eased off just a little and reminded myself to stay relaxed.
We turned right around the roundabout at the top of the climb but the road kept on its upward trajectory as we moved on into mile 2. I started chatting with a Dundrum athlete around here ( Tipperary, not Dublin) who gave me his best effort of a course description, something about ups and downs, flat for a while, downhill by the river for a bit then “ close the eyes and say a hail Mary after mile 10” - I laughed politely and cursed myself in my mind, shouldn’t have asked.

The surface on the road was good, the legs were bouncing nicely and the weather was warm without being hot, so far so good as our little group moved up along the straight road towards the 2 mile marker – I was pretty happy with how I’d started, nice and controlled, managing the pace and effort well over the 2 mile climb. We were moving onto a more level stretch now and it felt good, I resisted the urge to open up just yet though, telling myself that I could do that over the 2nd half of the race.

A water station appeared just after the 3 mile mark, we took a sharp left here and I poured most of the water over my head\back to keep myself cool, drinking a little too. I don’t normally drink water during half marathons but my mouth was a little dry so I needed it.

Miles 1,2,3 – 6.22, 6.33, 6.22

Into the 4th mile and we were moving along country roads now, our group had broken up and I was running with a lad from Celbridge, turns out he is targeting Berlin too. If the first 2 miles were a steep climb and the 3rd was flat, the 4th was definitely downhill. There was a real temptation to go all out here and put an impressive number on the watch, I knew that would be a bad idea this early and held off – I’d run it fast but controlled at the same time, my quads were pinching a little as it was already.

A sharp right and our freefall came to an abrupt end, we were climbing again – only this time it was less obvious with the surrounding landscape disguising things a little, the legs do not lie though and they were telling me all I needed to know. My Celbridge buddy and I started working together, maintaining a consistently steady pace up the climb, easing off when required but pushing on when things started to slow too much.
I was feeling the effort here, I knew I wasn’t halfway around yet and the effort was starting to tease my inner coward a little. My stomach didn’t feel great but I suspect that was me being a little overanxious – I did a quick head to toe check and the truth was that I was moving well, working hard but steady, my legs were feeling the effects of the route alright but not in a way that warranted any degree of doubt. Shut up and keep running D, this is going well.

The climb came to a halt at the 6 mile marker and almost immediately , we were dropping again, Same deal, fast but controlled, don’t fry the legs yet. Myself and Celbridge were side by side, sailing down the descent, enjoying the pace but we both remarked on how this was going to hurt later, I think there was a water station along here somewhere – again, took a bottle and dumped it over the head, sipping a little.

It was somewhere around here that I reminded myself that we were over halfway through and I still going very strong, the doubts were niggling away though - I know exactly why too, Mullingar. The thoughts of bombing out at the next climb were both un-nerving and enticing – would I have an excuse this time? 1.24\1.25 wouldn’t be a bad result everything considered. A bit of a mini argument ensued, I knew another submission would mean I was in the habit , it would be worse than Mullingar because conditions were good today and I was going well. Down we sped to the end of the climb

Miles 4, 5, 6 – 6.07, 6.27, 6.08

We crossed a bridge somewhere along mile 7, the scenery was beautiful actually, the calm water on the river highlighted just how little wind there was. Shortly after going across the bridge we were climbing again, the course was proving to be everything I had hoped for and more – what the f*ck was I thinking ?!

Celbridge was labouring a little so I took the lead on the climb, he followed in fairness and after a good mile or so of working uphill, we were over the hump and on the way down. I mentioned to him that I was starting the feel the effort, telling myself as much as anything - and the truth was, of course I was, I needed this and everything had gone well so far, this really was a case of so far, so good. I knew the pace was in and around my PB, I wasn’t concerned at all at this stage about chasing a PB, I just wanted to walk away satisfied with the day’s work.

The route was becoming a series of sharp climbs and sharp drops now, on we went though, maintaining the effort levels and starting to reel in one or two runners who had been ahead up until this point. We were joined by a Cobh runner somewhere around mile 9, the 3 of us working together as we headed back into Clonmel and closer to THAT hill.

