A Slow Journey to Faster Times

ThebitterLemon

I object most strongly to my portrayal on here as some sort of running harlot!

I'm merely sociable

TbL

FBOT01

That what he said...slut!!!

ThebitterLemon

FBOT01 wrote: »

That what he said...slut!!!

Sure didn't you want to ditch P to run with me

You don't take rejection well!!!!


TbL

yaboya1

Sunday 9th August - 40 minutes Easy (+bonus 1.5m recovery)
5m @ 8:07 p/m average (148bpm avg) + (1.5m @ 8:57 p/m average (120bpm avg)

Just an easy run to shake out the legs after yesterday's MLR. That 'easy' pace became a bit hotter for a while, as I bumped into aero2k and joined him for about 1.5m. I left him to shoot off alone at the Knockmaroon Gate as he was planning on accelerating further, while I wanted to have some sadistic fun watching the cyclists in the Ironman struggle up the hill myself and FBOT01 had scaled on foot yesterday morning. I enjoyed watching some of them walking with their bikes . I then jogged back across the park to watch some of the run. What a disgusting course! Three laps of a route with more hairpins than a Tour De France mountain stage. Not for me. Met Mrs Mc and friend out supporting too. I'd already completed my planned 40 minutes at that stage, but decided I might as well jog back home. That brings the weekly total above sixty miles. Hopefully I can continue that trend.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:28
Mile 2 - 7:36
Mile 3 - 7:37
Mile 4 - 8:22
Mile 5 - 8:31

1.5m Recovery - 8:57 min/mile pace

yaboya1

Monday 10th August

A.M.
35 minutes Easy - 4.32m @ 8:06 p/m average (132bpm avg)

Ran into work. Felt fine.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:03
Mile 2 - 8:01
Mile 3 - 8:03
Mile 4 - 8:15
0.32 - 2:39


P.M.
45 minutes Easy - 5.55m @ 8:07 p/m average (135bpm avg)

Ran home from work. Didn't feel as good as this morning, but I had been working the previous 12 hours. Almost 10 miles for the day. Not bad in the circumstances.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:45
Mile 2 - 8:00
Mile 3 - 8:21
Mile 4 - 8:07
Mile 5 - 8:14
0.55 - 4:35

yaboya1

Thursday 13th August - Reality Check
Result: Fail

I've really struggled with training this year. Can't seem to string two decent weeks together. As mentioned before, I'm also a little sceptical about whether my health is 100% at the moment. So why I let FBOT01 talk me into joining him for his LT session today (11m with 6 @LT), I'll never know :rolleyes:

I ran these P&D sessions at my 10m race pace last year when training for Berlin. Myself & FBOT01 have similar 10m pb's (his is 16 seconds faster. I'll get that in before he does :pac:), so that was the target pace for the LT miles (sub 6:10). In my current condition, that's absolutely ridiculous. I had virtually no chance of hitting that pace for six miles today. The last time I ran any way 'fast' was at the Tymon parkrun on the 30th May when my pace was very close to today's target. 3.11m in what was effectively a race. I struggled that day and was in such a state after it, vowed not to race again until I'd put in the required training. Yet here I was on a very warm day off poor preparation doing just that (well, not a race, but similar. The session is probably equivalent to a 10m race). It was a recipe for disaster. Anyway I'm already making this longer than it needs to be.

I hooked up with FBOT01 inside the PP and we got our four warm-up miles in. Not sure of the pace, but it was fairly pedestrian. Even at that speed I wasn't entirely comfortable. We began the LT section just after turning onto Chesterfield Avenue. Hitting 6:00 pace for the first 200m or so I felt ok, but the chat had stopped. Then almost immediately I really started to struggle. I eased off a bit. 6:05 pace is fine I thought. Another glance at the watch. Still only 4.16m ffs. 5.84m more of this ahead of me? I really don't think so. Just hold it. You'll feel more comfortable once you settle into the pace. Another glance, 4.21m, pace now 6:08. It's getting harder, the pace is slowing and I've only covered 0.05 of a mile in what seems like an eternity. Don't give up. Just hold below 6:10. Drfiting, drifting, 6:09 now and only 4.32m gone. There's no way I can do this. I'm not a quitter, but there's quitting and there's reality. As much as I was hurting, I held the pace around 6:05/10 for a little while longer. I didn't want to let FBOT01 down, since we'd arranged to do this together but there wasn't a lot I could do. I honestly felt at that stage that seeing out one mile at that pace was the best I could manage. Despite wearing the HRM, I hadn't looked at the monitor. A quick glance at that confirmed my suspicions. 180bpm (my max is 183). I'm going no further. I told FBOT01 I was sorry but he'd have to plough on without me. He seemed to understand and continued on without me as I came to a halt after the watch beeped for the mile. I sat down on a bench and mulled it over a bit.

