The main thing is keeping the main thing, the main thing

AuldManKing

I know what you mean about the intensity - I dont intend to follow it to the letter - especially the steady runs.
Last weeks 'steady' was replaced with a 2e/2s/2e/2s - but changing it to an easy run may be the way to go.

The goal is moreso to give my endurance a good kicking. I've finally come to the conclusion that the constant v02 stuff may work for a lot of my clubmates, but its not for me.

So the 'main thing' is to get my speed endurance & mental strength up, run a 10k (possibly in Longwood in mid October) then alternate the tempos with LT sessions and the club v02max sessions for a few weeks before Jinglebells.

The week after Jinglebells is 17 weeks to Rotterdam........just sayin'

pconn062

I would suggest A, that maybe the pace is slightly too fast for your (true) tempo/LT pace. Maybe I'm wrong, but I imagine at the minute we are in similar shape and I'm doing my LT runs 5-10 seconds a mile slower than that. I'm sure you know yourself, but just something that sticks out a little. Are you basing these off pace or HR?

AuldManKing

pconn062 wrote: »

I would suggest A, that maybe the pace is slightly too fast for your (true) tempo/LT pace. Maybe I'm wrong, but I imagine at the minute we are in similar shape and I'm doing my LT runs 5-10 seconds a mile slower than that. I'm sure you know yourself, but just something that sticks out a little. Are you basing these off pace or HR?

That observation got me going back over my past few sessions.

Possibly depends on your definition of tempo/LT/10k pace

I'm reckoning that my 10k pace now is about 6:10 (reckon I could do 38min) so my last 2 3x2km sessions were based in & around the 6:10 mark.

My tempo last Saturday was faster than that but the effort felt right.

I don't want to over think things, so I reckon that with a little more recovery as above, the pace is about right for 10k.

Would you equate LT to 10k pace or slightly slower??

pconn062

AuldManKing wrote: »

That observation got me going back over my past few sessions.

Possibly depends on your definition of tempo/LT/10k pace

I'm reckoning that my 10k pace now is about 6:10 (reckon I could do 38min) so my last 2 3x2km sessions were based in & around the 6:10 mark.

My tempo last Saturday was faster than that but the effort felt right.

I don't want to over think things, so I reckon that with a little more recovery as above, the pace is about right for 10k.

Would you equate LT to 10k pace or slightly slower??

By my understanding, and in my training, LT is slower than 10k pace and closer to a pace you could sustain for an hour. It is closer to 10 mile pace for me. I imagine if I did a 10k now I could run 6 minute miles but my LT workouts (especially longer reps like 10 mins) are closer to 6.10-15 pace. I personally would really struggle to do my LT workouts at 10k pace, 4x2k @ 10k pace would be really difficult for me. Again, not trying to nitpick, just something to consider if you are struggling to finish your sessions. Lots of people seem to run their LT sessions too fast relative to their race results.

FBOT01

pconn062 wrote: »

By my understanding, and in my training, LT is slower than 10k pace and closer to a pace you could sustain for an hour. It is closer to 10 mile pace for me. I imagine if I did a 10k now I could run 6 minute miles but my LT workouts (especially longer reps like 10 mins) are closer to 6.10-15 pace. I personally would really struggle to do my LT workouts at 10k pace, 4x2k @ 10k pace would be really difficult for me. Again, not trying to nitpick, just something to consider if you are struggling to finish your sessions. Lots of people seem to run their LT sessions too fast relative to their race results.

I would have the same view on LT pace based on P&D training. I target 10m pace for my LT runs.

AuldManKing

Cheers guys.

The plan calls for these to be done at 10k pace - not LT pace - so I guess its a race specific workout.
Hopefully the longer recovery going forward will benefit me.

Thanks for the comments - much appreciated.