Miles 7, 8, 9 – 6.14, 6.24, 6.17

Into Clonmel we ran and there were supporters\curious onlookers aplenty on either side of the road, some clapped, some cheered, some looked and shook their heads. I was mindful of how we probably looked like sweaty messes on a day that wasn’t particularly warm.

A left hand turn took us back towards another bridge and literally as we stepped over the bridge, I could feel the landscape shifting upwards again, my legs were very heavy now and I was dreading the hurt that was going to come with this – stupidly I’d built this hill up in my own mind before even getting here and risked allowing things to unravel after putting in a good shift so far. Thoughts of 10 good, solid miles were there, 3 easy to take it home, 3 steady even....that would do wouldn’t it? Nope, no chance – I consciously put the head down and pumped the legs a little harder, dragging my two companions with me. This was a steep, long drag...there was no end in sight and I remembered Tang’s warning that it goes on for longer than people think – I was maybe 200m in and was already scanning the horizon for the end!

Myself and Celbridge swapped positions a couple of times on the climb and while it was certainly tough, a few glances at the watch told me that we were managing this very well. The legs were very heavy but they were responsive and settled into what felt like a good stride. Just after the 11 mile marker we reached the top and turned right, “ a nice sprint to the finish now lads” one of the stewards said, I wasn’t sure if he was being sarcastic or taking pity on us !

We were off the climb, back on the flat and I felt like I should be kicking on a bit more than I was. We were also on the main road though and running in single file to avoid the traffic, I’m not sure if I had much more in me to be honest anyway – I was breathing very well but my stomach was iffy, maybe I’d taken on too much water or maybe the anxiety from earlier in the race was taking its toll.

Through the roundabout we sped, the road felt like were on a slight decline now and I chanced upping the pace a little, Celbridge came with me – the 13 mile marker appeared ahead and we both kicked towards it. Left turn into the LIT campus and the finishing line appeared, I kicked again , boosted by seeing 1.22.x on the clock, a good surge over the last 100 metres and over the line for 1.22.53 on the watch and 1.22.56 on the clock – a good day’s work (waiting for chip time, site says 1.22.26 which cannot be right)

Miles 10, 11, 12, 13 - 6.21, 6.30, 6.20, 6.11 and 5.20 pace for the last bit

Had a bit of a chat with my Celbridge buddy afterwads, wished him well for Berlin and headed off to run a very ginger warm down – a very good sign that I’d put myself through a very worthwhile excercise today, overcome some doubts, restored some confidence and taken away a PB for good measure.

16 for the day and 6 weeks till Berlin

tang1

As I said to PB on that route is some going, your a credit to your training D and really do give your all in races, I knew Mullingar was just a blip for you. You made that climb sound so easy, it near killed me the year I done it!! Head down & onwards to Berlin.

Firedance

Brilliant D, delighted for you. You work damn hard, glad today gave you back some confidence, onward now to Berlin. Congrats on a great race and your PB.

Duanington

tang1 wrote: »

As I said to PB on that route is some going, your a credit to your training D and really do give your all in races, I knew Mullingar was just a blip for you. You made that climb sound so easy, it near killed me the year I done it!! Head down & onwards to Berlin.

Thanks B - the climb towards the end was a killer, no doubt about it ...it left me too drained to take full advantage of the fast finish to be honest, looking at some strava links last night - there were others who were well able to put the boot down once they got over that last drag

tomwaits48

seriously impressive progress, well done.

Dubgal72

Duanington wrote: »

Thanks A - I think I've got this right

Athlone 2014 ( Sept) - 1.32.x

Waterford 2014 ( Dec) - 1.26.x

Wexford 2015 ( Apr) 1.24.x

Waterford 2016 ( Jan) 1.23.x

Clonmel 2016 ( Aug) 1.22.x

tomwaits48 wrote: »

seriously impressive progress, well done.