I'm disappointed I couldn't give the session more of a lash, but what happened was completely predictable. There's no mystery to it. I just haven't been doing the training. Jogs in and out of work, LSR's and MLR's are all fine, but there has to be something complimenting those to stress the system and make you fitter. I haven't been doing that for a few reasons, the main one being I just don't seem to have the time. My working hours have increased since February and just seem to keep getting longer. This has also affected my sleep, rest, recovery etc. One big vicious circle. I should be doing two steady sessions a week following the HADD system, but I'm so knackered and run down that my HR is hitting my steady state at a much slower pace than it should be. I feel doing sessions at that rate are pointless at the moment as I'm running close to a minute slower per mile than the last two marathons I raced. Even on easy runs I'm struggling to stay around 130bpm, when I was running 8:00 minute miles uphill in the 120's at the beginning of the year. This time last year I was as fit as I've ever been in my life. I ran a half-marathon very close to the pace I couldn't hold for more than a mile today and was speeding up at the end. I'm going to have to make some changes to get back to that fitness level. It's probably not going to happen in the next few weeks though, so New York may end up being a 'tourist marathon'. At least it's not a fast course, so it won't feel like too much of a missed opportunity. There'll be other days. Roll on Boston 2016......:)


Summary:

4m @ 8:08 p/m average (146bpm avg) + 1m @ 6:12 p/m average (176bpm avg)


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:33
Mile 2 - 8:02
Mile 3 - 7:55
Mile 4 - 8:04

Mile 5 - 6:12

tang1

Get your bloods taken P, rule that out at least.

ThebitterLemon

All I can say P is, I know exactly how it feels, maybe take a few days off have yourself checked out and come back with some sort of structured plan. It's a process to get your fitness back and takes patience. On the plus side your almost slow enough to have a running date with me again

TbL

FBOT01

As I said earlier, P, neither of us should have been trying to do that session today at that pace in that heat.

I did feel bad for talking you into doing it and I probably should have given you an easy out. But sure isn't this why we train. How do we learn without making a few schoolboy errors along the way:)

Thanks again for the company and hopefully work will calm down soon so you can get back to steady training.

yaboya1

Friday 14th August - 60 minutes Easy
7.44m @ 8:04p/m average (141bpm avg)

This felt like a complete waste of time. I'm not sure I want to run at all at the moment. I'm wheezing like a 70yo who's smoked all his life. Except I'm a 33yo who's never smoked


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:18
Mile 2 - 8:10
Mile 3 - 8:14
Mile 4 - 7:48
Mile 5 - 7:56
Mile 6 - 8:12
Mile 7 - 7:50
0.44 - 3:34

annapr

You're very hard on yourself, P... surely if you're getting out and putting the miles in, even if easy, it's not a waste of time? have you had slumps like this before during your training or is this a new thing for you?

yaboya1

annapr wrote: »

You're very hard on yourself, P... surely if you're getting out and putting the miles in, even if easy, it's not a waste of time? have you had slumps like this before during your training or is this a new thing for you?

I don't know. Just doesn't feel like it's doing anything for me sometimes :rolleyes:

I went 2/3 training plans in a row without missing a day/session, so this is very new to me.

yaboya1

Monday 17th August - 50 minutes Easy
5m @ 9:59p/m average (116bpm avg)

A few recovery paced miles with the other half. Garmin didn't pick up a signal for 0.8m, so I'm short that in the splits. Started off very slow and picked it up a little as we went on. Enjoyed this.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 10:53
Mile 2 - 11:05
Mile 3 - 9:58
Mile 4 - 9:05
0.2 - 1:35


Thursday 20th August - 45 minutes Easy
5.67m @ 7:56p/m average (134bpm avg)

Another couple of manic days in work meant no running. I had intended to get out on Wednesday evening, but favoured an early night instead, which had me as fresh as a daisy ahead of my post work run home on Thursday. I ensured to keep the effort easy and ignored the Garmin until after the run. I was very surprised by what I saw.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:38
Mile 2 - 7:50
Mile 3 - 8:03
Mile 4 - 8:08
Mile 5 - 8:03
0.67 - 5:19


Friday 21st August - 75 minutes Easy
9m @ 8:27p/m average (140bpm avg)

