A Slow Journey to Faster Times

yaboya1

Thursday 27th March - 90 minutes Easy
11m @ 8:18p/m average (129bpm avg)

Decided to get another easy run in before work this morning, so hit the road as soon as I got out of bed. Heart rate was exactly the same as yesterday, but the pace was 21 seconds/mile quicker. Not something I'm complaining about . Added on a minute at the end again to get the 11th mile in.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 9:21
Mile 2 - 7:58
Mile 3 - 8:10
Mile 4 - 8:09
Mile 5 - 8:18
Mile 6 - 8:15
Mile 7 - 8:19
Mile 8 - 8:03
Mile 9 - 8:06
Mile 10 - 8:13
Mile 11 - 8:25

yaboya1

Friday 28th March - HADD HR Max Test (Take 2)

As I mentioned the other day, I wanted to try this test again now that I've figured out how to use my HRM properly. I followed the same routine as before (stretching, warm up, strides), but this time I had wet the HRM in the right places and was expecting more accurate results. I ran as fast as I possibly could for 800m, managed not to collapse in the following two minutes and used whatever energy I had left to run the remaining 400m flat out. I felt like vomiting when I had finished.

The pretty conclusive looking results are as follows:

800m - 2:18:34 (HR Max 175bpm) - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/469104892
400m - 1:10:23 (HR Max 175bpm) - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/469104885

Judging by this, it seems obvious (even to my uneducated eye) that my HR Max is 175bpm. This would make a lot of sense as I've been hitting 8:10 - 8:40 min/mile when training at 130bpm, having read that it can be difficult to go slow enough to maintain a HR as low as 140bpm. It also explains why I couldn't hit 180bpm in the 2400m test a few weeks ago.

The only thing that it doesn't explain is how I hit a max of 186bpm in the Marlay parkrun: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/456927823. Although I'm assuming that was another case of an inaccurate reading as I felt a lot worse tonight than I did after that race. I'll make sure to wear it in my next 5k so I can make some comparisons.

menoscemo

yaboya1 wrote: »

The only thing that it doesn't explain is how I hit a max of 186bpm in the Marlay parkrun: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/456927823. Although I'm assuming that was another case of an inaccurate reading as I felt a lot worse tonight than I did after that race. I'll make sure to wear it in my next 5k so I can make some comparisons.

You can clearly see that the 186 is a spike in marlay. A Proper HR reading should be almost exactly a straight line or smooth curve while holding an even effort. You were holding steady between 168-171 during minutes 6-13 where i'd guess the HR was correct. Some spikes again at the end.
Yeah i'd say go with 175 but I would guess you max might be a beat or two higher.

ger664

I nearly vomitted just looking at those times.

barryoneill50

belcarra wrote: »

Regarding a new plan to follow: Don't want to put any pressure on us but myself, AMK and Gavlor have been following this plan since Xmas.
By the end of April you should know how we got on and if it worked for us. So far though all three of us are pretty happy with our training though.

I'll be doing this plan myself for the longford marathon ....:)

yaboya1

barryoneill50 wrote: »

I'll be doing this plan myself for the longford marathon ....:)

I think now that my readings are accurate I'll stick with this HADD stuff until the end of May at least. I've a couple more races planned and I need to repeat the 2400m test twice by then too. If there's obvious improvement I'll probably stick with it.
If not, I've had my head in the Daniels book the last few days and the 'Plan A' in there would definitely be my alternative.

DukeOfDromada

yaboya1 wrote: »

Judging by this, it seems obvious (even to my uneducated eye) that my HR Max is 175bpm.

Now that makes a lot more sense!

yaboya1

Sunday 30th March - 20 miles Easy
20m @ 10:43p/m average (120bpm avg)

Any literature I've read on the HADD training suggests aerobic running for someone with my HR Max (175bpm) should be at 125bpm or lower. I saw today as an opportunity to get a long one in and the intention was to keep the HR below 125bpm. I managed to do this but it was really difficult, especially in the last eight miles where I had to slow to around 12min/mile to keep the heart rate down. The run itself is almost as long as I was on my feet in both Chicago & Berlin. I'm not sure I'm supposed to be running for this length of time in training, so in future I think I'll limit these to three hours. However, I'm pretty satisfied with it, as the other lads training this way told me that it would require patience and I definitely proved I have that today!


Splits:

Mile 1 - 9:30 (117bpm)
Mile 2 - 10:02 (119bpm)
Mile 3 - 10:34 (120bpm)
Mile 4 - 10:31 (119bpm)
Mile 5 - 10:24 (119bpm)
Mile 6 - 10:10 (120bpm)
Mile 7 - 10:23 (120bpm)
Mile 8 - 10:06 (118bpm)
Mile 9 - 10:06 (121bpm)
Mile 10 - 10:29 (121bpm)
Mile 11 - 10:43 (119bpm)
Mile 12 - 10:29 (121bpm)
Mile 13 - 10:10 (120bpm)
Mile 14 - 10:58 (121bpm)
Mile 15 - 10:57 (122bpm)
Mile 16 - 11:24 (122bpm)
Mile 17 - 11:19 (123bpm)
Mile 18 - 11:47 (123bpm)
Mile 19 - 12:26 (123bpm)
Mile 20 - 11:52 (124bpm)

Calvin Johnson

I don't understand why are you running so slowly?