Sure is, thanks D!

FBOT01

Great days work, D. Nice to see a PB mid-cycle on a tough course. Keep up the excellent work.

Duanington wrote: »

Thanks B - the climb towards the end was a killer, no doubt about it ...it left me too drained to take full advantage of the fast finish to be honest, looking at some strava links last night - there were others who were well able to put the boot down once they got over that last drag

Unless you actually know the runner that you are looking at on Strava, their training and their target for the day not a lot to be learned from their race IMO. One man's sprint is another man's jog and all that

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Sure is, thanks D!

+1 to this

Mrs Mc

Super stuff D great report don't know how you remember so much detail one mile blurs into the next for me!!

Back in Black

Well done on another PB D.

Nice report too.

laura_ac3

Well done D, delighted to see you get the PB on a tough course especially. Great confidence boost!!

Duanington

Many thanks for the kind words folks - back to the bread and butter this week ( and recovery, sleep, hydration, nutrition etc!)

Monday

Usual run home from work - 4.1 easy miles, legs weren't too bad but I kept the pace down and made sure I was enjoying the run.

Weights afterwards

Tuesday

Long run night and I was down for a reduced 16 miles ( easy) which had me looking forward to the run all day. This involved a run home, ditching the backpack, a loop of St Anne's and out to a lumpy enough route around Donaghmede\Raheny. Bumped into one of the lads from Raheny on the way and stopped for a minute to chat with him so I added on a little bit at the end to make up for it

Legs were tight without being sore but I have picked up a slight niggle between the ball of my foot and my toes - I'll have to keep an eye on it

17.1 miles@7.45

Stretching\Core after

Wednesday

AM - 6 tired miles, not as bad as I feared - made sure I got some good sleep last night and I was the better for it. Niggle still there, more of an annoyance than anything.


PM - The bit of rain that came with this run seemed to waken me up and I enjoyed every step of this one. Could have gone on but left it at 7 ( recover, recovery, recovery)

13 for the day

Stretching\core after

Thursday

8 easy miles around St Anne's at lunch - don't remember much to be honest!

Weights and core after

PM - 4.1 easy miles later that night, belly full of meatballs and pasta but still enjoyed the run

12.1 for the day

Friday

AM - Great sleep last night, legs felt good this morning for the 6 miles into work, didn't notice the backpack for a change ( it has been weighting a tonne lately, despite me packing as little as possible).

PM - Same as earlier, legs felt fine, pace was easy...job well done

12 miles for the day


Saturday

Big session on the cards today - reckoned I needed 2.5 hours for it so got up at 6, had a sip of coffee, looked out thw window at the trees bending in the wind, felt sorry for myself, looked at the dogs curled up in their warm beds, thought about joining them...copped on and got out the door

Plan for today was:

2 miles easy, 5,4,3,2,1 miles @ 6.30 pace with 800m easy between sets, 2 miles easy.

I knew the coast was a no no for this one, the splits and effort would be too distorted by the wind in my face or at my back...the alternative was a bumpier route around Raheny\Clontarf but should provide at least some shelter at stages - not much but enough to get some degree of accuracy.


2 miles easy done and I got started on the first 5, down the avenue in St Anne's, out onto the coast, up the drag into Raheny and back to Clontarf. The wind was p*xy at times and seemed to be coming right at me during each of the drags which didn't help - I knew focusing too much on the pace would be silly so I resigned myself to staying within range of a few seconds of the 6.30 target, the route and conditions made that decision for me really.

5 miles: 6.29, 6.34, 6.28, 6.24, 6.26

First section finished up in St Anne's ( on purpose), I ran the recovery and got going on the 4 mile section, found it tough to get going again and my thoughts turned to anyone racing FD as the rain started to come down ( although I was actually glad of it to be honest). Had to really fight up the drags and into the wind to stay on top of things here, there wasn't a sinner around which added to that desolate feeling one can get when battling through a tough session!