A day when I could have had a nice lie-in, as I've lots on but not until post 2pm. However the runner in me saw this as an opportunity to get out and I was in the PP just after 9am. Wish I'd stayed in bed now! Pace was slower than last night and HR higher


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:50
Mile 2 - 8:36
Mile 3 - 8:43
Mile 4 - 8:17
Mile 5 - 8:28
Mile 6 - 8:02
Mile 7 - 8:21
Mile 8 - 8:31
Mile 9 - 8:15

Still haven't had a chance to head to the doctor, but should get an opportunity early next week to get myself checked out. Have been advised by a few more knowledgeable than I to get my bloods done. I'll more than likely do this, but my own gut feeling (and many seem to agree) is that I'm just fatigued and run down. The last two days make this look even more obvious to me. No running and a good rest before yesterday and I hit 7:56min/mile pace @ 134bpm on a net uphill course feeling like it was pretty easy if I'm honest. Dragged myself out of bed early this morning to be disappointed again. Sleeping until 11am probably would have done me more good. You live and learn......:rolleyes:

PaulieC

yaboya1 wrote: »

Have been advised by a few more knowledgeable than I to get my bloods done. I'll more than likely do this, but my own gut feeling (and many seem to agree) is that I'm just fatigued and run down

I felt like that in June and got blood test - turned out that I was just lazy :rolleyes:

annapr

It's hot and humid today too, that's also a factor.

ger664

yaboya1 wrote: »

Monday 17th August - 50 minutes Easy
5m @ 9:59p/m average (116bpm avg)

A few recovery paced miles with the other half. Garmin didn't pick up a signal for 0.8m, so I'm short that in the splits. Started off very slow and picked it up a little as we went on. Enjoyed this.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 10:53
Mile 2 - 11:05
Mile 3 - 9:58
Mile 4 - 9:05
0.2 - 1:35

A few more of these and leave the Garmin at home looking for its satellite

yaboya1

Monday 24th August - 55 minutes Easy
7m @ 8:00p/m average (134bpm avg)

Had always planned to run home from work today, so when I got out of the office a little early I decided to squeeze in an extra few miles too. I've had my Garmin for 20/21 months now and have had no complaints, other than the odd time it can be a bit slow locating the satellites. Lately, that minor issue has become a major pain in the a*se. I started running in Ringsend tonight, but the Garmin only picked up a signal on Butt Bridge. 300m later it lost signal again before giving me ridiculous splits of around 14:57 & 4:50 . Anyway, it calmed down after that and the final three seemed right on the money (8:11, 8:12, 8:20). I was moving really consistently throughout, the HR barely budged and the pace felt even. The Ashtown level crossing stunted my progress in the final mile, meaning I had to take a detour into the train station to cross over the bridge causing a slightly slower split. Nothing I could really do about that. Quite pleased with the run overall though. Google maps gives me about 7 miles when I retrace my steps. It's probably slightly more/less, but it's not too far out. Main thing is I felt pretty good and the splits average out around what I'd expect for the HR. Unfortunately I haven't got them though, for the reasons mentioned above.

belcarra

P - I always assumed you needed a ticket to access the bridge over the railway line at Ashtown?
Apparently not??

yaboya1

belcarra wrote: »

P - I always assumed you needed a ticket to access the bridge over the railway line at Ashtown?
Apparently not??

Nope, the gates do be open on both sides (any time I've been there anyway). If you got on a train, you'd need your ticket to get out of the station at the other end though. So maybe don't try that one

yaboya1

Tuesday 25th August - Rest

Had great intentions for today, but unfortunately none of them materialised. I began the morning by arranging a running date with FBOT01 for later in the evening. After sorting that I finally bit the bullet and headed to the doctor's surgery, something I've been putting off for weeks. Turned out they had no room to fit me in until this morning (Wednesday), so I made an appointment and left. Had a few errands to run, so decided to get them done while I was out and about, leaving me free to enjoy my run with FBOT01 later in the day. I then remembered I'd already got plans for the evening, which had completely slipped my mind when making the original arrangements. I'd now be going solo earlier in the afternoon and letting FBOT01 down for the second time in a fortnight. Everything seemed to get on top of me after that and by the time I got back to the apartment I was very tight for time and already exhausted. So I canned the idea of any run and went for a nap instead.
What a pro!

