A Slow Journey to Faster Times

yaboya1

tang1 wrote: »

Any nice beers to comment on over the festive season?

Nah, just what I normally drink. Stayed away from that posh Kinnegar stuff :pac:

yaboya1

Monday 5th January - 75 minutes Easy
8.05m @ 9:20p/m average (135bpm avg)

My first attempt of 2015 at a week of reasonable mileage. I wasn't really looking forward to this as I was tired after a busy day, so brought the phone with me (for the first time in a long time) to allow myself to listen to the radio. My friend called me about 2-3 miles in and I decided to take it. I finished out the run nattering away, obviously going at a much slower pace than I would have been otherwise. No harm done.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:31
Mile 2 - 8:31
Mile 3 - 9:40
Mile 4 - 9:12
Mile 5 - 9:31
Mile 6 - 9:48
Mile 7 - 9:43
Mile 8 - 9:42
0.05 - 0:30

adrian522

yaboya1 wrote: »

My first attempt of 2015 at a week of reasonable mileage.

Well technically this is the first full week of 2015 so there is that.

yaboya1

Tuesday 6th January - 60 minutes Steady
8m @ 7:30p/m average (151bpm avg)

I was supposed to be out of the country today, so getting any miles in looked unlikely. However a change of plan meant I was able to squeeze the session in before work, albeit slightly shorter than normal. Splits were slower than I would have expected, but I'm feeling a bit under the weather in the last couple of days and had a strong wind in my face for the last three miles. The main thing was getting the hour completed at the required heart rate. Splits are not that important at the moment and I won't move off 150bpm until I feel I've mastered it. Only managed a half mile cool down due to said time restrictions.


Splits:

Warm up mile - 7:26 (135pm)

Mile 1 - 7:20
Mile 2 - 7:11
Mile 3 - 7:30
Mile 4 - 7:20
Mile 5 - 7:19
Mile 6 - 7:41
Mile 7 - 7:58
Mile 8 - 7:41

Cool down 0.5 mile - 4:19 (145bpm)

yaboya1

Wednesday 7th January - 90 minutes Easy
10.45m @ 8:37p/m average (136bpm avg)

Not a huge amount to say about this. I should get up above 60 miles this week, which is a big improvement on last week's 30 (not to be recommended though! :eek:).


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:13
Mile 2 - 8:21
Mile 3 - 8:35
Mile 4 - 8:38
Mile 5 - 8:37
Mile 6 - 8:24
Mile 7 - 9:00
Mile 8 - 8:45
Mile 9 - 8:35
Mile 10 -8:49
0.45 - 4:03

Calvin Johnson

What are you hoping to run in Rahney?

Sub 29?

yaboya1

Calvin Johnson wrote: »

What are you hoping to run in Rahney?

Sub 29?

Yes

Calvin Johnson

That's good.

Duanington

You seem to be getting back into a good routine Yaboya1 - fair play to you

yaboya1

Thursday 8th January - 45 minutes Easy, 60 minutes Easy

I'm going to try and incorporate more double days where possible to help me steadily increase my mileage.


A.M.
45 minutes Easy
5.33m @ 8:27p/m average (135bpm avg)

I decided to do the shorter of the two runs in the morning, as it suited me best and seems to be more common around here than the other way around.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:20
Mile 2 - 8:18
Mile 3 - 8:35
Mile 4 - 8:26
Mile 5 - 8:34
0.33 - 2:49


P.M.
60 minutes Easy
7.35m @ 8:11p/m average (133bpm avg)

This was pretty effortless and almost 20 seconds per mile quicker than the morning session with a lower average heart rate. I've explained why I think this is below.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:03
Mile 2 - 8:11
Mile 3 - 8:13
Mile 4 - 8:08
Mile 5 - 8:13
Mile 6 - 8:18
Mile 7 - 8:13
0.35 - 2:50