Ososlo

Calvin Johnson wrote: »

I don't understand why are you running so slowly?

the whole idea is that he will get much faster at the same low effort level (hr) if he sticks with it. I took about 3 mins per mile off my easy pace (50 beats per min lower then max hr) over the period of about 9 months.

ecoli

Calvin Johnson wrote: »

I don't understand why are you running so slowly?

http://www.angio.net/personal/run/hadd.pdf

Here is the reasoning behind the approach.

It is a very solid long term approach without a doubt for improvement however there are a few issues

1) You need to have 100% faith in it. It takes someone very disciplined to take 1 step back to take 2 steps forward down the line. As such very few people actually manage to stick it out
2) Very hard to get comprehensive details regarding phase 2 of the training (which is a stark contrast regarding the sheer intensity levels makes Jack Daniels sessions seem prissy

Best of luck with the approach yaboya

ger664

I may not be 100% correct in this but should it be the Average for the whole run not each mile? Your HR will go up (drift) due factors other then aerobic effort as you run. When I did this program my rule of thumb was ~1bpm increase/mile. I would then start low enough and hold the pace for the duration. So for 20 miles in your case I would have started with 115 BPM and the last mile would be 135 BPM. That was my take on it which may have been incorrect.
My LSR pace came from 10:00 -> 8:40 over a period of 5 months.

I thought the longest run was time based and capped at 2:30.

menoscemo

ger664 wrote: »

I may not be 100% correct in this but should it be the Average for the whole run not each mile? Your HR will go up (drift) due factors other then aerobic effort as you run. When I did this program my rule of thumb was ~1bpm increase/mile. I would then start low enough and hold the pace for the duration. So for 20 miles in your case I would have started with 115 BPM and the last mile would be 135 BPM. That was my take on it which may have been incorrect.

Not sure about this at all ger. I thought the whole point is that your body learns to hold the same pace without the HR moving up. The programme is designed to eliminate HR drift.

statss

I think I did read somewhere that the long runs should cycle by time : 2 hours, 2.15, 2.30, 2.45, 3 then back to 2 and start again. Can't recall the source to verify that off hand.

Those 10:XX miles look extremely slow for you but I wasn't too far off those paces myself when I started. I'm now around 8.30 or so.

How do you feel today? Sore?

yaboya1

ger664 wrote: »

I may not be 100% correct in this but should it be the Average for the whole run not each mile? Your HR will go up (drift) due factors other then aerobic effort as you run. When I did this program my rule of thumb was ~1bpm increase/mile. I would then start low enough and hold the pace for the duration. So for 20 miles in your case I would have started with 115 BPM and the last mile would be 135 BPM. That was my take on it which may have been incorrect.
My LSR pace came from 10:00 -> 8:40 over a period of 5 months.

I thought the longest run was time based and capped at 2:30.

I took it up the same as menoscemo, in that you were supposed to keep the heart rate steady for the whole run and reduce the pace if necessary to do so. You're probably right about the LSR time, but I've nothing major planned this week and thought it would give me a good marker for the future to make comparisons against.

yaboya1

statss wrote: »

I think I did read somewhere that the long runs should cycle by time : 2 hours, 2.15, 2.30, 2.45, 3 then back to 2 and start again. Can't recall the source to verify that off hand.

Those 10:XX miles look extremely slow for you but I wasn't too far off those paces myself when I started. I'm now around 8.30 or so.

How do you feel today? Sore?

Yeah, I understand that, but I've races coming up in the next three & six weeks, so I thought I'd go for a long one yesterday as I'm going to cut back to 2 hours & 1 hour 45mins for my long run the next two weekends with the 10 miler coming up on Easter Monday.
Funnily enough I'm not sore/tired at all today and was toying with the idea of repeating the 2400m test this evening, having already got my Easy paced run in this morning. I'll probably leave it until Wednesday though.

yaboya1

Monday 31st March - 60 minutes Easy
6.52m @ 9:13p/m average (123bpm avg)

I'm not at all sore/tired today, which is surprising when you consider I spent more than three and a half hours on my feet yesterday. An hour of easy running was the plan again this morning with the same target aerobic heart rate. The miles are a little bit quicker than yesterday, probably due to the fact that the average HR is a few beats higher, but it's still well within the recommended limit.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:44 (122bpm)
Mile 2 - 9:14 (124bpm)
Mile 3 - 9:28 (124bpm)
Mile 4 - 9:34 (124bpm)
Mile 5 - 9:18 (123bpm)
Mile 6 - 9:09 (124bpm)
0.52 - 4:34 (125bpm)

