Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
The main thing is keeping the main thing, the main thing
Options
Comments
-
There's no getting away from it, shoe choice is more of a factor these days due in the most part to the plated shoes that are on offer. But even leaving aside that debate, I've always thought long and hard about my shoe choice.
My daily trainer were always Brooks Ghost's and my racing shoes were Brooks ST-5's, which I eventually broke out of retirement to run my Sub 3 breakthrough in Limerick. I'd had a couple of bad days in the WR setting shoe of that period, the Adios Adizero 3, and went back to the slightly heavier and more supportive ST-5's. If I remember at the time, the big question for most runners was; how light a shoe can I get away with for 26.2 without breaking down? That's all changed now obviously, but there was always the dilemma of what shoe to wear.
Also, in the last couple of years, review sites, Instagram influencers (and Boards hype merchants) and targeted Google ads have made it very easy to convince people to buy more shoes
0 -
-
AuldManKing wrote: »I'm convinced Noonan should set up his own Youtube channel doing shoe reviews.
Not a bad idea
On the pre super shoes... only in 2019 I ran the sub3 in Peg 36s0 -
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
AuldManKing wrote: »
Sunday:
Heres my Sunday;
Up early. Legs in a very good place.
7.5m run (wore the ZF3's - my new favourite recovery shoe )
Changed the tyre on a car of a damsel in distress.
2 hour cliff walk in Howth with Mrs AMK & the Madra.
Helped save a lady who was suffering a heart attack on Howth cliff walk.
Wasn't even 3pm yet.
7.55m / 8.12 pace
57 miles for the week
3 S&C type sessions complete.
Impressive but not surprising, you're a decent guy Alan 0 -
0
-
Monday: 12x12sec hill sprints
Parked at Whites Gate and ran down to St Marys hospital for a different hill.
I have been using 2 hills previously that I think may be slightly too steep and also the surface wasn't great - so I wanted to try this hill.
A nice warm day and done my 30mins WU to the bottom of the Hill - there's 5 lamps on that hill............"d'ya know the 5 lamps?" - Thankfully there was a stick of chalk on the ground - so I had the ability to mark the reps. My auld brain isn't what it used to be...........
I found the 12 reps much more controlled and had a better ability to hold better form given the surface - think I'll use this going fwd.
30mins back to the car.
8 miles total.
Note: I found the legs a bit more fatigued following the hills - moreso than usual - so I guess this i a positive thing!
Tuesday: Lap of the park.
TRR had dropped a pair of Fuel Cells to the house on Monday - so was eager to try them out - they were a half size smaller than the other ones I have - but they fit well and caused no issues - also act as a superb easy day shoe.
Enjoyed listening to the review of Cheshire Marathon on RB.
7.4m @ 8.10 pace.
Also - made the decision to stop Pilates for a while as I've been feeling it in the legs impacting my sessions.
I will do a few other shorter workouts - the Myrtle routine is a good one, I also like Scullions Stretching & Core workout.
I'll monitor these - there is a weekly feedback to the coach on ancillary workouts - so this will kepp me honest in completing at least 2 activities per week.
Didn't do anything this week yet.
Wednesday Session - 20mins WU / 8x5mins @5.50 off 3 mins / 20mins CD
No real apprehension with this session as I find these type of intervals very doable - the recovery feels quite generous - but I'm conscious that I'm still in a Base phase of sorts - so there is a method to the plan - its not a race pace workout. Its an endurance/strength workout.
Parking at the PP again, I ran down to Chapelizod Road - I know theres a mile stretch on that road with no Park openings/cars etc - and would get some protection from the breeze. A few strides and I was off.
After a couple of reps - I was getting a bit annoyed at the number of cars passing, but I guess it was better than swerving around people and bikes, it offered a different training place and was fairly flat.
Its a 64 min workout - so its over an hour going back and fwd on the same stretch of 1mile length road! - but it flew by.
I pushed slightly on the 2nd last one and found a bit of bite on the last rep.
The recoveries were kept 8.30-9.00 level (bar 1).