My Steady session last Tuesday was much faster than the two I've run since then. This had been confusing me a little bit. I was also curious as to why people around here tend to run the shorter runs on double days in the morning. So, I asked the resident expert and he gave me an answer which now seems plain and simple (and very, very true!). It's no wonder he was voted Poster of the Year . Like most people, it seems I'm a far better runner in the afternoon/evening than the morning. The body doesn't seem to be fully ready to go first thing, hence the much faster splits/lower heart rate tonight in almost identical conditions. I ran late in the evening last Tuesday, while the same two sessions since then have both been done in the early morning. I feel a bit silly now, but you learn something new (and sometimes blatantly obvious) every day. I'm on a day off work tomorrow, so will probably leave my Steady session until the afternoon. This also augurs well for the Raheny 5 Mile with it's 3pm start time. However, I'm going to have to think of some new tactic for my marathons........

MKDTH

Maybe the more your body gets used to a run in the morning, the more it will be prepared to race at this time of day? Otherwise people who may train more in the later part of the day may find that their bodies are not feeling 100% on race day mornings?

Maybe I watch to much Cycling as Team Sky made giant strides in the space of a few years with having attention to minor detail adding up to a large gain overall........then again, I could be over thinking things again

Calvin Johnson

Marginal gains

yaboya1

MKDTH wrote: »

Maybe the more your body gets used to a run in the morning, the more it will be prepared to race at this time of day? Otherwise people who may train more in the later part of the day may find that their bodies are not feeling 100% on race day mornings?

Maybe I watch to much Cycling as Team Sky made giant strides in the space of a few years with having attention to minor detail adding up to a large gain overall........then again, I could be over thinking things again

I do a lot of early morning running already though. I've completed six marathons with none starting later than 9am. I think it's more down to the time between getting up out of bed and running/racing. Some of my best runs (Longford last year comes to mind) have come after a long drive. This is probably because by the the time I get there my mind & body are fully awake?

yaboya1

Friday 9th January - 75 minutes Steady
11m @ 7:11p/m average (151bpm avg)

I'm very happy with this. Maintaining a steady heart rate in the hurricane like conditions outside today is tough to say the least, but needs must and I got on with it. Left it until the afternoon as mentioned yesterday. I knew it would be impossible to completely avoid running against the wind, so I decided to face up to it early. I ran uphill & into the wind with the rain pelting against my face for the first five miles. From North Strand to the Castleknock Gate (via the canal towpath) it felt like hell, and the splits are slower than I would normally expect at this HR. However, I did a pretty good job at maintaining the correct bpm and looked forward to the prospect of freewheeling back downhill with the gale behind on Chesterfield Avenue. The splits really picked up then as you'd expect, and it also felt so much easier despite the HR being almost identical. I'm going to stay at this HR for another week at least, but I feel I'm pretty close to moving up again. On a calmer day I feel like I'd have averaged below 7 minute miles for the entire session.


Splits:

Warm up mile - 8:14 (135pm)

Mile 1 - 7:25
Mile 2 - 7:15
Mile 3 - 7:27
Mile 4 - 7:42
Mile 5 - 7:21
Mile 6 - 6:56
Mile 7 - 6:48
Mile 8 - 6:45
Mile 9 - 7:10
Mile 10 -7:04
Mile 11 - 7:13

Cool down mile - 8:36 (139bpm)

Dubgal72

Sounds like this approach takes a lot of discipline. Fair play!

Calvin Johnson

Must be time for a nursing home special soon?

yaboya1

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Sounds like this approach takes a lot of discipline. Fair play!

Who'd have thought a bousy like me had discipline? :pac:

Calvin Johnson wrote: »

Must be time for a nursing home special soon?

Probably tomorrow, but I'm toying with the idea of a parkrun. How many pints I consume when I'm out tonight will be the deciding factor

Dubgal72

Haha I didn't say you were using any discipline....just that it TAKES discipline bousy boy

FBOT01

yaboya1 wrote: »

Who'd have thought a bousy like me had discipline? :pac:



Probably tomorrow, but I'm toying with the idea of a parkrun. How many pints I consume when I'm out tonight will be the deciding factor

See you at 9:20 in the morning if St Anne's if your chosen venue!