Myles Splitz

Are we talking about the tempo's or the 2k reps? Just looking back two seem to be muddled up in conversation due to paces last week

As was mentioned tempo/LT/AT/Ant (all used to describe same thing depending on the coach) would usually be based off the 1 hour race pace (normally 10m -HM (depending on profile of the workout course the latter can be the safer option as you don't want to exceed reccomended guidelines so its better to slightly underestimate rather than over estimate)

Another good guide I have seen in an interview recently was your 5k pace + 25 sec per mile or 10k pace + 10 second per mile and subjected it to a few case studies and seemed to come out pretty much where I would expect on a number of athletes.

AuldManKing

Wednesday: 6:36m @ 7:59 pace

In light of the feedback I received from Myles Splitz, I kept this one about the 8 min/mile pace - rather than a steady run.

Interestingly my ave HR was 134 for this run as I was still feeling a bit fatigued from yesterdays session.
When I read the small print for my plans definition of 'Steady' - it is measured by HR, not pace, and it gives 75%-80% of MaxHR.
75% of my maxHR is ~135 bpm - so even by thinking that I'm doing an easy run - it meets the 'steady' criteria.

Either way - I didn't think that I overdone it and the legs feel just nice right now.

Got some more great advise from Myles during the day - so will incorporate this into my plan.

AuldManKing

Thursday: 7x2 min Khyber hills - 10k pace (6:10)

this is a constant workout as you run the recoveries back down the hill, so the HR keeps high enough.
2 min recovery apart from after the 2nd and 4th reps where it was a 3 min recovery to get back down to the bottom.
All reps pretty consistent.

Really enjoyed it when the torrential rain fell as I started the 3rd rep.....really enjoyed it........it was great......

Friday: Gym session
Joined a class with some clubmates on Thursday night Friday morning (6:30am start).
45 mins of full upper body stuff meant I couldn't wash my hair for 2 days :pac: and am still sore.

Saturday: 2x2m @T (aim 6:20ish - 2min R)

Up early on Sat morning for this one - completly forgot about the Pink run being on, so my plan for doing these on the Furze / OS was out the window.
Arms and chest sore from the Friday session.

Ran down the trail on the North Road and decided to do the 1st rep up Chesterfield (2m from Zoo to top of Avenue). The wind was heavier than I realised and had to drop the pace.
1st 2 mile: 6:32

Coming back down was much easier (& after a 2min R) as you'd expect.
2nd 2 mile: 6:17

I jogged back up C'field through the thongs throngs of people congregating for the Pink Run - was it a primarily female race with a few blokes thrown in?? or is that just what I seen

As I was going up 2 things disgusted me.
(1) Announcer (at 9:30 in the morning) - "if the kids out there want Candy or Chocolate bars, come on over to the tea and coffee area".

(2) A woman going over to a tree, dropping her shorts and taking a pee - normally nothing wrong with that as blokes do it - but she was right beside & facing the main road! The look of shock on peoples faces as the walked by.

9m total for the morning.

Sunday: 11 miles easy @7:57

wasn't sure I'd get this done as I was up early with a sick stomach. I brought the little one to a GAA match and by the time it was over I felt ok.

Had planned to do 14 but held it to 11 as time was going against me.

PM: HR was high as I watched a shocking refereeing display. Dont know how he black carded 2 Dubs and sent off DC while not doing similar to the Mayo players. It was equally tetchy out there with both giving as good as they got.


48.5 miles for the week - a solid weeks training.

menoscemo

AuldManKing wrote: »

PM: HR was high as I watched a shocking refereeing display. Dont know how he black carded 2 Dubs and sent off DC while not doing similar to the Mayo players. It was equally tetchy out there with both giving as good as they got.