All reps were within a couple of seconds 5.50 and 1 at 5.45 (slowest 5.50 - fastest 5.45)
30mins back to the car.
13.6 miles all in.
Nike Invincibles due early next week
Got rid of 2nd Captains - 2000 episodes in - just cant listen to Ken anymore - the whole ESL fiasco became a lets mock Spurs podcast - also have heard a lot of 'lazy' journalism from him lately. I don't really want to pay for that content.
Plenty more podcasts out there!
A bit more optimism in the world on Wednesday / Thursday regarding 'opening up'!0 -
-
Advertisement
-
-
Swashbuckler wrote: »Between Treviso using his Nike 4% for hill reps and you saying the TC are a nice easy day runner........... I think I'm going to have to stop following yer logs.... Its just too much for my brain...
We need to find a use for the other shoes we bought after following the Boards hype merchant/influencer
0 -
-
Swashbuckler wrote: »Between Treviso using his Nike 4% for hill reps and you saying the TC are a nice easy day runner........... I think I'm going to have to stop following yer logs.... Its just too much for my brain...
a 1 time thing only to test them out.
Why would I wear TC's for easy days when I have my Zoom Fly 3's....duh!We need to find a use for the other shoes we bought after following the Boards hype merchant/influencer
I bought the TC's & the Invincibles on the strength of SB's hype. time will tell.AMK just not able for the Flame-Haired Flamethrower of Truth...
That (ESL) was the last straw - I like their guests, I like McDevitt & Murph - I'll miss the Players Chair when it returns - (Sadliers interview with Kimmage was amazing as an example) - but Ken - who is an Irish Times Journalist - is what I'd call a lazy journalist - why let facts get in the way of a good story - my frustration with him has been growing over the past 2 years.
I'll take my €5.99 per month and invest it in Bitcoin or Tesla.0 -
-
That's a scandalous take on Ken
he's worth the €5.99 a month alone! I now know how to throw you off your stride if I need to during a race....
It’s not necessarily an opinion that football people have. The press come and go, as we know. You mentioned Ken Early. I wouldn’t necessarily agree with anything Ken Early says about football.0 -
Thursday: Rest day - done 20 min S&C work out - Myrtle & Core. Was tired today with a sick doggy on Wed night - he really has a sensitive stomach.
Friday: Went out at lunch time for an enjoyable few miles - must do that more often (or even run early in the morning...............yeah right!)
7.3m @ 8.09 pace.
Saturday: Session: 4m WU / 8m @ 6.15 / 4m CD
For the 1st time in a long time - no apprehension about the session, I knew I'd get through it. I guess the sessions are growing on me and each session makes the confidence grow slightly more.
I was up early enough, coffee & toast - some activation's and I was ready to go.
I wore the Fuel Cell's for this one, and my 4 miles (with strides) took me to the CK gate in the PP. A bit more stretching and I was off.
The route took me down North Road - down Chesterfield, around by the Zoo, back up Chesterfield - this was tough and I allowed myself to drop pace if required, but didn't need to. I turned onto the OS road and enjoyed the downhill of the upper Glen Road before finishing on the straight of the Chapelizod road. A very enjoyable 8m tempo. Another 8m tempo to dd to the memory bank.
I've been reading Matt Fitzgerald's "How bad do you want it" - in an effort to train my mind a bit more - its pretty simple but pretty good so far. I think this was the 1st tempo at this pace where I didn't have the voices to stop - although the last few miles were very hard (Target pace was 6.15 but my 1st mile of the tempo was a 6.03 ).
Ave pace for the 8 miles was 6.11 which I was happy with - but I was straining on the last mile - but I think no matter what the session, you will always be straining on the last mile/rep as you know its the last one - so your brain expects pain - similar to my 6 miles at this pace last week - the last mile was tough.
4m cool down on a lumpy route - I must say, the legs felt in great nick on the cool down.
16.5miles in total.
Sunday 2nd May;
I took delivery of my pair of Nike Invincibles and wore them on Sunday morning.