Daily total: 0m


Wednesday 26th August - 70 minutes Easy
8.05m @ 8:42p/m average (134bpm avg)

Second trip to the surgery in two days, except this time I got to see the doctor. We had a chat and he asked what the problem was along with a few more questions. Having listened to what I had to say and taken my heartbeat & blood pressure, he came to the conclusion that there's nothing actually wrong with me. It's more a case of my body behaving normally for someone who works the shifts I work, sleeps the hours I sleep and runs the miles I run. He re-iterated the fact that professional athletes run two marathons a year, yet I will have run seven in 2.5 years this coming April. It's probably a bit much to ask (for someone who generally tries to run a pb every time). Like a few others (on & off boards) he thinks I'm suffering from delayed fatigue from completing cycle after cycle of marathon training and my body needs a bit of a break. The job/shifts definitely don't help and although they are a factor, he didn't seem to think they were the root cause of my recent running issues. I said I'd like to get my bloods done, just for peace of mind if nothing else. He agreed and got the nurse to take a sample afterwards, but said he'd be amazed if they came back with anything amiss (Fwiw I agree with him, but just want it ruled out). To be honest, what he told me this morning is what I suspected myself and a similar opinion has been voiced by a few other knowledgeable people. He's not entirely happy that I'm still going to run New York & Boston, but understood why I want to do so. He did ask that I forget about trying to run a PB (in NYC anyway), which again is what others have said to me. The one thing he asked is that I do less miles in my current situation. He said he didn't think circa 60mpw was sustainable for me. I know there are others here who probably do more miles while working more hours, but considering how I've been feeling the last while I have to agree with him on that.

So basically, run less.

On to today's running. Eight miles in the sunshine taking it easy and enjoying myself . Didn't put a time/distance limit on this and just ran until I felt like stopping. Took a scenic route into town and stopped to grab a bit of lunch when the sun started to get really warm. Jumped on a train home and did some strides on the way back to the apartment from the station. Might get out for some very easy recovery miles with the other half later too. We're heading to the rugby on Saturday, but she's looking to do a parkrun that morning, so I might pace her there as I'm in no condition to go flat out myself. I'll take tomorrow & Friday off as I'm working long.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:48
Mile 2 - 8:33
Mile 3 - 8:50
Mile 4 - 8:45
Mile 5 - 8:37
Mile 6 - 8:24
Mile 7 - 8:54
Mile 8 - 8:42
0.05 - 0:28

annapr

Sounds like sensible advice from the Doc, P.

FBOT01

I struggled to just over 4 painful miles on Tuesday so you may have actual done me a favour as no doubt I would have struggled through the planned 11 miles in equally as much pain with no real benefit if we had gone ahead...... see you in St Anne's on Saturday if that is the chosen venue otherwise might see you in the Aviva. Enjoy both!

You should invest in a copy of "Run Less Run Faster" or look into the "FIRST" Program as alternates to allow you to reduce the quantity without reducing the quality of your running for a while. Might help refresh the body while maintaining the interest.

Notwork Error

On the brightside, at least he doesn't think it's anything serious man. Sounds like classic overtraining, a lot of running and not enough recovery from what he's saying.

Been there after the DCM 13, some advice I got was to take a resting HR the first thing every morning before getting out of bed, The morning after sessions, it's a bit elevated but if the trend keeps going, it's time to dial it back. Might be something to keep an eye on to get a baseline.

ger664

FBOT01 wrote: »

You should invest in a copy of "Run Less Run Faster" or look into the "FIRST" Program as alternates to allow you to reduce the quantity without reducing the quality of your running for a while. Might help refresh the body while maintaining the interest.

Having done the FIRST program the mileage might be lower but the sessions as prescribed are intense and the cross training is not done at recovery either. I think that program is too much at this point in time.

Personally I would Dial back the running to 5 days a week. 3 * 40 min very easy recoveries. One 75 Min Tempo inc WU & WD and a long easy 90-120 min run a week.

Murph_D

Good to have a medical opinion, P. Plus NYC is no PB course anyway as you well know. Sounds like you're taking the advice already - stopping for lunch in the middle of a run is a new one on me!

FBOT01

Murph_D wrote: »

Good to have a medical opinion, P. Plus NYC is no PB course anyway as you well know. Sounds like you're taking the advice already - stopping for lunch in the middle of a run is a new one on me!