PS.....nice steady session. Looks like this year will be no different than last. I think I have banked a few reasonable runs and then I read your log:P

yaboya1

Saturday 10th January - 60 minutes Easy
7.62m @ 7:52p/m average (134bpm avg)

First things first. I managed to avoid consuming any alcohol last night but I was still out pretty late, so when I awoke at 8:52am this morning I decided against the parkrun. I had 38 minutes to get from my bed to the start line and then would have had a mad rush back home to shower and change before heading straight into work. An extra hour in bed seemed more appealing .

A run didn't seem the most attractive option this evening as I walked home from work with numbing hands and frozen to the bone. However, I decided just to get an easy 45 minutes in, knowing I'd be happier with myself if I did that rather than nothing at all. So I forced myself out the door, but just one mile in I knew I was enjoying myself too much to stop that soon and adjusted my route accordingly to add another quarter of an hour. It seems the later I go out, the faster I go. I am absolutely psyched by this run. I felt fantastic from start to finish and could have run all night if I wanted to. A decent length run tomorrow evening will wrap up a good week for me. If I can back that up with something similar next week, I'll really start getting confident about Raheny. I know it probably seems silly to be so excited by such a run of the mill workout, but the whole thing felt so effortless. It seemed the less I tried, the quicker I moved. My last five miles almost tie my Raheny time from 2 years ago when I was flat out racing, even though today I was actually almost trying to go slow. I'm going to stop typing now, but I could keep going on about this all night..........:pac:


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:01
Mile 2 - 8:08
Mile 3 - 7:45
Mile 4 - 7:41
Mile 5 - 7:48
Mile 6 - 8:10
Mile 7 - 7:38
0.62 - 4:51

Ososlo

Someone's on a runner's high tonight! Great post! Love that feeling!

yaboya1

Sunday 11th January - 105 minutes Easy
13m @ 8:08p/m average (135bpm avg)

Tough out there tonight. The wind was at least as bad and probably worse than Friday. I think it's obvious from my splits where it was helping/hurting. Happy with this and the week overall. Clocked more than 74 miles in the end and I feel great . Bit of foam rolling later on, then back to it tomorrow. Hopefully I can I beat this week's total.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:54
Mile 2 - 7:44
Mile 3 - 7:44
Mile 4 - 7:45
Mile 5 - 8:17
Mile 6 - 8:30
Mile 7 - 8:46
Mile 8 - 8:30
Mile 9 - 8:44
Mile 10 - 7:43
Mile 11 - 7:44
Mile 12 - 8:35
Mile 13 - 7:53

yaboya1

Monday 12th January - 45 minutes Easy, 65 minutes Easy

Foam rolled and well rested after an excellent night's sleep, I was ready for another double day.


A.M.
45 minutes Easy
5.42m @ 8:18p/m average (134bpm avg)

The equivalent of the nursing home special for me. Kept it nice & easy this morning and was genuinely surprised at how fast the splits were.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:17
Mile 2 - 8:08
Mile 3 - 8:12
Mile 4 - 8:19
Mile 5 - 8:30
0.42 - 3:38


P.M.
65 minutes Easy
8.12m @ 8:00p/m average (133bpm avg)

Pretty similar story this evening. Kept the effort even easier than this morning and coasted along nicely. I was going to do an hour, but added on five minutes as I was half a mile from home and didn't see the point in walking.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:11
Mile 2 - 7:52
Mile 3 - 7:56
Mile 4 - 8:01
Mile 5 - 8:10
Mile 6 - 8:10
Mile 7 - 7:52
Mile 8 - 7:50
0.12 - 1:01


Nice start to the week and I even got some core work done in between the runs. A productive day indeed!
Steady session tomorrow.

FBOT01

yaboya1 wrote: »

Monday 12th January - 45 minutes Easy, 65 minutes Easy

Foam rolled and well rested after an excellent night's sleep, I was ready for another double day.