I was toying with the idea of heading back out this evening to repeat the 2400m test at the levels required for my HR Max (120, 130, 140, 150 & 160). I'm not feeling any ill effects from yesterday, so I think I'd be fine. However it's probably best to err on the side of caution, so I'll probably leave it until Wednesday. The pace at 140, 150 & 160 should give me an indication if there's been any improvement since my original attempt four weeks ago. The two races I have coming up will also help gauge any progress, before I repeat the 2400m test again in the last week of May. After that I'll decide if I'm going to stick with this approach for Berlin.

Ferris B

yaboya1 wrote: »

Monday 31st March - 60 minutes Easy
6.52m @ 9:13p/m average (123bpm avg)

I'm not at all sore/tired today, which is surprising when you consider I spent more than three and a half hours on my feet yesterday. An hour of easy running was the plan again this morning with the same target aerobic heart rate. The miles are a little bit quicker than yesterday, probably due to the fact that the average HR is a few beats higher, but it's still well within the recommended limit.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:44 (122bpm)
Mile 2 - 9:14 (124bpm)
Mile 3 - 9:28 (124bpm)
Mile 4 - 9:34 (124bpm)
Mile 5 - 9:18 (123bpm)
Mile 6 - 9:09 (124bpm)
0.52 - 4:34 (125bpm)

I was toying with the idea of heading back out this evening to repeat the 2400m test at the levels required for my HR Max (120, 130, 140, 150 & 160). I'm not feeling any ill effects from yesterday, so I think I'd be fine. However it's probably best to err on the side of caution, so I'll probably leave it until Wednesday. The pace at 140, 150 & 160 should give me an indication if there's been any improvement since my original attempt four weeks ago. The two races I have coming up will also help gauge any progress, before I repeat the 2400m test again in the last week of May. After that I'll decide if I'm going to stick with this approach for Berlin.

I'm not sure I could do those slow miles (9:30 - 10.30) over a long run without getting completely pi$$ed off. Will be interesting to see how it works out for you over the next month.

menoscemo

I think doing the runs at 50 bpm below max HR is a bit if a one size fits all approach. For example someone with a max of 200 running at 150 is a world if difference to someone with a max of 160 running at 110. For me this is a flaw in the hadd system and easy running HR should be worked out as a %of max rather than 50 below max. Since you have a relatively low max HR you are affected negatively by this. It would probably be fine for you to do easy runs around 130 even 135 IMO

yaboya1

Ferris B wrote: »

I'm not sure I could do those slow miles (9:30 - 10.30) over a long run without getting completely pi$$ed off. Will be interesting to see how it works out for you over the next month.

Yeah, it wasn't easy but I just stuck it out so I have something to compare to going forward.

yaboya1

menoscemo wrote: »

I think doing the runs at 50 bpm below max HR is a bit if a one size fits all approach. For example someone with a max of 200 running at 150 is a world if difference to someone with a max of 160 running at 110. For me this is a flaw in the hadd system and easy running HR should be worked out as a %of max rather than 50 below max. Since you have a relatively low max HR you are affected negatively by this. It would probably be fine for you to do easy runs around 130 even 135 IMO

You may be right, but I'm just going by the book at the moment to see how it goes. It does specifically say not to go above 125bpm on easy runs for someone with my HR Max. Recommended steady state for me starting off is 135-140bpm, so I'm going to give that a go in the morning to see how I get on. If I'm not happy with things by the end of May, I've still got plenty of time (18 weeks) to make some adjustments or start something completely different before Berlin.

yaboya1

Tuesday 1st April- 60 minutes Steady (preceded by 10 x 100m Strides)
8m @ 8:04p/m average (135bpm avg)
Strides: (19:37, 18:35, 19:28, 18:79, 18:78, 18:42, 18:63, 18:07, 18:53, 18:22)

Warmed up for about 3/4 of a mile before getting stuck into the strides, then followed them with an hour of running at my recommended steady pace (135bpm). I added on an extra few minutes to fit the eighth mile in. Very enjoyable run on a beautiful morning. I move up 5bpm to 140 for my steady state runs as soon as I've 'mastered' running at 135. Mastering a heart rate means that you can run for 10 miles without the HR rising or the pace dropping. I felt like I'd already mastered 135 this morning as the pace/HR was rock steady for the vast majority of the workout. The seventh mile was a little slower for some reason, but I think the sun was to blame for that as I was able to pick the pace up again for the last mile without the HR rising again. I might try 75 minutes on Friday and see how I go.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:00 (135bpm)
Mile 2 - 8:01 (135bpm)
Mile 3 - 8:00 (135bpm)
Mile 4 - 8:04 (135bpm)
Mile 5 - 8:03 (135bpm)
Mile 6 - 8:00 (136bpm)
Mile 7 - 8:16 (135bpm)
Mile 8 - 8:06 (136bpm)

yaboya1

Wednesday 2nd April

A.M. - 60 minutes Easy
7m @ 8:50p/m average (123bpm avg)