My expectations were that these would be a marshmallow type ride, with minimal effort - while not quite that, these are a very soft shoe with plenty of cushioning for easy rund.
I really like these vrs the Novablast & Pegs 37.
1 thing about soft shoes though - I do wonder if my feet will suffer from the 'softness' of the NB Fuel Cell's & the softness of the Invincibles - I do think I'll need to wear firmer shoes from time to time to keep my feed in shape (such as the Reeboks - even the Saucony Speeds are firmer - incidentally, I really enjoyed wearing the Speeds for my 8x5min session on Wednesday - really came into their own at the faster pace and gave me a real appreciation of their versatility.
Anyway - my Sunday run was 7.9 miles at 8.13 pace. ( plus another 20 mins workout)
Quite noticeably improvement in energy levels this week.
This is my 1st week with zero Pilates and I think this, coupled with getting used to the sessions are helping me.
My diet has also improved in terms of eating more - so fatigue is less and also my weight is constantly under 180lbs - that's always a good sign for me when I'm feeling like this.
I'm getting excited thinking about races again in the coming months - I really think I can do some damage to my 10k PB and 10k was probably my least fav distance, but I think it could become a good one for me.
Manchester is becoming my favoured Autumn Marathon (over Berlin) as it allows me to race the Antrim HM which is 6 weeks before - and recover before Jingle bells - Hopefully 3 PB's between Aug & Early Dec - Imaging having 3 races between the end of Aug and early Dec after the last 12-15 months!!
April Mileage: 237 miles - inc 5 rest days (every Thursday in April)
Weekly mileage: 61 miles - Most since November.0 -
Monday: 12x12sec Hill sprints
Ran down to the hill beside St Mary's Hospital for these - after about 2-3 reps the heavens opened and it was lashing hail/sleet - nothing to do but continue.
I was frozen by the end and high tailed it back to the car afterwards.
7.6 miles.
Tuesday: Bumped into a running buddy as she was cooling down from her session, so ran the 2 miles with her - good to chat.
Done a mini lap of the park as the heavens opened again, covered in sleet/hail again - Jebus - its May!
The last 2 miles were in glorious sunshine!!
7.4 miles at 8.24 pace.
Wednesday: Session - 10x4mins at 5.45 pace off 3 mins.
Last weeks session saw 8x5mins at 5.50 pace - so a faster pace & shorter rep this week.
I wanted to wear the Endorphin Speeds for this one, but with the rain, it was a tad slippy - the last time I wore them in wet conditions, I got a very slight niggle in my quad - so not worth it today.
I wore the Zoom Fly 3's, which have 350 miles in them for this - and I was then thinking about my upcoming predicament of informing my wife that I need yet another pair of new running shoes for faster speedwork in wet conditions.
Maybe I'll but her a bunch of flowers 1st
20 mins warm up & strides and I was ready to go.
I considered a few alternatives for doing this - but settled on the path beside Chapelizod Road - there's something quite cathartic about it
1st rep saw me shoot off too fast - I also didn't have a finish point in my head - so that threw me a bit as I was clock watching a bit too much.
Once I got my bearings of where I'd start/finish each rep - the rest of them flew by.
That stretch of Road seems flat - but every rep going back towards Donore seemed harder.
As I progressed along - I knew that the 8th rep was going to be the hardest one, mentally at least as it was the 2nd last one going "up" - maybe its the long exposed straight that doesn't appeal to me??
Anyhow - to help this - I started the 8th and 10th rep from further down the road - I would be about 80 seconds into the rep by the time I reached my original start point - a small thing, but it certainly helped me finish the session strong.
All reps were 5.40-5.44 pace (Target 5.45)
The 3 min recoveries seemed too long at the start and too short by the end - so I take it that its the sign of a good workout.
20mins jog back to the car - happy to have missed the showers today.
A real good, enjoyable, high volume session.
Later that evening I had restless legs - brought the dog for a walk, made sure my recovery was right, a bit of stretching - legs were certainly tired and a little beat up after the session, much more so than last week - but 100% better today (a rest day).