A.M.
45 minutes Easy
5.42m @ 8:18p/m average (134bpm avg)

The equivalent of the nursing home special for me. Kept it nice & easy this morning and was genuinely surprised at how fast the splits were.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:17
Mile 2 - 8:08
Mile 3 - 8:12
Mile 4 - 8:19
Mile 5 - 8:30
0.42 - 3:38


P.M.
65 minutes Easy
8.12m @ 8:00p/m average (133bpm avg)

Pretty similar story this evening. Kept the effort even easier than this morning and coasted along nicely. I was going to do an hour, but added on five minutes as I was half a mile from home and didn't see the point in walking.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:11
Mile 2 - 7:52
Mile 3 - 7:56
Mile 4 - 8:01
Mile 5 - 8:10
Mile 6 - 8:10
Mile 7 - 7:52
Mile 8 - 7:50
0.12 - 1:01


Nice start to the week and I even got some core work done in between the runs. A productive day indeed!
Steady session tomorrow.

Nobody likes a show-off:p

yaboya1

Tuesday 13th January - 75 minutes Steady
11m @ 7:02p/m average (151bpm avg)

Some very treacherous conditions underfoot tonight, along with an icy breeze that would cut right through you. Because of the dangerous surface I almost postponed this until tomorrow, with some easy miles looking far more appealing in the circumstances. However, I managed to find an elongated loop where the icy patches could be avoided, so I got on with it. Headwinds, tailwinds & crosswinds were all features of this run, so the average pace probably tells the most accurate story. Felt like a solid effort.


Splits:

Warm up mile - 8:14 (123pm)

Mile 1 - 6:47
Mile 2 - 6:52
Mile 3 - 7:01
Mile 4 - 7:15
Mile 5 - 6:55
Mile 6 - 6:48
Mile 7 - 7:02
Mile 8 - 7:06
Mile 9 - 7:30
Mile 10 -7:13
Mile 11 - 6:57

Cool down mile - 8:27 (137bpm)

yaboya1

Wednesday 14th January - 60 minutes Easy
7.58m @ 7:55p/m average (135bpm avg)

Felt like a summer's day out there this afternoon in comparison to last night's conditions. Pretty similar to my run on Saturday evening, sub 8 min/mile average at the aerobic heart rate. I suppose it's a vindication of the training that my easy efforts are now this quick. I may have to take an enforced rest day tomorrow, but that's probably not a bad thing as I've run ten straight days in a row now, covering almost 110 miles. If anything, it might freshen me up ahead of Friday's Steady session.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:03
Mile 2 - 7:55
Mile 3 - 7:54
Mile 4 - 7:51
Mile 5 - 7:55
Mile 6 - 7:54
Mile 7 - 7:56
0.58 - 4:34


In other news, I'll be moving back to the right south side of the city shortly. I'm going to be based pretty close to Tallaght AC's headquarters, so may look into joining there. However that's not for a fortnight or more, so for the moment I won't worry about that while staying focused on Raheny.

ECOLII

yaboya1 wrote: »

In other news, I'll be moving back to the right south side of the city shortly. I'm going to be based pretty close to Tallaght AC's headquarters, so may look into joining there. However that's not for a fortnight or more, so for the moment I won't worry about that while staying focused on Raheny.

Welcome to the Dark side :cool:

Even if you don't join drop the likes of me and DR or that a bell for runs if you ever want a bit of company

RayCun

yaboya1

Don't take offence Ray .
I had a look into both clubs as the distance from my new abode would be pretty similar. As much as I like everything about the Brothers Pearse set up, it would be having the track available to me whenever I want that sways me towards Tallaght. There's a session in the HADD plan I want to try soon which involves using a track and I thought that would make the most sense for me.

yaboya1

ECOLII wrote: »

Welcome to the Dark side :cool:

Even if you don't join drop the likes of me and DR or that a bell for runs if you ever want a bit of company

Thanks. I will do at some stage, altough I need to get both your numbers again as my old phone is f*cked and I never saved them to the SIM .

ECOLII

yaboya1 wrote: »

Thanks. I will do at some stage, altough I need to get both your numbers again as my old phone is f*cked and I never saved them to the SIM .

dublin runner wrote: »

-I have set-up a Whatsapp group for training runs. It will be mainly Dublin based. If you are interested give me a PM. The idea is to compliment the thread used here. Paces will hopefully vary greatly so will hopefully appeal to many. It will be nothing like Tinder, I swear :pac:.