You're having a laugh, Headbutts, elbows, punches and Dives. Did you get that Philly McMahon fella up in Tyrone or something :rolleyes: Lucky you didn't have a lot more sent off a lot earlier...
https://vine.co/v/eIgqgvBOHWZ

http://www.the42.ie/philly-mcmahon-aidan-oshea-mayo-headbutt-all-ireland-semi-final-2301364-Aug2015/?utm_source=twitter_self

AuldManKing

menoscemo wrote: »

You're having a laugh, Headbutts, elbows, punches and Dives. Did you get that Philly McMahon fella up in Tyrone or something :rolleyes: Lucky you didn't have a lot more sent off a lot earlier...
https://vine.co/v/eIgqgvBOHWZ

http://www.the42.ie/philly-mcmahon-aidan-oshea-mayo-headbutt-all-ireland-semi-final-2301364-Aug2015/?utm_source=twitter_self

Give you that one, Philly was the wrong choice to mark OShea.
But Mayo gave as much as they got.

menoscemo

AuldManKing wrote: »

Give you that one, Philly was the wrong choice to mark OShea.
But Mayo gave as much as they got.

Dublin penalty was outside the box as well. Dubs were very very cynical today. A draw was probably a fair result.

Firedance

menoscemo wrote: »

You're having a laugh, Headbutts, elbows, punches and Dives. Did you get that Philly McMahon fella up in Tyrone or something :rolleyes: Lucky you didn't have a lot more sent off a lot earlier...
https://vine.co/v/eIgqgvBOHWZ

http://www.the42.ie/philly-mcmahon-aidan-oshea-mayo-headbutt-all-ireland-semi-final-2301364-Aug2015/?utm_source=twitter_self

the problem is not with what was done (although I hate that carry on) the problem was Mayo were equally as bad, if not worse on some occasions and the ref ignored it, same ole same ole :rolleyes:

menoscemo

Firedance wrote: »

the problem is not with what was done (although I hate that carry on) the problem was Mayo were equally as bad, if not worse on some occasions and the ref ignored it, same ole same ole :rolleyes:

Take off the Dublin blinkers there lads

AuldManKing

menoscemo wrote: »

Take off the Dublin blinkers there lads

On the plus side, my trainings going well.

annapr

menoscemo wrote: »

You're having a laugh, Headbutts, elbows, punches and Dives. Did you get that Philly McMahon fella up in Tyrone or something :rolleyes: Lucky you didn't have a lot more sent off a lot earlier...
https://vine.co/v/eIgqgvBOHWZ

http://www.the42.ie/philly-mcmahon-aidan-oshea-mayo-headbutt-all-ireland-semi-final-2301364-Aug2015/?utm_source=twitter_self

Well at least Philly wasn't biting today....

AuldManKing

Monday: 7m easy around the PP - threw in some strides (6x20sec) at the end in anticipation for Tuesdays session. I'm beginning to feel the benefits of the change in direction of my training - feeling a lot stronger on the easy runs.

Didn't wear the HR monitor as the one that came with the 220 has been causing chaffing on my chest :eek: , especially on the recent rainy days..........makes it difficult to explain to my wife what the marks are

7.1m @ 8:05

Tuesday: 3x(800/400/200/1000) @ 5k/3k/1m/10k paces with 2/1/30s rec and 3:30 between sets. (took me an age to program this into the garmin:) )

Was looking forward to this - the main emphasis of the workout was both speed development, running at 10k pace while fatigued and making 10k pace seem easier.

Reps were:
(1) 2:51 / 82 / 41 / 3:40
(2) 2:52 / 81 / 42 / 3:38
(3) 2:50 / 82 / 41 / 3:33

I surprised myself with this workout as I was doing it on tiredish legs and having not done a workout like this for a while, I didn't know what to expect.
The 1km reps were faster than 10k pace (5:55/5:52/5:44 paces) so I'm happy that I managed to complete then all and finish strong on the last one.
Recoveries were ok with 2min after the 800m / 1 min after the 400 and 30s after the 200. (walked ~50% of each rec)
The 3:30 between reps was generous.

4.5m (7.2k) hard running and 8.6m for the day.
Happy out.

AuldManKing

Wednesday: Easy run, 6.5m @ ~8 min/miles. Nothing to report here. Seen some deer. Seen a squirrel.........and a dog.

Thursday: 12x1min Hills @5k pace - jog back down recoveries.

Up & out early for this one. Drove to Farmleigh and ran the 2m to the bottom of the Khyber. Quick bit of stretching.
1st 2 reps were painful - the early start, no strides, the early start, maybe not enough stretching, the early start........