4 miles: 6.27, 6.38, 6.33, 6.33

Finished up again in St Anne's, took full advantage of the 800m easy recovery and got going on the 3rd section, knowing there were only 3 miles to this one ( or less than 21 minutes!) helped with the mental battle but once again the effort levels were way up at times and I worked on relaxing through the discomfort ( read that on here somewhere once) which did the trick. There was just no escaping the conditions this morning, even when the wind was blowing across me, it was whipping the breath from me and making things very difficult

3 miles: 6.28, 6.39, 6.32

Got through the 3 mile section and relished the 800m recovery, only 2 then 1 to go and I was done! My stomach was acting up a little at this stage - probably from the sheer work rate that I was having to put in when running into the breeze.

The 2 mile section was tough on the legs and I was glad to hear the watch beep at the end , just as I came back into St Anne's

2 miles: 6.29, 6.32

Last 800m and I got stuck into the last mile, taking in the Avenue one last time and upping the pace a little to make sure I took full advantage of the slight drop here!

1 mile @ 6.17

2 miles very easy to bring this to a close - stomach was a bit ropey at the end, I think from the sheer effort levels at times to be honest.

Delighted with how this went, with or without the conditions and route to be honest, its a tough session and one which takes a lot of mental strength as well as physical. Was tired afterwards and ate like a lord for the day.

21 miles for the morning


Sunday

Pressups and core during the day and got out this evening for some easy miles on a very mild coast road. The wind was a bit of a pain again but nothing like yesterday, 8.5 miles for the lot, kept the pace down and stretched afterwards.

Legs are tired but I'll excuse them given the good stuff they've done this week.

Just shy of 88 miles for the week and 5 weeks till the big one

AuldManKing

this must be the Go To log for training.
Super session on Sat.

ThebitterLemon

Great 5,4,3,2,1 session there Double D.

Just don't do anything daft and you'll smash you're PB.

Any chance you could throw in the odd ****e or missed day, I'd feel less deluded!!

TbL

FBOT01

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Great 5,4,3,2,1 session there Double D.

Just don't do anything daft and you'll smash you're PB.

Any chance you could throw in the odd ****e or missed day, I'd feel less deluded!!

TbL

Rumour has it that he is planning a doss day on 26th Sept!

overpronator

Animal session and a great indicator of fitness on a day like Saturday. Will be doing that session myself soon and im not looking forward to it! Have you settled on a goal time yet?

Duanington

AuldManKing wrote: »

this must be the Go To log for training.
Super session on Sat.

Thanks A - you're going well yourself at the moment, keep it up !

Duanington

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Great 5,4,3,2,1 session there Double D.

Just don't do anything daft and you'll smash you're PB.

Any chance you could throw in the odd ****e or missed day, I'd feel less deluded!!

TbL

Cheers C - I had a pretty ****e day recently, sure you were there to witness it !

I'll actually be doing well to get through the next 2 weeks without skipping a run or two, lots of work\family stuff to juggle so I'll be getting creative again

Duanington

FBOT01 wrote: »

Rumour has it that he is planning a doss day on 26th Sept!

LOL - that will be the dossiest of doss days M!

Duanington

overpronator wrote: »

Animal session and a great indicator of fitness on a day like Saturday. Will be doing that session myself soon and im not looking forward to it! Have you settled on a goal time yet?

Thanks S - well, I was dreading it until I peared it back in my mind to 5 (decreasing) reps at a certain pace....and left it at that, when I thought too much about it, the doubts started to creep in !

No concrete time as yet, I have an idea at this stage alright ( sub 3.03 :P) but I'll give it another couple of weeks training before settling on a firm target

FBOT01

Duanington wrote: »

Thanks S - well, I was dreading it until I peared it back in my mind to 5 (decreasing) reps at a certain pace....and left it at that, when I thought too much about it, the doubts started to creep in !

No concrete time as yet, I have an idea at this stage alright ( sub 3.03 :P) but I'll give it another couple of weeks training before settling on a firm target and then I'll add 5 or 10mins to come up with the public version

FYP

Duanington

FBOT01 wrote: »

FYP

damn right !