I was originally planning to run for 45 minutes this morning, but I was enjoying my time out in the rain so much that I extended it to an hour as well as repeating my usual tactic of adding an extra minute or so to fit the last mile in.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:27 (120bpm)
Mile 2 - 8:36 (124bpm)
Mile 3 - 8:37 (124bpm)
Mile 4 - 8:57 (123bpm)
Mile 5 - 9:16 (124bpm)
Mile 6 - 8:34 (124bpm)
Mile 7 - 9:22 (125bpm)


P.M. - HADD 2400m Test

Decided to repeat this at the recommended levels since I now had an accurate HR Max. Was far easier tonight compared to my attempt a few weeks ago when I was trying to maintain a HR four beats above my maximum!
Results are below:

2400m @ 120 bpm (Actual 120 bpm) - 8:57 min/mile average
2400m @ 130 bpm (Actual 129 bpm) - 8:27 min/mile average (previous: 8:51 @132)
2400m @ 140 bpm (Actual 138 bpm) - 7:37 min/mile average
2400m @ 150 bpm (Actual 149 bpm) - 6:48 min/mile average (previous: 7:38 @ 147)
2400m @ 160 bpm (Actual 158 bpm) - 6:08 min/mile average (previous: 7:00 @159)

Although it's only been four weeks, I can definitely see some improvement already, so I think I'll stick with this approach for the immediate future. I might give myself a rest day tomorrow ahead of my steady session on Friday, since I practically did a double today. I'll more than likely give the Naas parkrun a go on Saturday morning once I'm feeling good. Hopefully I can break the 18 minute barrier! Really enjoying my running at the moment and looking forward to my other upcoming races (Clonakilty 10 Mile & Terenure 5 Mile) which should also act as a good gauge of my progress . Sub 63:00 & Sub 30:00 are my early targets for those.

yaboya1

Friday 4th April- 75 minutes Steady (preceded by 10 x 100m Strides)
9.2m @ 8:10p/m average (134bpm avg)
Strides: (18:76, 18:06, 17:58, 17:59, 17:56, 18:70, 17:85, 17:15, 17:22, 16:97)

Gave myself almost a mile to warm up before doing the strides. Splits for those are better than Tuesday which is encouraging. The plan after that was to run at my steady state (135bpm) for 75 minutes. These miles were pretty much identical (give or take a few seconds) until Mile 9 where it was noticeable that the HR was starting to rise at the same pace. I needed to slow by more than ten seconds to maintain the correct state (135bpm) and I'm pretty sure Mile 10 would have followed suit if I'd continued that far, suggesting that I haven't quite mastered this heart rate yet. Nice workout though.
I'll more than likely do a parkrun tomorrow, in which case I'll switch my long run to Monday in favour of a few recovery miles on Sunday.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:59 (133bpm)
Mile 2 - 8:11 (135bpm)
Mile 3 - 8:12 (135bpm)
Mile 4 - 8:05 (135bpm)
Mile 5 - 8:04 (135bpm)
Mile 6 - 8:08 (135bpm)
Mile 7 - 8:12 (135bpm)
Mile 8 - 8:13 (135bpm)
Mile 9 - 8:24 (135bpm)
0.2 - 1:36 (134bpm)

AuldManKing

Hey Yaboya,

you seem to have recovered very well from your Marathon exploits - did you follow a recovery plan (too lazy to read back over your log) - what were the main weekly recovery blocks?

thanks

yaboya1

AuldManKing wrote: »

Hey Yaboya,

you seem to have recovered very well from your Marathon exploits - did you follow a recovery plan (too lazy to read back over your log) - what were the main weekly recovery blocks?

thanks

Hi Alan,

I didn't really follow a plan. I did nothing for about four days, then went out and ran three very slow and sore recovery miles. After a few more rest days, my legs felt up to it again I was back on the road. That was about a week after the race. Worked for me but everybody is different so I'd say play it by ear yourself.

*You're likely to be far more sore than I was, since you'll be running much faster *

AuldManKing

Not that much faster!
Thanks, hopefully I recover as quick as you.

yaboya1

4th place in 18:03 at the Naas parkrun this morning. It's another PB, but I just failed to break the 18 minute barrier! :-(
I'll post a full report tomorrow.