14.66 miles in total
Edit: Crossed over 1000m for the year during this run.0 -
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
Ah - I saw a Strava activity recently that had you running with another very speedy woman I know - (Donore). Maybe just in each other’s vicinity!
Probably Sinead - I know we done a very similar work out on the same day at similar times!
If its her, she's also the lady who I dragged the wrong way at a race in Mondello last year(she followed me
) 0 -
AuldManKing wrote: »Probably Sinead - I know we done a very similar work out on the same day at similar times!
If its her, she's also the lady who I dragged the wrong way at a race in Mondello last year(she followed me )
Not Sinead - Sorcha!0 -
-
-
Thursday was a much needed rest day - I'm not sure if it was the faster pace or the worn down Nikes I was wearing on Wednesday, but the legs were in a jock Wed night/Thursday.
I done some stretching and Myrtle type routines to ease them out.
Friday: Easy run, listening to Shoe Geeks on 'Inside Running' - I was thinking that Swashbuckler would love that - but he probably already listens.
It seems many of the faster guys also wear the Invincible's for their VERY easy days.
Legs tired during this run. Considered doing the weekend session on Sunday - but said I'd see how I felt on Sat 1st.
7.3m at 8.20 pace
Saturday: Session - Structural Run - 2 WU/12@6.40/2CD
I've done this run a couple of times now and always found it tough but manageable.
I was up at a decent time, but held off til near 10 to go out to avoid the rain - as usual, I completed by activations and felt quite ok heading out.
2m and some strides and then set off. My plan was to also include a possible route for Healys upcoming HM TT.
During the 1st mile - it felt effortless, I was brimming with confidence saying that this run would be a piece of pi$$ - normally my 1st mile is a great indicator (how I feel, not the pace) - the watch beeped at a 6.33 mile. Happy days - but slow it down a tad there lad.
The next few miles went by ok (6.35/6.32/6.37) - with the exception of the Fuel Cells being terrible in the wet, plenty of slippage going on - then it started to get tough as I was going down Chesterfield.
I rounded by the zoo with mile 6 in 6.36 thinking that I'm 'ONLY' halfway through. Fatigue was building quickly in the legs.
Found it tough going up Chesterfield (6.44) and turned for the North Road (6.34) - thinking that once that drag was out of the way, I'd get a 2nd wind.
Mile 9 was 6.43, again going up Chesterfield to the CK gate - I turned back down and onto the OS road to be greeted by a horrible breeze and lashing rain - my legs were totally cooked at that stage and I knew there was no point continuing.
Once the watch beeped for 10 miles - I called it a day.
10 miles in 6.37 average - still a decent run
3m cool down for 15 for the morning.
Legs were obviously not recovered enough from Wednesdays session.
I had a good exchange with the coach and we agreed to move my Wednesday session to Tuesday to enable an additional days recovery.
Also hopeful to have some people from the group to run the harder sessions with from June onwards.
And I defo need to get a decent shoe that grips well in the rain - the 'Speeds' and the Fuel Cell's certainly dont - at least on certain surfaces within the park.
Sunday: a nice recovery run around the trails in the PP - listened to the Off The Ball panel discussion with Sonia, Lizzy Lee an John Tracey - a good listen and great to have athletics on mainstream radio.
7.6m at 8.26 pace.
I think last week I had 50% of my 'normal' alcohol intake - which isn't much btw.
'Nanny State' beer by Brew dog (non alcoholic) is breathtakingly good. Nicer than beer.
If only someone made a good full bodied non alcoholic Rioja - then we'd be talking!
60 miles for the week.0 -
Monday: Was up & out by 7am, I decided to give this early running another bash.
A nice few miles, a bit of rain - no earphones. Bliss.
Run done, showered and at my desk by 8.30am.
Proceeded to eat all around me that morning.
7.5m at 8.11 pace.
Tuesday: Session 10x3mins (at 5.40 off 3 mins)
The legs felt really good today - the sun was shining, I was running in a T-Shirt, the Endorphin Speeds on my feet. All is good in the world.