But got into it - the 5k pace was loose - I just ran hardish but not flat out. Trying to not see a '6' the odd time I checked the watch.
After the 1st couple of reps, I had a marking made out where I'd finish - about 280-300m - so no need to keep checking the seconds.

For the 1st 9 reps, it was a constant workout with an easy run back down the hill. As I wanted to finish at the top of the hill, the last 3 reps were walk recoveries. Tried to keep all recoveries at about 90 seconds.

1.5m back to the car and home to get the family up!

7.4 miles in total.

Edit: The gym class is cancelled in the morning, so I have a full 48 hrs recovery before the next run. Go me.

Duanington

AuldManKing wrote: »

, the early start........

Fair play to you A - those early morning sessions are indeed a killer

AuldManKing

Friday: Rest - Legs felt fantastic on Friday night - was contemplating a park run on Sat.

Sat: Legs felt fcuk'd when I woke up :eek: - heavy and dead.
Went out on the planned 3x10m tempo and it was a tough session.

3 mile warm up and I was into the 1st effort.
Rep 1: 10 mins - 6:19 pace
It felt tough - it was up Chesterfield and I felt I was working hard for it.

Rep 2: 10 mins - 6:17 pace
2:30 recovery and off for the 2nd rep. Down the OS, up the Furze Road and back up C'Field. The Furze and back up C'Field was hard work.

Was going to call it a day as it was tougher than it should have been, but said I'd try the last rep - "do 5 mins at MP" I said.

Rep 3: 10 mins - 6:16 pace.
This one felt great, maybe it was 'cos I was going down C'field, maybe I was more relaxed - but it felt as comfortable as the tempo the previous week.

2 mile cool down

10.2m for the day.

Sunday: 11.75m @ 7:34 (unintended progression run)

Done this with the club, although only 5 turned up.
I had done a couple of easy miles before meeting up and we headed off on a new route today (must have been a committee meeting ).

Pace was ticking up nicely and it felt comfortable - kept pushing the pace til the end with last 3 miles 7:11/7:07/7:03.
happy with how comfortable I felt in the last 3 miles after a heavy week.

52m for the week - highest mileage in well over a year.

yaboya1

We really need to distinguish what 'm' stands for. Those 3x10mile tempos looked like a right bastard

AuldManKing

Monday 7th Sept: My God - where has the year gone - I must be getting old(er) - are they my feet...............

7m 'there or there abouts' recovery run along the PP trails - 6x20 sec strides at the end along with some stretching.

Tuesday 8th Sept: 5x1 mile (3 min Recovery)
Great evening for a run - beautiful weather.

Wasn't sure what way this would go as I was a bit tired heading out.
As a LT workout, I knew this would need to be slightly faster than 10k pace given the generous recovery.

reps worked out as:
R1: 5:53 (North road into the wind - tough 1st one as usual)
R2: 5:49 (up C'field - not too bad)
R3: 5:52 (Up to Farmleigh - felt very comfortable)
R4: 5:53 (down OS road, bit of relief as wind at my back & downhill)
R5: 5:46 (Furze Road - wasn't hanging on at the end)

1m cool down.

9.3 miles for the day.

Very happy with how this training cycle is going - will need to keep the head this week and then next week is a recovery week.

tang1

^^^^^^^^^^
Nice!!!

AuldManKing

Wed 9th: 6:30m @ 8:13 - this is the only run of the week that I don't look fwd to. But get it done anyhow.

Thursday 10th: 30m Tempo
I had this planned for Sat, but had to switch it around due to a planned club run around Howth.

Rather than a straight tempo I decided to try a workout similar to one I seen on PaulieYifters Strava recently.
3minT/3 minMP for 30 mins continuous. Works well when its programmed into the watch.

This worked a treat and the MP sections really felt like a recovery. The alterations throughout the workout keep the focus high.
The T paces averaged 6:13 and the MP averaged 6:40 - the reps were pretty consistent throughout.
This is one I'll do again.