Sure he has flogged that line to death since he entered:P

Mrs Mc

Glad all ok P at least doc visit will put your mind at ease. Take it handy and look after yourself

yaboya1

Sunday 30th August - 5m Easy
5m @ 7:22p/m average

Never got out at all in the end yesterday. The way it turned out I would have been under too much time pressure, so not too worried. Got out for a few miles after work this evening though. I feel I've become a real slave to the HRM recently, with some of the runs being a real slog plodding along trying to stay below a certain bpm. So I went out and ran by feel, bringing the Garmin for reference afterwards. Enjoyed this and the time flew by. Threw four strides into the last mile back along the canal.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:34
Mile 2 - 7:27
Mile 3 - 7:30
Mile 4 - 7:25
Mile 5 - 6:52

yaboya1

Appreciate all the thoughts, advice and opinion here the last few days. I've been thinking things through and have some of my own.

I'll summarise by saying although I haven't lost faith in the HADD system, I don't think it's going to work for me this time around. The NYC Marathon is exactly 9 weeks away. I'm probably not going to run a pb at this stage, but am still intent on running a respectable race.

To give myself the best possible chance of doing so, I've come up with a very loose, basic plan which takes the doctor's advice from last week into account, so is low on quantity, but hopefully high on quality.

Every week will have 3 easy runs of approx 1 hour and a long run of 2 hours or more. One of the easy runs will incorporate LT miles, increasing each week. The long run will follow a similar format with MP miles.

Number on left = Weeks to marathon

9 - 3 easy (1 with 1m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 2m @MP)
8 - 3 easy (1 with 2m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 4m @MP)
7 - 3 easy (1 with 3m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 6m @MP)
6 - 3 easy (1 with 4m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 8m @MP)
5 - 3 easy (1 with 1m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 10m @MP)
4 - 3 easy (1 with 5m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 12m @MP)
3 - 3 easy (1 with 6m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 14m @MP)
2 - 3 easy (1 with 7m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 10m @MP)
1 - 4 easy (all Recovery pace with 1 incorporating 2m @ MP)


Would love to hear any feedback/opinion?

FBOT01

I like the simplicity of it, P. Will be interested to see how it pans out.

AuldManKing

yaboya1 wrote: »

Appreciate all the thoughts, advice and opinion here the last few days. I've been thinking things through and have some of my own.

I'll summarise by saying although I haven't lost faith in the HADD system, I don't think it's going to work for me this time around. The NYC Marathon is exactly 9 weeks away. I'm probably not going to run a pb at this stage, but am still intent on running a respectable race.

To give myself the best possible chance of doing so, I've come up with a very loose, basic plan which takes the doctor's advice from last week into account, so is low on quantity, but hopefully high on quality.

Every week will have 3 easy runs of approx 1 hour and a long run of 2 hours or more. One of the easy runs will incorporate LT miles, increasing each week. The long run will follow a similar format with MP miles.

Number on left = Weeks to marathon

9 - 3 easy (1 with 1m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 2m @MP)
8 - 3 easy (1 with 2m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 4m @MP)
7 - 3 easy (1 with 3m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 6m @MP)
6 - 3 easy (1 with 4m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 8m @MP)
5 - 3 easy (1 with 1m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 10m @MP)
4 - 3 easy (1 with 5m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 12m @MP)
3 - 3 easy (1 with 6m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 14m @MP)
2 - 3 easy (1 with 7m @LT), 1 Long Run (with 10m @MP)
1 - 4 easy (all Recovery pace with 1 incorporating 2m @ MP)


Would love to hear any feedback/opinion?

Maybe have a plan B incase 6 weeks out, the 4@lt or 8 @mp don't go to plan.
I was going to suggest a recovery week at some stage, but I guess you'll cater for that.

If the LT feels hot, I read somewhere that keeping it all at MP isn't a bad thing or even 5-10 SECS faster than MP can make a good difference.

yaboya1

AuldManKing wrote: »

Maybe have a plan B incase 6 weeks out, the 4@lt or 8 @mp don't go to plan.
I was going to suggest a recovery week at some stage, but I guess you'll cater for that.

If the LT feels hot, I read somewhere that keeping it all at MP isn't a bad thing or even 5-10 SECS faster than MP can make a good difference.

Gotcha.
Like I said, it's pretty loose. If I feel I need a recovery week, I'll take it. I won't be a slave to it like I so often am. I should know in the first week or two if I'm going to be able to handle the increased miles at said paces. If not, I can do something like you suggest.

The main thing for me now is to get to the start line fit, healthy and capable of running a respectable time

Murph_D

Is the second last week a little bit much? 10 @ MP a week before race, a couple of days after your 7 @ LT?

yaboya1

Murph_D wrote: »

Is the second last week a little bit much? 10 @ MP a couple of days after your 7 @ LT?