Drove to Whites Gate and ran the 20mins WU to Chapelizod Gate, my route was going to be the same one that I had done the 8x5 and 10x4 on - done my few strides and set off.
1st thing I noticed was the headwind going down river - hadn't noticed that before.
2nd thing I noticed was that I was 1.30 into the 1st rep and my pace was 5.20 (tgt 5.40)!
I done the 2nd rep into the wind then managed to pull the next 3 up river with a tail wind - the caveat here being that I had to clever with the recovery to have enough 'room' to get the 3rd rep with the wind (5th overall) complete.
By the 5th rep - I was feeling good - I took a walk break for some of the 3 min recovery as the next 2 would be into the wind again - but I ran them a bit different - starting at a slower pace and working down.
I lost a bit of focus on the 7th rep with my slowest rep (5.44).
The final 3 were with the wind - for these I tried to guess the pace I was running at a few times - wasn't too far off.
10x3 mins at 5.40 pace: Average pace: 5.38 / Slowest rep: 5.44/ Quickest: 5.35 (6th)
20mins cool down back to the car - recovery drink, stretching, shower and dinner.
Legs didn't feel as bad as they did last week after the 10x4min session - not sure if it was the runners I was wearing or something else??
Wednesday will be my rest day - so looking fwd to see how the body behaves & recovers for Saturdays 10m at 6.15 pace.
13.1 mile total.
In other news - Had a chat with the coach - Looks like Antrim HM may be off the table for me - although its 6 weeks from Manchester, the impact on the training will be heavy - so we gotta keep the main thing the main thing.
Will still hope to race a 10k prior to Manchester.............I keep saying Manchester, even though I'm also in for Berlin 0 -
-
Wednesday: Rest day - 1 hour walk with the dog in Phoenix Park.
Thursday: Hill sprints
30 mins down to St Mary's Hospital - 3 mins looking for 12 twigs to use as my counters
12x12 sec hill sprints - a lovely evening for it - a guy sitting close to me was enjoying the sunshine as the waft of weed was obvious - thankfully he moved after 3-4 reps as the smell was becoming annoying. (I dont blame him - he was doing no harm - and he did move).
I do like this hill and the surface for the hill sprints. Can definitely feel like I have better form on the sprints.
30 mins back home.
8m in total.
Friday: I had an ingenious idea to do my run early, thereby increasing my recovery time for the session on Saturday. Made sense right?
Tossing and turning most of the night, didn't sleep well, but Up & out by 7am, similar route to Monday - all on autopilot.
Was knackered all day as a result of the early start!!
I do think the body needs some adjusting to these early runs.
Another hour with the madra in the evening (as per nearly every evening!)
7.5m @ 8.20
Saturday: Session: 10m@6.15 pace
I had done this session a few weeks ago (April 10th) and found it tough - In the weeks since I have done 6m and 8m at this pace also - so this was a progression on those 2 runs.
I brought the car to Whites Road and done my 2 mile warm up with Strides - bringing me to CK Gate.
I set off from there - down the OS road and turning onto the Furze. Mile 1 bang on 6.15 pace. This was one of my session goals - dont set off too fast.
The next few miles fizz by - Up again to CK Gate - down the North Road, around the Polo Grounds. The breeze is a bit stronger than I thought and negates any downhill drag.
At this stage, I'm 5m into it thinking - Jesus - 5m left - I'm not tired or anything - well I am - but its manageable - but its like its the familiarity of it is tiresome - the same route, the solo running, the knowledge that the voices will appear somewhere around the Aras after the climb up Chesterfield
I turn up Chesterfield - my pace is a bit quicker than 6.15 for this mile - I take a little breather and let the pace drift a bit.
The drag from the Zoo to the Aras is like climbing a mountain when your running at pace - it knocks the stuffing out of you - I should be used to it - but hey ho!
I approach the Aras and have to navigate a gang of girls hanging around the gap in the fence - causes me to stop momentarily, I immediately get going rather than linger and let the voices tell me to stop for longer - demons banished for now.