Drop him a PM, I believe he is even nice enough to let some of "them" into the group :P

Calvin Johnson

Interesting news, very interesting.

FBOT01

yaboya1 wrote: »

Wednesday 14th January - 60 minutes Easy
7.58m @ 7:55p/m average (135bpm avg)

Felt like a summer's day out there this afternoon in comparison to last night's conditions. Pretty similar to my run on Saturday evening, sub 8 min/mile average at the aerobic heart rate. I suppose it's a vindication of the training that my easy efforts are now this quick. I may have to take an enforced rest day tomorrow, but that's probably not a bad thing as I've run ten straight days in a row now, covering almost 110 miles. If anything, it might freshen me up ahead of Friday's Steady session.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:03
Mile 2 - 7:55
Mile 3 - 7:54
Mile 4 - 7:51
Mile 5 - 7:55
Mile 6 - 7:54
Mile 7 - 7:56
0.58 - 4:34


In other news, I'll be moving back to the right south side of the city shortly. I'm going to be based pretty close to Tallaght AC's headquarters, so may look into joining there. However that's not for a fortnight or more, so for the moment I won't worry about that while staying focused on Raheny.

Not sure where you are going ranks as either:D

FBOT01

yaboya1 wrote: »

Thanks. I will do at some stage, altough I need to get both your numbers again as my old phone is f*cked and I never saved them to the SIM .

Is that a subtle way of letting all of us from DNS know that you have "lost our numbers":p

yaboya1

FBOT01 wrote: »

Is that a subtle way of letting all of us from DNS know that you have "lost our numbers":p

I lost a lot of numbers. When you texted me over Christmas, it took me a while to realise who it was. Have it now though

yaboya1

Friday 16th January - 45 minutes Easy, 75 minutes Steady

Another good day
I took a rest yesterday as planned, but I thought a double was warranted today as I won't be getting any miles in tomorrow either.


A.M.
45 minutes Easy
5.52m @ 8:10p/m average (134bpm avg)

A nice spin on a cool crisp morning to help waken up the legs ahead of the evening's steady run. Not quite sure what happened in the third mile?


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:18
Mile 2 - 8:11
Mile 3 - 7:39
Mile 4 - 8:16
Mile 5 - 8:19
0.52 - 4:19


P.M.
75 minutes Steady
11m @ 6:59p/m average (151bpm avg)

I was looking forward to this. I feel like I've just about mastered the 150bpm HR and I was hoping tonight would prove it. I wanted to ensure the wind wouldn't affect me too much either, so I changed up the route a bit hoping to avoid any negative effects where possible. It was also nice to take in some different scenery for a change. I drove down to Sutton, parked the car and jumped on the DART to Dun Laoghaire. After a 45-50 minute journey, it was time to make my way back to the car on foot. I feel my tactic worked well. The wind was at it's worst head on in the warm up mile, slightly hurting but more across in the early to middle section, definitely behind in miles 8 & 9 and then pretty neutral for the final two. I slightly underestimated the distance of the course meaning I had to cover half a mile further than planned in the cool down, but that won't do me any harm. I'll enjoy my pints tomorrow after that. Definitely going to move to 155bpm for the next Steady session.


Splits:

Warm up mile - 8:10 (127bpm)

Mile 1 - 7:05
Mile 2 - 6:59
Mile 3 - 6:57
Mile 4 - 6:56
Mile 5 - 7:02
Mile 6 - 7:04
Mile 7 - 7:02
Mile 8 - 6:50
Mile 9 - 6:50
Mile 10 -7:04
Mile 11 - 7:01

Cool down 1.5 mile - 12:27 (8:18p/m pace) (135bpm)

ECOLII

Still find it astounding how you have the mental discipline to do this type of work, I have never met anyone who has been able to keep it going for sustained periods such as yourself fair play. Definitely paying dividends

yaboya1

ECOLII wrote: »

Still find it astounding how you have the mental discipline to do this type of work, I have never met anyone who has been able to keep it going for sustained periods such as yourself fair play. Definitely paying dividends

Another way of saying "You're a stubborn f*cker" :pac:

Thanks

ECOLII

yaboya1 wrote: »

Another way of saying "You're a stubborn f*cker" :pac:

Thanks

Stubborn is okay as long as it's grounded in a sensible approach better to do the simple things well than complicate for the sake of it.