Time will tell I suppose. If needs be I'll back off a bit, but to tell the truth if I get that far on target I'll be happy. When I was training for Berlin I ran a 12m (with 7LT) on a Friday, followed by a 22m Long Run two days later which I finished with 4m @ MP. Sometimes I think I find it easier that way?

yaboya1

Monday 31st August - 60 minutes Easy
8m @ 7:26p/m average

Looks like tonight, Wednesday & Thursday for the midweek runs this week. Anything around 7:30min/mile pace was going to get me 8 miles done in the hour, so that's what I did. Felt good. The last two night's runs seem to have done me more good than plodding along watching my HRM like I have been d ok ing recently. Maybe I'm wrong. Doesn't feel like it though.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:23
Mile 2 - 7:24
Mile 3 - 7:24
Mile 4 - 7:23
Mile 5 - 7:31
Mile 6 - 7:29
Mile 7 - 7:31
Mile 8 - 7:27

FBOT01

yaboya1 wrote: »

Monday 31st August - 60 minutes Easy
8m @ 7:26p/m average

Looks like tonight, Wednesday & Thursday for the midweek runs this week. Anything around 7:30min/mile pace was going to get me 8 miles done in the hour, so that's what I did. Felt good. The last two night's runs seem to have done me more good than plodding along watching my HRM like I have been d ok ing recently. Maybe I'm wrong. Doesn't feel like it though.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:23
Mile 2 - 7:24
Mile 3 - 7:24
Mile 4 - 7:23
Mile 5 - 7:31
Mile 6 - 7:29
Mile 7 - 7:31
Mile 8 - 7:27

Be careful not to get caught in no mans land, P, if you are running on feel then run on feel/effort. I would avoid going out with a predetermined pace/mileage targets. Yes 8 miles @ 07:30ish = 60 mins.....but 7miles at 08:30ish also gets you 60 mins

PS much more positive vibe around here the last couple of days so playing it loose is obviously going in the right direction.

yaboya1

Tuesday 1st September - 90 minutes Easy
11m @ 8:09p/m average

Had no intention of going out tonight, favouring a rest day instead ahead of runs tomorrow & Thursday. However, I got out of work early and felt I'd be wasting a beautiful evening if I didn't. So I gave FBOT01 a text and arranged to hook up in Clontarf for a few miles. Set out along the canal with the evening sunshine amidst a perfectly blue sky in the background........for a whole 3 minutes! Then the heavens unexpectedly opened and I was completely saturated for the next 4.5 miles. The rain subsided when I arrived at our meeting point just before FBOT01 arrived. We got going straight away, chatting the whole time which took my mind off how cold I now was. After taking in the coast and looping back through Raheny & Killester, we returned to our starting point in what felt like no time at all. But for me it was another 90 minutes and 11 miles in the bank. FBOT01 very kindly dropped me home afterwards where I immediately jumped in a hot shower that felt so good it was almost worth the pneumonia like symptoms I had suffered not too long before


Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:48
Mile 2 - 7:29
Mile 3 - 7:39
Mile 4 - 7:33
Mile 5 - 8:11
Mile 6 - 8:39
Mile 7 - 8:49
Mile 8 - 8:45
Mile 9 - 8:22
Mile 10 - 8:14
Mile 11 - 8:10

Duanington

Thats a bit more like it P

AuldManKing

yaboya1 wrote: »

So I gave FBOT01 a text and arranged to hook up in Clontarf......

I think FBOT is becoming the running equivalent of the F*&k buddy :pac:

yaboya1

AuldManKing wrote: »

I think FBOT is becoming the running equivalent of the F*&k buddy :pac:

Aka TbL MK II

Murph_D

So that's where the phrase "running off with someone else" comes from.

yaboya1

Wednesday 2nd September - 65 minutes Easy (with 1m @ LT)
7.5m @ 7:52p/m average, 1m @ 5:56

Woke up at 7am with what felt like a really bad head cold, to compound the sore throat I've already got. The soaking last night probably played it's part there. However, the running parts of my body are in good order and I'm nowhere near as unfit as I thought, now that I've taken the shackles HRM off :P. The runs the last few nights have taken absolutely nothing out of me, so with that in mind I decided to tick this week's LT session off this morning. I made the decision to run the LT mile in the middle knowing I'd need to keep something in the tank to get back home, rather than completely flogging myself and finishing with a shuffle. 6:09 would be about the pace I was looking for based on my 10m pb from last year. Instead of checking the pace every five seconds, I upped the effort until I felt I was going the correct pace. Started to feel the burn about 400m in and had a glance at the watch. 5:46! I eased off a bit, but comfortably held it under 6:00. Already fancy holding two of these next week. FBOT01, I'll give you a shout for the 12 with 7 . Few easy/recovery miles tomorrow, rest Friday & Saturday and long run Sunday. Already feel like I'm making good progress after being down in the dumps less than a week ago .