The 2 miles up Chesterfield MOUNTAIN were 6.11 and 6.18 (yes - I paused the watch when I stopped for about 7.463 seconds)
I turn down the Ordanance Survey Road with 3 miles left to do - I'm considering route options. My original route had me go back down the Furze - I'm hurting now, so I rule that out as the breeze would kill me and possibly lead to me not finishing the session.
After last weeks session where I ran 10 miles and not 12 (at 6.40 pace) - it was key that I finish the session this week. This was also a session goal - finish the session no matter what. Mile 8 beeps in 6.13.
I turn down the Upper Glen Road and am greeted by the headwind - while it does offer a little respite - the wind is making it a bit harder than I envisaged - maybe the Furze was a better option - but I did appreciate the downhill mile!!
I go out the gate onto the Chapelizod Road and have a mile left - This was probably the biggest mistake in the whole session as the Park wall acts like a wind tunnel and the headwind is straight in your face.
The last mile on this straight is fairly level, maybe a slight drag downhill as discussed last week - although the online elevation makes it look like I'm running down Kilimanjaro.
This was probably the hardest mile yet on this training plan. It was painful - I wanted to stop about 10 times, but I seen it through and finished the 10th mile in 6.19 - ave pace for the 10 miles was 6.15 - bang on target.
1st thing in my head when I finish was "Healy needs to find himself another person to work with for his TT"
What is very interesting about these runs is that the last mile or 2 is tough - no matter what the distance. After the 6m & 8m version at this pace - I felt the same (whereas at mile 8 today - I felt better than at mile 8 of the 8 mile run - if that makes sense)
I think if I ran 12 miles at 6.15 pace next week - I'd get to 10 miles and find the last 2 tough - mile 10 of that hypothetical run would be better than mile 10 of this weeks run............jesus - I haven't even had a drink yet and I'm typing like a rambling idiot
The short version is that - I do think that its purely in my head!!
If/When I get a training partner (hopefully in June I can align training schedules with another 1 or 2 of Stazzas Dublin/Kildare based team - I think this will work wonders.
2.5 miles back to the car.
I weighed myself after the run and found I had lost about 6lbs in the run on sweat - I was wearing a long sleeve top and was overheating massively during the run. My top was soaked with sweat
2x1 hour walks with the Madra afterwards.
15 miles in total - 10@6.15
Sunday: Lovely run down to the PP, through the Visitor center and back up and home. Started hammering with rain during it, but I enjoyed it. I love the Invincibles for these runs - a pleasure to run in.
8.1m@ 8.17 pace.
59 miles for the week0 -
Advertisement
-
Monday:
Was out by 6.45am........on a Monday!
I find myself drinking less and less at home, by choice and design - leads to more hours in the week - - wait til the pubs open!!
Went down to the Furry Glen and back around by the Furze Road - lovely morning for it.
7.15m / 8.03 pace.
Tuesday: Session 15x2min on/off - Guide Pace was 5.35's - the intention was not to force the pace, but run controlled.
Another progression on the past few weeks as the pace gets faster and the rep length gets shorter.
Some activations at home - 20mins warm up & Strides and I was off.
During the 2nd or 3rd rep, the heavens opened and remained opened for the duration of the workout.
For some reps, I couldn't see my watch it was so bad. At one point I had to close my eyes as they were hurting from the hard rainfall!
But - despite the rain - It was a very invigorating session - I felt very strong all the way through it and could have done additional reps at the end.
All my reps followed a similar patern........
Start too quick.......better slow down, $hit, I've slowed down too much, better speed up.........
Ave pace for the reps was 5.31 (range was 5.26 to 5.37)
Really enjoyed this one again.
12.7 miles total
Other News:
Trying to get a crew together for the 29th May to help JH in his HM TT.
My coach is onboard and has switched my training around to suit - I was due a downweek this week.
So far I think I have 3 others on board from the group - 2 to run 10m with me and another to run the full HM with JH.
Negotiations are currently taking place regarding the choice of route 0
Advertisement