ThebitterLemon

Good man Inspector AULDBOT I'd say you're on the money there all right

TbL

Duanington

Long time no post

31.08.2016


I knew the past week or so would be tricky in terms of getting all of my planned sessions\runs in and so it proved, a few family events to sort out\partake in, a trip down west with the clan for a few days and some all day meetings with visitors from the US in work through a few spanners in the works ...the biggest issue being late nights and early mornings ( i.e. not enough sleep!) but I think I've managed to get through relatively unscathed


Monday

recovery effort run home from work - 4.1 miles very easy

Tuesday

Day off work but a day spent walking from beauticians to hairdressers and everything in between to get the eldest ready for a Debs. I expected tantrums and sulks but in the end I did most of that craic, she was just happy to be getting pampered in fairness.
Hosted a mini get together at home before heading over to the official debs party on the other side of the city....at some food, shook some hands, laughed at some jokes, saw them off and headed over to Mammy D's to get my run on.

17 miles steady on the cards so I picked a up and down route ( Clondalkin, Palmerstown, Chapelizod, Phoenix park...and back) and got going. Love the first few miles ( all downhill..weeeeeeee) but paid the price on the way back , tough run but one of those very satisfying tough runs.

Mammy D had a fine feed ready for me as soon as I got back to HQ

17 miles @ 7.10 and an easy mile to finish up brought the total to 18 for the evening.


Wednesday

AM - 6 mile easy runmute - St Anne's and then into work, legs feeling the hills from last night

PM - Late getting out for this after a busy day at the office and some entertaining guests, legs still cranky

(pressups and stretching somwhere along the way)

Thursday

Early start again today and I got out around lunch in St Anne's for this one. Energy levels were good but I have found lately that without a solid night's sleep, I just don't get the right levels of recovery going on.

8.1 creaky miles

PM - weights, core, stretching and then 4 easy miles

12.1 for the day

Friday

AM - Late night last night, early start again today and some heavy legs to contend with - 6 "easy" miles

PM - Run home from work, late getting out again and feeling low on energy, again. 6 non easy miles

Saturday

Up early for this run, had a planned session that I knew wasn't happening today on account of the state of the legs so I swapped things around and ran 8 easy miles instead. Ate everything in sight afterwards, packed the kids\mot\pup into the car and headed down to Galway for a few days.

- got out for a lovely swim later in the evening, the leisurely kind where there is more floating than actual swimming going on though


Sunday

Late to bed the night before but I knew I had no other option than to get up early and get my run in before we were due to head off for the day. We were staying in Loughrea, having spent a lot of time down here as a kid ( spending my time hiding in trees to avoid farmwork), I had a good idea of the route I'd run. Got up just after 6, had a cup of coffee with the cows and drove in towards the lake near the town to get started.

Planned session was for 5x(4k@6.30, 1k@7.15) with some easy miles either side, I had my doubts straight away as to whether or not I'd get this done - my legs really had been in a bad way the past few days and while they felt reasonable today, I wouldn't know for sure till I got going.
Parked the car up and set off on the easy stuff, heading off on a loop around the lake - which was breathtaking at that early hour.

Easy stuff done, I got started on the 6.30 paced section....took me a good while to get the pace down and by the time I did, I knew this wasn't going to be pretty. Promised myself I'd see out the first section before making a call, sometimes the shock of the effort can wear off on these sessions and it isn't quite as dramatic as it might first seem.
Effort levels were rising throughout the first section and my legs were really hurting already, I knew the game was up by the time I had the 4k done, proper recovery had been the casualty this week and the net effect was that I was risking too much by going on here.

Made a deal with myself to just go for a long run and see how it went, I knew something would have to give this week and this was it. Can't say I enjoyed the long run either, the route was bumpier than I thought and my legs were aching most of the way...it was a beautiful morning in fairness though and I had plenty of spectators along the road to keep me company....cows and sheep that is.