Big thanks to the volunteers. They're fantastic. I've completed three different parkruns now (St Annes, Marlay & Naas) and they've made me feel as if I'm doing them a favour by showing up to run at each one.

tang1

Any day you run 18.03 in a 5k and complain is a good day in my book, nice running, well done.

belcarra

Was it a nice course? Fast as Raheny?

yaboya1

belcarra wrote: »

Was it a nice course? Fast as Raheny?

It's the ambulance track on the inside of the racecourse. It's a nice course, but you need to climb the hill in the home straight three times so probably not the fastest. I'm not sure there are any parkruns faster than St Anne's.

yaboya1

Saturday 5th April - Naas parkrun
5k @ 3:37m/km average (18:03)

After a pretty decent night's sleep on Friday, I arose around 7:30am on what looked a pleasant enough morning. Naas was given the vote over Malahide as it as a better logistical fit for me today. After a coffee and a banana I was on my way down the N7 by 8:45. Arrived at the racecourse just before nine o clock where I was kindly greeted by an enthusiastic volunteer who pointed out where to park, where the toilets were and how to get to the start.
As anybody who reads my log will know, I'm a pretty big fan of the horses so I'm fairly familiar with the layout of Naas racecourse having spent many profitable/expensive days down here before. I've always seen it as a great place to prep a horse for Cheltenham, as the finishing uphill climb at Prestbury Park is somewhat replicated here. I guessed the ambulance track we were running on wouldn't be as steep, but had to be relatively similar given the topography of the land. Having checked the website beforehand I knew we would be climbing said hill at least twice, but my research was shoddy and I was a little shocked when I realised the start was at the bottom of the straight meaning the punishing incline needed to be negotiated a third time! The wind that was simultaneously blowing in our face wasn't going to help either. Another thing that surprised me a little was the length of time it took to reach the starting area. I assumed I'd park the car, jump out and walk across the racetrack to the line in about five minutes. This is not the case at all. You need to go back out the exit, walk around 500m to another entrance down the road and then a further 600-800m down to the start. It's probably wise to allow between 20-30 minutes for this, unless you're going to jog/run all the way. Anyway I eventually arrived at the line, and after a five minute wait for the stragglers the whistle blew and we were under way. My pre-race goal was to run five even km splits of 3:35, which would give me a comfortable sub 18 minute time of 17:55. As in life though, these things are much easier said than done. I set off right behind the three leaders who seemed to be moving about that pace. My Garmin lap pace was jumping around for the first 200m or so, while as in the Larne HM I could feel my HRM start to slip down my chest. I'm not sure why this happened as since I've figured out how to use it properly, I've tightened it and it hadn't given me any problems since then until today. Maybe I breathe deeper in races, maybe I've lost more weight? I don't know. What I do know is that it was around my waist again by the time we'd run 500m. Anyway when my lap pace settled down, it was showing just below the target at 3:34m/km. A good start but I felt I was working harder than I should have been, which was probably down to the aforementioned uphill climb straight into the wind. By the time we reached the turn at the top, there had already been a significant gap established between our leading group of four and the fifth place runner. After the turn you gradually ease back down the hill you've just scaled and the wind that was hurting you disappears, helping a little if anything. As we passed the 1km marker I was delighted with my split of 3:31 as I now felt pretty comfortable. The three lads ahead started to accelerate again though and trying to hang onto their coat tails saw my lap pace creep up to 3:2xm/km which I knew I couldn't sustain, so I had to let them go. I was very wary of saving energy to get up the hill again (x2), but probably eased off too much as I went through 2km in 7:08. From here on in, it was a very lonely race. I had no cover from the breeze going past the stands second time around as the leading three had taken a few hundred metres out of me, while the nearest runner behind me was only turning into the straight as I reached the summit. I was working really hard to stay on target at this stage, but knew I could make some seconds back up after I moved back down the hill. Hopes for breaking 18 minutes were still intact. Went by the finish area for the second time where the fantastic volunteers clapped and shouted words of support & encouragement. 3k in 10:51. A little slower than ideal, but still a manageable amount to claw back in the final sprint to the line. Dropped another five seconds in the next (easy) km. The work I'd put in up to now was taking it's toll. I didn't want to start throwing the kitchen sink at it yet as I needed to conserve enough energy to get up the hill for a final time. When I hit the 4km marker, I knew it was going to be close and probably unlikely. That was the last time I looked at the watch until after the finish. I gave it everything I had up the hill, knowing I would get through the final 400-500m when I turned as I would be able to see the line. Was weaving my way in and out of slower runners who were on their second lap here, which actually helped focus me a bit as I plotted my route, picking out gaps around ten metres in advance before squeezing through them and moving onto the next group. Finally reached the peak for the third time and took the hard left down towards the finish. Fell over the line and heard the timekeeper call out 18:03. Bit gutted I didn't go sub 18, but gave it everything I had and it just wasn't to be today. The volunteers at the finish made me feel like an Olympian, congratulating me and one of them made it her business to make me a coffee in the little tent they had set up.