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:19
Mile 2 - 7:53
Mile 3 - 7:55
Mile 4 - 7:39
Mile 5 - 5:56
Mile 6 - 7:47
Mile 7 - 7:57
Mile 8 - 7:56
0.5 - 3:52

yaboya1

Thursday 3rd September - 90 minutes Easy
11m @ 8:08p/m average

Few miles in the PP with company. Can't believe I was running for 90 minutes. It flew by! Finished off with a few strides along the canal. Feeling good.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:07
Mile 2 - 8:01
Mile 3 - 7:58
Mile 4 - 8:29
Mile 5 - 8:29
Mile 6 - 8:24
Mile 7 - 8:16
Mile 8 - 8:19
Mile 9 - 8:02
Mile 10 - 7:59
Mile 11 - 7:22

yaboya1

Sunday 6th September - 130 minutes Easy
16.63m @ 7:49p/m average

Had to pull out of a group run this morning, as I couldn't be sure I'd be able for this and didn't want to let anyone down. I've been dying the past two days and couldn't have run if I'd wanted to. The only parts of me doing any running have been my eyes and nose. I was hoping I'd feel up to it after a decent night's sleep, but couldn't be sure. When I awoke, I felt a bit of an improvement so decided to give it a go. Was supposed to incorporate a couple of MP miles into this, but knew that was unlikely and accepted it would be a bonus if I managed them as well as the 'Long Run'. I brought my leap/dublinbike cards as insurance, but had no intention of using either. In the end, I got the entire run in but wasn't up to doing the MP miles. Struggled a bit in the second half, but I feel that's more down to my general health than my fitness. Took in a loop of Croke Park before heading back up the quays for another nine miles in the PP, then out the gate and home. Job done. Great atmosphere around the stadium and in the city ahead of today's hurling final, even though it was only 10am.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:40
Mile 2 - 7:42
Mile 3 - 7:39
Mile 4 - 7:39
Mile 5 - 7:44
Mile 6 - 7:45
Mile 7 - 7:47
Mile 8 - 8:04
Mile 9 - 7:59
Mile 10 - 7:55
Mile 11 - 7:33
Mile 12 - 7:26
Mile 13 - 8:01
Mile 14 - 8:14
Mile 15 - 8:01
Mile 16 - 7:49
0.63 - 5:04

yaboya1

Tuesday 8th September - 60 minutes Easy
7.5m @ 8:01p/m average

Still a bit stiff this evening from Sunday's run after a planned day off yesterday. Loosened out as the run went on and finished off with a few strides.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:04
Mile 2 - 8:12
Mile 3 - 8:09
Mile 4 - 8:04
Mile 5 - 8:05
Mile 6 - 8:11
Mile 7 - 8:00
0.5 - 3:21

yaboya1

Wednesday 9th September - 60 minutes Easy
7.35m @ 8:10p/m average

Just a nice trot home from work. It didn't seem warm out, but I got pretty hot during this run. Never felt like I was working too hard though.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:11
Mile 2 - 8:15
Mile 3 - 8:24
Mile 4 - 8:04
Mile 5 - 8:14
Mile 6 - 8:02
Mile 7 - 8:05
0.35 - 2:48


Thursday 10th September - 60 minutes Easy (with 2m @ LT)
6m @ 7:58p/m average (2m @ 6:07p/m average)

Can't say I was looking forward to this. Although I've just about shaken off the bug I had last week, I'm still a little chesty and my airways aren't fully cleared. I decided to go ahead with it anyway. Breezy enough out there this morning too, which would also make it tougher. I ran down the canal to Phibsborough and then back up the NCR to the PP, with the intention of running the two LT miles as soon as I hit Chesterfield Avenue. What happened there was a good example of how your mind can play tricks on you (good/evil, confident/defeatist).