21 miles@ 7.30 for the lot then off down to Clare for the day for some fun and frollicks with the clan - The Burren, Cliffs of Moher, Ailwee caves with a bird of prey thingy thrown in for good measure ( wow!) ...and the sun was blazing - sure there's nowhere like it when the sun shines!

Just over 87 miles for the week and even though Sunday's session didn't go well - I hadn't expected to get through the week as well as I did.

4 weeks to go


Monday

Great day out in Clare horseriding with the family and then it was the long drive home, got that head dropping thing after an hour or so driving home so my better half took over driving duties while I got a disco nap in

Late enough getting home but managed to head out for an easy 4.5 miles before hitting the hay


Tuesday

AM - 7.2 easy miles around St Anne's. Legs tired, good sleep last night for the first time in over a week which was great but I suppose it'll take a few of those really

PM - 4.8 easy miles around St Anne's, bumped into MrsMc singing along to Marti Pellow's velvet voice. Legs felt better on this one thankfully

pressups and stretching later

12 for the day

Wednesday

Last day off work and it was a chance to head over to the Phoenix park to get in the first of this week's planned sessions.

3 miles easy, 2x18 minutes @6.10 pace (4 minutes easy between), 3 miles easy

Didn't like the look of this one at all and didn't like the look of the wind out in the park either.

Got parked up and started on the easy miles on the North Road, bringing be out onto that triangular loop that some of the 5\10ks races in the park use. Thought I'd use it one and see how it went, there was no way to avoid the wind so once I was within range of 6.10 for each section, I'd be happy.

Got the pace down ok and held everything well until I turned into the wind and the effort level went right up immediately - got the head down and kept at it until I had the first loop done, another one to go and I would have the first 18 minute section done....the second loop of the triangle was really tough though, the wind caught me out big time and I was working very hard by the end to hang on.

Into the 4 minute easy section and then I got started on the second 18 minute section, heading down Chesterfield Avenue which was grand, no issue at all with the pace and actually felt pretty comfortable. Once I turned down towards the cross\acres the wind was back and forcing the effort levels up.
Really had to dig in to get through the second section, I was struggling to hold the pace into the wind and while I knew the effort was too much, I really wanted this one ticked off.

Finished up just outside the acres and ran the few easy miles back to the car.

First 18 minute section - avg pace, 6.08
Second 18 minute section - avg pace, 6.11

12.2 for the lot

Core work and stretching later


Sleep and recovery is key for the next bit!

Duanington

04.09.2016

Picked up a headcold over the past few days - which of course, in my head, has turned into the abola virus, strep throat and back to a headcold....for now:eek:

The net result was really just to make sure easy stuff was indeed nice and easy, keep hydrated and put my session back to Sunday (today) to give myself every chance of shifting the cold.

Thursday

Lunchtime run in St Anne's - 8.2 miles, all easy, enjoyed this run and my legs felt surprisingly good after yesterday's session.

Weights and core work later in the day

PM - 3.8 miles around Duanington HQ ( Clondalkin), got this in before Mammy D's monsterous feed which saved me running with a full belly later in the evening!

3.8 @7.50

12 for the day

Friday

AM - RUnmute into work, 6 easy miles...legs felt good again. Throat felt like there were a few smashed light bulbs in there though

PM - Run home from work, 6 easy miles. Enjoyed this run

PRessups in the evening and an early night ( not a great sleep though)


Saturday

Took the lie in option this morning for the first time in a while as I'd decided to push the session back until Sunday to try to shift the cold.

Felt like the best decision ever when I looked out the window at 8 am ! Still had to head out in the rain later in the day to get the easy stuff done so I did question the wisdom of the move then to be fair.

Stretching and not much else after.

8 easy miles for the day

Sunday

Planned session was 5x(4k@6.15 pace, 1k@7.15 pace) with 3 easy miles either side

I had the alarm set early to get up and get this done this morning but to be honest, I was in two minds as to whether I should just stay in bed with some lemsips or take on the session.