I really love the spirit of these events and unpaid marshals, directors, timekeepers, token sorters etc. making me feel the way they do are the reason I will always volunteer myself if I'm available, hoping that maybe I can do the same for some other runners.


Splits:

Km 1 - 3:31
Km 2 - 3:37
Km 3 - 3:43
Km 4 - 3:41
Km 5 - 3:35

ecoli

Great run man congrats.

Was wondering how this race was gonna work with the laps but seems to be going well. Must take a gander out some weekend soon

yaboya1

ecoli wrote: »

Great run man congrats.

Was wondering how this race was gonna work with the laps but seems to be going well. Must take a gander out some weekend soon

Yeah seems to be ok, but there were only around 100 runners yesterday. Not sure if it would become congested with a Marlay/Malahide sized field.
I was just looking at the map again on the website and it does look like the start is right in front of the stands.
It's not in reality though, trust me! :pac:

yaboya1

Monday 7th April- 120 minutes Easy
13.32m @ 9:01p/m average (121bpm avg)

Never managed to get out at all yesterday, which seemed to do me good as I felt fine today. Plan with this run was to keep the HR at 125bpm or below for the entire duration of the workout. I got the four seasons all in one day here as the weather alternated from sun, heat & calm to cold wind & rain. That cycle repeated itself about three times while I was out there. It failed to dampen my spirits though, and I noticed when I got in that today's run takes me past 600 miles for 2014 .


Splits:

*Km 1 - 5:02 (118bpm)
Mile 1 - 8:49 (121bpm)
Mile 2 - 8:55 (122bpm)
Mile 3 - 9:06 (121bpm)
Mile 4 - 9:09 (121bpm)
Mile 5 - 9:32 (121bpm)
Mile 6 - 9:04 (122bpm)
Mile 7 - 9:09 (122bpm)
Mile 8 - 9:02 (121bpm)
Mile 9 - 8:54 (122bpm)
Mile 10 - 8:57 (121bpm)
Mile 11 - 8:41 (124bpm)
Mile 12 - 9:05 (125bpm)
0.69 - 6:39 (122bpm)

*I forgot to change the Auto-Lap function to 1.0 mile splits, so the first split is 1.0 kilometre, after which I changed it back.

career_move

I was wondering about the parkrun in Naas. It's described as flat and fast and I couldn't quite figure out how they'd got rid of the hill - looks like they didn't

yaboya1

career_move wrote: »

I was wondering about the parkrun in Naas. It's described as flat and fast and I couldn't quite figure out how they'd got rid of the hill - looks like they didn't

My Garmin data makes me look like a liar, as there's no significant rise on the profile. The hill is there though, especially when the wind is blowing the opposite direction!

yaboya1

Tuesday 8th April - 60 minutes Steady (preceded by 10 x 100m Strides)
7.4m @ 8:07p/m average (134bpm avg)
Strides: (8:83*, 18:37, 18:85, 16:71, 16:52, 17:73, 18:24, 17:60, 18:14, 18:09)

*New WR

Anyone got a phone number for the IAAF? I think my first stride today proves why Garmins shouldn't be 100% relied upon, especially since I'm certain that wasn't even the fastest one I ran of the ten! Anyway, I spent the hour after the strides celebrating my unofficial World Record with a sixty minute steady run along the coast. The pace was dropping in the last three miles, but I think this is more down to running back into the strong wind that had been behind me rather than anything else.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:06 (134bpm)
Mile 2 - 7:52 (133bpm)
Mile 3 - 7:54 (134bpm)
Mile 4 - 8:02 (134bpm)
Mile 5 - 8:18 (134bpm)
Mile 6 - 8:25 (135bpm)
Mile 7 - 8:13 (134bpm)
0.4 - 3:12 (134bpm)

yaboya1

Wednesday 9th April - 45 minutes Easy
5.07m @ 8:53p/m average (123bpm avg)

Just an easy paced run on another nice morning. Nothing else to report.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:22 (120bpm)
Mile 2 - 8:32 (124bpm)
Mile 3 - 9:06 (124bpm)
Mile 4 - 9:15 (124bpm)
Mile 5 - 9:11 (125bpm)
0.07 - 0:36 (123pm)

Ferris B

Have you settled on a plan yet for Berlin? Keep going with the Hadd stuff or something else?

With Conn done I need a new focus.

yaboya1

Ferris B wrote: »

Have you settled on a plan yet for Berlin? Keep going with the Hadd stuff or something else?

With Conn done I need a new focus.

Not yet. I'm sticking with the HADD stuff until the end of May at least though.
I have a 10 miler in Clonakilty on Easter Monday and the Terenure 5 Mile on 18th May. I'll probably repeat the 2400m test the week after that.
After I've digested all those results I'll make a final decison.

ecoli

yaboya1 wrote: »

I have a 10 miler in Clonakilty on Easter Monday

Whats wrong with Raheny (Brian Boru)?

yaboya1

ecoli wrote: »

Whats wrong with Raheny (Brian Boru)?