RacoonQueen

Tallaght are crap. There is a real club 15 mins away.

yaboya1

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Tallaght are crap. There is a real club 15 mins away.

15 minutes from Tallaght? Where?

ECOLII

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Tallaght are crap. There is a real club 15 mins away.

There only a 3/4 club last time I checked

Murph_D

Just catching up on your log - very impressive. Dont forget there's a fine club very close to your workplace with great facilities, assuming the track resurfacing project will finally be complete!

yaboya1

Sunday 18th January - Rest

Even though it wasn't a definite, I was kind of expecting today to be a rest day. Late one last night, along with a long shift in work today meant I would only ever get this in with a very early start. That was never going to happen after a certain point (or pint ) last night. I'll push the long run back to tomorrow and leave my next Steady session until Wednesday. No harm done as I had planned to drop the mileage & my second Steady session next week anyway with the Raheny race on Sunday.

Elsewhere, I received my acceptance email into the New York marathon yesterday. Really looking forward to that now too .

Murph_D

New York - didn't realise you'd picked your autumn marathon. Definitely the one I most want to do, having ignored it completely for years when I lived there. Looking forward to the report already.

FBOT01

Murph_D wrote: »

New York - didn't realise you'd picked your autumn marathon. Definitely the one I most want to do, having ignored it completely for years when I lived there. Looking forward to the report already.

The bookies must be feeling the pain. I assume they are paying for this.........and then they have to cover the cost of Boston when he joins you and I, Murph, in Spring 2016!

yaboya1

Murph_D wrote: »

New York - didn't realise you'd picked your autumn marathon. Definitely the one I most want to do, having ignored it completely for years when I lived there. Looking forward to the report already.

I am mad to run all the majors. Tokyo looks the only dodgy one now as I'm already qualified for London & Boston. Really can't wait until November though. New York is my favourite place I've ever been to .

yaboya1

FBOT01 wrote: »

The bookies must be feeling the pain. I assume they are paying for this.........and then they have to cover the cost of Boston when he joins you and I, Murph, in Spring 2016!

I suppose you could say that, but not in the way you might assume.....:pac:
Boston 2016 was always my plan as soon as I ran the qualifying time in Berlin. It looks like an expensive few months for me now with New York too, but I suppose I can't let the 2014 Class of Berlin down .

yaboya1

Monday 19th January - 120 minutes Easy
15m @ 8:01p/m average (135bpm avg)

I was expecting the splits here to be a bit slower than recent runs at the same HR (due to a tiring & dehydrating weekend), but they were pretty close and actually compare favourably to last weekend's LSR. The early miles involved a bit of climbing with a slight breeze against, but I got all that back in the last five. Happy in the circumstances. Going to ensure I get plenty of sleep & water ahead of the race this Sunday.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:05
Mile 2 - 8:03
Mile 3 - 8:10
Mile 4 - 8:14
Mile 5 - 8:18
Mile 6 - 8:09
Mile 7 - 8:16
Mile 8 - 8:17
Mile 9 - 8:13
Mile 10 - 8:05
Mile 11 - 7:37
Mile 12 - 7:31
Mile 13 - 7:40
Mile 14 - 7:49
Mile 15 - 7:51

Murph_D

yaboya1 wrote: »

I suppose you could say that, but not in the way you might assume.....:pac:
Boston 2016 was always my plan as soon as I ran the qualifying time in Berlin. It looks like an expensive few months for me now with New York too, but I suppose I can't let the 2014 Class of Berlin down .

Who knows, the timing might even be right for a Ferris B comeback.