Stay in bed and I shift this thing quicker......do the session and I , well..do the session....but probably delay shifting the cold...

In the end I decided to compromise ...I'd run 3 sets of the 4k+1k and call it a a day...get back to the house and hammer the lemsips for the day.

Got the warmup done around Clontarf, Raheny and got stuck into the first set...felt good throughout the first set, starting in St Anne's and heading out along the coast towards Fairview. Bit of a stiff breeze at times along here and I knew it might pick away at the pace but I was happy to stay controlled and keep the effort right as opposed to monitoring the watch too much.

The first 7.15 km felt great...these steady paced recoveries always feel pretty easy when they're sandwiched between quicker stuff!

2nd set was probably the most comfortable of the lot, heading around Fairview park and back out towards Howth...although I could feel the chest\throat struggling a little it with all the heavy breathing but the legs felt great, really comfortable.

Into another 7.15 paced km and then onto the 3rd set which took me alongside the road works in Clontarf back towards St Anne's.
Working a good bit harder along this one but still well in control, the big issue I was having was the urge to clear my throat constantly....which was drying and getting more uncomfortable all the time.

Felt good at the end of the 3rd and while I probably should have left it there, I pushed on into the 4th set. The 7.15 paced km ( approx 4.30 min\km) took me up the hill into Raheny, into the 6.30 paced stuff and back into St Anne's...working a lot harder this time though, my breathing was noticeably heavier and I knew I was possibly pushing things a bit much here.

FInished off the section , started on the 4th 7.15 paced km ...easing off the pace a good but before the end as I coughed and spluttered.

Decided to leave it at that and just finish off with a few easy miles.

Faster stuff splits worked out as ;

( target, 4.03 and 4.30ish)

Set 1
4.03
3.59
3.59
3.58
4.22

Set 2
4.01
4.04
4.04
4.02
4.29

Set 3
3.58
4.01
4.04
4.04
4.47

Set 4
4.06
4.07
4.00
4.16 ( not sure about this one!)
4.48

The wind and couple of drags did pull at the pace at times but the effort was pretty good throughout.

18.6 miles for the lot inc the easy miles.

Stretching and some very light core stuff this evening to close out a good week, just shy of 80 miles and things start to ease up a bit over the next few days. Still some work to do all the same - priority one is to shift this sore throat\cold !

3 weeks to go :eek:

AuldManKing

So thats a 12m non-stop workout?? And its a 1k at 7:15 pace (as opposed to a wishful 1km in 7.15)??

Duanington

AuldManKing wrote: »

So thats a 12m non-stop workout?? And its a 1k at 7:15 pace (as opposed to a wishful 1km in 7.15)??

Sorry A - didn't specify that very well, yep, 12 miles or so for the workout...the 7.15 PACE km was indeed at 7.15 PACE(ish)...target around 4.30 for the km

The 5th set would have brought the workout to 15 miles...with 3 easy either side

Duanington

11.09.2016

Well priority number 1 for the week was to shift the headcold and that's just about done, I did have to sacrifice a morning run in the process but that's a small price to pay in the greater scheme of things really.

Lots of easy runs, a long run and one last big session later and taper time has arrived!

Monday

4.1 very easy miles - I seem to remember this one being very, very hot and I distinctly remember feeling like crap and coughing a lot afterwards

Stretching and core after

Tuesday

17 miles easy on the cards and met up with Yaboya, Ferris and FBOT for this one, winding our way around St Anne's, Donaghmede, Raheny and St Anne's again. Enjoyed this run even though I still felt gank, energy levels low and a general fuzziness around the head had replaced the sore throat ( which was progress in my book !). Good chat with the Berlin veterans on the way around the run, lots of sound advice that I hope to remember in just under 2 weeks.

17 miles @ 7.50 min\miles

Wednesday

Woke up, felt like crying at the thoughts of even getting out of bed so got some bus fare ready and gave myself the morning off training. The legs were stiff but I knew running twice today was a bad idea if I really wanted to shift the headcold.