I only found out about it after I had already entered Clonakilty and booked accommodation (having previously trawled the internet for a 10 mile race that day!).

yaboya1

Friday 11th April - 75 minutes Steady (preceded by 10 x 100m Strides)
10m @ 8:00p/m average (134bpm avg)
Strides: (19:87, 17:64, 15:21, 17:78, 18:21, 18:57, 18:39, 16:82, 17:78, 16:28)

I wasn't feeling the love at all today, after far too much alcohol watching The Masters last night. I'd been putting off my cycle of core work all week, but eventually got around to it late this morning before heading out for my steady session at around 7pm. Felt pretty sluggish starting off, so the splits for the strides surprised me as I thought they'd all be as slow as the first one. After walking for a minute or so to allow the heart rate settle back down, I was off at my steady pace (HR 135bpm). The whole run felt pretty effortless and the heart rate/pace was consistent all the way through, apart from two miles along the beach which were almost identically slower. Bizarrely, neither felt like the pace had dropped at the time? The splits got back to normal as soon as I left the sand and I continued on for a few extra minutes to fit the tenth mile in. It seems I have now 'mastered' this HR. I completed 10 miles maintaining the same bpm without the pace dropping, also feeling like I could have gone round again. Looks like I'm ready to move up to 140bpm for these sessions now. Finished the evening off with some stretching and a good going over with the foam roller. A very productive day in the end which I never would have predicted beforehand. Amazing how your body surprises you sometimes!
Now it's time for a few more beers in front of the TV . Pity my financial interest in the golf looks to be gone already (Zach Johnson & Justin Rose)


Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:46 (134bpm)
Mile 2 - 7:51 (135bpm)
Mile 3 - 7:59 (135bpm)
Mile 4 - 7:58 (135bpm)
Mile 5 - 8:14 (135bpm)
Mile 6 - 8:15 (135bpm)
Mile 7 - 7:59 (135bpm)
Mile 8 - 8:02 (135bpm)
Mile 9 - 7:56 (135bpm)
Mile 10 - 7:58 (135bpm)

tang1

Put €5 on Bubba at start of week at 25/1, so far so good. Rose isn't out of it yet.

yaboya1

Sunday 13th April- 105 minutes Easy
11.12m @ 9:26p/m average (122bpm avg)

Very rough night last night, so I was happy just to get this in as it would have been easy to skip it altogether. Felt pretty dehydrated from about halfway and was relieved when I finally finished. Might do a double session of easy runs tomorrow once I get good night's sleep, since I'm going to give myself a couple of rest days next weekend ahead of my race on Monday.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 9:22 (124bpm)
Mile 2 - 9:21 (122bpm)
Mile 3 - 9:42 (123bpm)
Mile 4 - 9:30 (122bpm)
Mile 5 - 9:15 (121bpm)
Mile 6 - 9:33 (123bpm)
Mile 7 - 9:37 (122bpm)
Mile 8 - 9:47 (124bpm)
Mile 9 - 9:36 (124bpm)
Mile 10 - 9:09 (124bpm)
Mile 11 - 8:58 (124bpm)
0.12 - 1:14 (122bpm)

yaboya1

Monday 14th April

A.M. - 75 minutes Easy
8.01m @ 9:22p/m average (124bpm avg)

Lovely morning for it. Took it nice and easy along the Clontarf promenade.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 9:13 (125bpm)
Mile 2 - 9:25 (125bpm)
Mile 3 - 9:15 (124bpm)
Mile 4 - 9:23 (123bpm)
Mile 5 - 9:38 (125bpm)
Mile 6 - 9:33 (123bpm)
Mile 7 - 9:20 (123bpm)
Mile 8 - 9:09 (124bpm)


P.M. - 90 minutes Easy
9.52m @ 9:27p/m average (123bpm avg)

Left this as late as possible to give me plenty of time to recover from the morning's exertions. I was too warm wearing sleeves at 8pm. Not something I'm complaining about!