I had been gradually speeding up in the warm up miles, fully aware that my LT miles would have to be much quicker, but since I wasn't feeling as good as last week (comfortable 5:56 mile), I bargained with myself to hit an effort I believed I could maintain for two straight miles, rather than hitting 6:05-6:09 pace (as I had done with FBOT01 a few weeks ago) and dying in the first mile. Anyway I did this and looked down after about 400m to see the pace at 6:26. A little disappointed with this, my more confident side told me I wasn't trying hard enough. So I upped it a little bit (now 6:17). My head then started telling me I might as well try and hit below 6:10 since I was close enough now. So I pushed a little bit harder (down to 6:08 now). The defeatist in me said there was no way I could hold this for the remaining 1.5m. Just get through the first LT mile and we'll call it a day You're a bit under the weather, the wind is blowing, no shame in getting half the prescribed workout done. So I made a deal with myself to see out the mile and then just go back to easy pace for the remainder. Really struggled to hold it before the watch beeped at 6:08. Eased off a little bit immediately, but kept it at a reasonable clip for the next few hundred metres. Another glance at the watch. 0.18 of a mile in - 6:21 pace. The confident side comes out again. You're already more than halfway through this (2m) and not far off matching the first mile's pace. A little bit more effort and you'll do this. No need to make excuses. I put the head down and ploughed on. 6:16->6:11->6:07. The defeatist can't win now. I've only got 25% of the entire LT section left and I'm moving faster at this point (6:04) than at any other stage of the run. I think I start to accelerate knowing the quicker I see out the mile, the earlier I can ease off. I get to the last 0.05 of a mile and give myself a tiny break knowing it's job done. Watch beeps at 6:05. Back down to what felt like a jog for the two miles home.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:08
Mile 2 - 8:04
Mile 3 -7:58
Mile 4 - 7:40
Mile 5 - 6:08
Mile 6 - 6:05
Mile 7 - 8:09
Mile 8 -7:55

Some observations:

1 - I found a 5:56 mile relatively easy last week. Knowing this made it easier to go through with this even though I wasn't feeling as good today. If I hadn't run a mile at a similar pace last Wednesday, I'm not sure I would have got this done on target. Knowing you can do something, as opposed to hoping/thinking you can makes a huge difference imo. In saying that, I know for sure a third mile would have been beyond me today. Baby steps.........(Wtf was I doing trying to complete 6 of these with FBOT01 a few weeks ago?)

2 - I got through the 12m (with 7m @ LT) session from P&D's plan 5 days after I ran my 10m pb last August. I wouldn't be able to do 7m at that pace atm because I'm not in the same shape. I guess I probably should be allowing for that and the target shouldn't be as aggressive (maybe 6:20p/m?). In saying that, I do feel it gives you huge confidence when you can hit an aggressive target knowing you're not in pb shape, and it certainly makes you fitter. I always felt the VO2 Max sessions brought me on a lot for Seville and I just ran them as fast as I could at the time, because I wasn't entirely sure of my 3/5k potential.

Tomorrow will definitely be a rest day, possibly Saturday too. Sunday is 50/50 regards a long run, but if I don't fit it in I will definitely get it done on Monday.

yaboya1

Saturday 12th September - 30 minutes Recovery
3m @ 10:10p/m average

Nice easy morning run along the canal with the other half.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 10:22
Mile 2 - 10:17
Mile 3 - 9:53

yaboya1

Sunday 13th September - Rest

Definitely won't get out at all today now, but will fit the long run in tomorrow morning for sure. Anyone fancy joining me?

yaboya1

Monday 14th September - 150 minutes Easy
19.38m @ 7:44p/m average

Met dublin runner in the PP for most of this. Original intention was to run easy and pick up to MP for four of the final five miles. Just like last week though, I wasn't capable of doing that. Still a bit weak in the upper body/chest/shoulders area and felt MP would be a bit beyond me today when I got to 14 miles. No problem at all with the lower half of the body. Legs are fine. Tough run which would have been even tougher if it wasn't for the company. We came across some manky weather too! Glad to have the miles in the bank and I'm actually happier now than I was immediately after the run. Having had a chance to look at the splits, it seems like a pretty decent progression run. I deliberately slowed a little bit in the last 0.38m to use as a cool down. I'm heading to Spain in the morning and will bring the running gear with me, but I'm not sure exactly what I'll get done. The sun should help me finally shake off whatever dose I've been fighting though.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:07
Mile 2 - 8:25
Mile 3 - 8:12
Mile 4 - 7:49
Mile 5 - 7:40
Mile 6 - 8:07
Mile 7 - 7:52
Mile 8 - 7:58
Mile 9 - 7:50
Mile 10 - 7:52
Mile 11 - 7:35
Mile 12 - 7:34
Mile 13 - 7:26
Mile 14 - 7:26
Mile 15 - 7:34
Mile 16 - 7:32
Mile 17 - 7:27
Mile 18 - 7:17
Mile 19 - 7:13
0.38m - 3:03

Killerz

Enjoy the trip and please pass on my best wishes to F and T!