PM - 6 miles easy, no memory of this !

Thursday

Up early and out for a per work run - I had to drive to Limerick for the day for a series of meetings so had to get this done beforehand.

6 miles @ 8.09 - felt a little better all over than the previous day thankfully

PM - back from Limerick, stopped off at Mammy D's on the way home, ran to the phoenix park with the bro, let him off for his long run and turned and back ( regretted the route on the way back ). Legs felt the hills but energy levels were way up on previous days, cold was well and truly on the way out

12.5 for the day

Friday
5 miles before work and 6 miles after....can't really remember either again !

11 for the day

PRessups and stretching later

Saturday

I normally set aside Saturday mornings for my long session but had family commitments which meant I had to be on the road shortly after 8 so I pushed the session back and just ran an easy 10k in the evening
Nice run, things almost back to normal

6.2 miles @ 8.01

Sunday

I had looked at this session all week and read it as a repeat of last week's monster 4x(4k,1k)....it was only last night that I spotted it was actually :

4x(5k, 1k) - I can't say I was overly enthusiastic this morning when the alarm went off to get out and start this.

the full session was : 3 miles easy, 4x(5k@6.30 pace, 1k@7.15 pace), 3 miles easy

So I figured I'd use it as a dress rehearsal for the big day and wore all the gear I plan to wear on the day. The wind was picking up outside as I left the house and I decided there and then not to get too hung up on paces on the watch.

6.30 pace is about 4.03 per km and 7.15 pace is about 4.30 or so....the wind and terrain would probably mess those up at times so once I was there or thereabouts for the lot, I'd be happy.

Warmup done and dusted around St Anne's, I got started on the fast stuff - heading down to the coast and back towards Fairview, the great big Dublin traffic jam bike ride was on so there were quite a few stewards and Gards out and about. It was a strange sensation to see so many out that early actually. The breeze was in my face for most of the first section but I held the effort well and enjoyed the 4.30 km - taking a gel to get some practice in...moved quickly into the next section and headed around Fairview park, spotting the first of the thousands of cyclists on their way out from East Wall. Enjoyed running alongside them for a good bit on the coast, although I did have to do quite a bit of ducking and diving from the increased pedestrian traffic around, up and down paths, around cones, nipping around small groups of people - that kind of thing.

Headed right the way up the coast with the cyclists and turned in at Baldoyle to get out of the wind which was really bugging me , I knew that meant some drags but again, if the effort was right, I'd be happy. Took another gel around here and got started on the last few kms....working very hard up some of the drags but holding back just a bit to avoid going into the red.

Finished up at the end of the Kilbarrack road, blowing hard having really dug in over the last section - can't say I was wiped out though...and can't say I could have done another set either!

Started off on the warmdown and realised that I must have lost a km in there somewhere, the numbers weren't adding up - thought about doing another one but it was pointless at this stage. Ran an extra bit on the warm down to make the miles up, had a bit of company for this which was great, felt like I could have gone on and on. ( although that sensation ended pretty soon after stopping)

Splits were:

Warmup
05:14
05:11
05:07
05:05
04:58

04:08
04:02
04:10
04:06
03:58
04:24
04:01
04:08
04:08
04:03
04:01
04:33
04:08
04:04
04:06
04:02
(missing k )
04:43
04:09
04:03
04:12
04:11
04:01
04:31

Warmdown
05:18
05:19
05:09
05:18
05:03
05:00

21.1 miles in total

Some of the splits are a bit away from target and of course, I skipped a km somehow but I'm delighted with the session, I'd been dreading it for some reason and even at the start was looking for a way out of doing it - toughed it out, worked hard and the effort was spot on all the way.

Weights, stretching and core later.

Proper, actual, real life taper is here.....and the headcold is gone.

less than 2 weeks to go, starting to look forward to it now

Murph_D

Now that's a quality long run. Enjoy the taper.

Mrs Mc

mind that cold another great weeks work enjoy the taper not long now !