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:58 (123bpm)
Mile 2 - 9:17 (123bpm)
Mile 3 - 9:20 (124bpm)
Mile 4 - 9:43 (125bpm)
Mile 5 - 9:38 (124bpm)
Mile 6 - 9:30 (123bpm)
Mile 7 - 9:12 (124bpm)
Mile 8 - 9:32 (124bpm)
Mile 9 - 9:29 (123bpm)
0.52 - 5:24 (125bpm)

yaboya1

Tuesday 15th April - 60 minutes Steady (preceded by 10 x 100m Strides)
1m @ 9:04p/m average (139bpm avg)
Strides: (19:00, 18:42, 18:59, 19:42, 17:28, 18:25, 17:38, 17:88, 18:16, 18:15)

I started this log on the 1st November last year, and today is the first time I've had a really bad day. Woke up this morning with what felt like a bit of a temperature and my heart rate was about 25-20 beats quicker than normal. My stomach also felt a bit queasy. I knew I'd be better off resting, but it was such a nice day outside that it seemed like a shame to waste it. I decided to go ahead and do the strides. After that I'd make a decision on the steady run. They took far more effort than they should have and told me what I already knew (that I shouldn't be running today). I made a compromise with myself, deciding to try one mile at the steady state HR (140bpm) and making a call on the workout after that. It took me 9:04 to complete a mile at 140bpm, despite the fact that I had averaged 8.00min/mile for ten in a row at 135bpm last Friday. I decided to pull the plug there and then, as the run wasn't going to be beneficial to me in any way. While feeling sorry for myself, I bought a McFlurry in McDonalds and jumped on a Luas the rest of the way home. I had to get off halfway there because I felt like vomiting and was sweating badly. I got on the next one, but was starting to shiver by the time I reached my stop, even though it was very warm outside. I don't feel well at all today, but have a feeling this is all self inflicted. I was up drinking all night on Saturday and have probably only slept for a total of 14-15 hours in the past three days. I've run almost 30 miles in the same period. I've abused my body and today it got it's revenge. It cried enough and appears to be screaming out for rest. I'm going to listen. The steady sessions are getting knocked on the head for this week and I'm not even going to do any more easy miles until I feel 100%. I also need to cut down on my caffeine intake which probably explains my sleeping problems as I'm doing enough to wear myself out. I conked out for four hours when I got home at 4.30pm which probably tells me all I need to know. Hopefully my rare intelligent running decision will pay dividends in my race next Monday.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 9:04 (139bpm)

tomred1N

yaboya1 wrote: »

Tuesday 15th April - 60 minutes Steady (preceded by 10 x 100m Strides)
1m @ 9:04p/m average (139bpm avg)
Strides: (19:00, 18:42, 18:59, 19:42, 17:28, 18:25, 17:38, 17:88, 18:16, 18:15)

I started this log on the 1st November last year, and today is the first time I've had a really bad day. Woke up this morning with what felt like a bit of a temperature and my heart rate was about 25-20 beats quicker than normal. My stomach also felt a bit queasy. I knew I'd be better off resting, but it was such a nice day outside that it seemed like a shame to waste it. I decided to go ahead and do the strides. After that I'd make a decision on the steady run. They took far more effort than they should have and told me what I already knew (that I shouldn't be running today). I made a compromise with myself, deciding to try one mile at the steady state HR (140bpm) and making a call on the workout after that. It took me 9:04 to complete a mile at 140bpm, despite the fact that I had averaged 8.00min/mile for ten in a row at 135bpm last Friday. I decided to pull the plug there and then, as the run wasn't going to be beneficial to me in any way. While feeling sorry for myself, I bought a McFlurry in McDonalds and jumped on a Luas the rest of the way home. I had to get off halfway there because I felt like vomiting and was sweating badly. I got on the next one, but was starting to shiver by the time I reached my stop, even though it was very warm outside. I don't feel well at all today, but have a feeling this is all self inflicted. I was up drinking all night on Saturday and have probably only slept for a total of 14-15 hours in the past three days. I've run almost 30 miles in the same period. I've abused my body and today it got it's revenge. It cried enough and appears to be screaming out for rest. I'm going to listen. The steady sessions are getting knocked on the head for this week and I'm not even going to do any more easy miles until I feel 100%. I also need to cut down on my caffeine intake which probably explains my sleeping problems as I'm doing enough to wear myself out. I conked out for four hours when I got home at 4.30pm which probably tells me all I need to know. Hopefully my rare intelligent running decision will pay dividends in my race next Monday.


Splits:

Mile 1 - 9:04 (139bpm)

There are more pubs than people in clonakilty so with ur vices I'd recomend a good rural farmhouse b&b !

yaboya1

No running today, but I'm feeling much better.
I should be fine to go out again tomorrow evening, where I think I'll try the 5x800m session (@ 10k pace) that ecoli suggested before I ran the Larne Half-Marathon. That should get the legs used to moving quickly again and I can follow it with a recovery run on Friday/Saturday to put me right for Monday.

I had some time to think about my running while I was 'resting' yesterday. Since I'm pretty sure I'll achieve my goals in my upcoming 10 & 5 mile races, I thought it was time to set some new ones for the rest of 2014. I'm going to run a couple more 5k/10k races before the summer is out, then totally focus on Berlin.

These are my targets:

5k: Sub 18
10k: Sub 38
Half-Marathon: Sub 1:23
Marathon: Sub 3

If I've achieved all them by the night of the 28th September, I might not make my flight home the next day