9.5 miles with WU&CD

Friday: No running - but a 45 min Strength class at 6:30am

Sat: Club Howth Run - lovely run around Howth - the Purple route (the opposite way).
After the rain on Friday - we woke to a superb day. Great scenery and great company.
3 of us opened it up a bit on the way down once we hit the road.
7.66 miles

Sunday: Club run - 11.4m @ 7:15 pace.

after a couple of miles, the pace ticked up and a few of us broke away. Kept it over the Acres side of he park and included a couple of Munich loops for interest.
The pace kept ticking up and we done about 5 in a row at 6:50 - cant believe I ran nearly 26 of these a year and a half ago.

51 miles for the week with plenty of quality.

The coming week is a step back week which calls for 3 rest days. I might switch this week for the following week as I plan to run Rathfarnam 5k on 27th, so dont want to have 2 cutback weeks in a row.

AuldManKing

I decided to swap my step back week to next week, but also decided to reduce from 3 sessions to 2 this week and do a recovery run on Monday - while keeping the mileage similar to the last few weeks at 50.

Monday 14th: 4m recovery - 9 min miles. Brought the dog with me to keep me slow.

Tuesday 15th: Up at 6:15am for this one and straight out the door. Took me a while to get going.
I also done a large chunk of this on the roads - I've been running mostly on grass for the last while in the PP, and I noticed that my legs were a bit 'meh' when I got in. I was wearing an older pair of runners (480 miles) so might need to recycle these to the bin.

Next time I do an early run, I might drive to the PP & also do some dynamic warm ups - this straight out of bed thing is painful

8 miles @ 7:50 pace.

Wednesday 16th: 5x5 mins with 3 min R

Its a bit mad when you dictate if you'll work from home based on getting a run in. Luckily things are a bit quiet!

I had the watch set up for this one to take away any thinking about it.
Drove to the PP and ran 2.5m to the Polo grounds - including some strides and stretching.

Aim was for 5:50-5:55's with 3 mins active walk/jog recoveries.

Rep1: 5:51 - set off too quick and took a while to find the pace.

Rep2: 5:49 - Felt ok on this one.

Rep3: 5:49 - a comment by SoCal Pete (is it really him???) entered my head - maybe just do 4x5 mins I was thinking....... nah - have to do the 5.

Rep4: 5:57 - unfocused here. Found myself drifting at the early stage and trying to hard to claw it back - Speaking of The Claw - he passed me on this loop (see what I did there.....)

Rep5: 5:47 - After a less than active recovery - I set off on the last loop - to help with the mind games, I finished the workout on the road just off the Polo grounds, just for mental stimulation more than anything else - found myself finishing strong as a result.

Just over 2 miles back to the car to complete the 10 miles for the day. Not a bad effort for lunchtime.

10 miles

After spending many many months doing shorter reps and track workouts, I feel much fitter (or is that stronger?) after 5 weeks of LT's/Tempos and these sort of sessions.
I'll keep this going for another 3 weeks or so and then reintroduce the shorter track work, while keeping these LT's/Tempos as part of my regime.

AuldManKing

Thurs 17th: 8m trail run around the PP, picking up the pace in the last 2 miles.

8m @ 7:46

Friday 18: - Rest day

Sat 19th: Just shy of 2m warm up - then 5k tempo - 2m cool down.
(6:10/6:12/6:06 downhill)

7.4m @ 7:21 ave

Spent 2 hours handing out medals after the half marathon. Some great performances in there.

Sun 20: 13.2 miles @ 8:09

Up late after an evening/night of food wine and beer.
Don't know how I got through that run - was definitely the worst I've felt running all year. Pure slog.

51 miles this week - keeping the mileage consistent.

Looking forward to a stepback week this week.

AuldManKing

Monday: rest day from Running - 1 hour S&C class with the club.
Some weight training followed by 2x(2x5) core excercises. Planks / Bridges / deadbugs / supermen / clams etc etc.

Tuesday: 8.23m on PP trails - Pace was 7:40ish but could have ran faster for longer, one of those nights - held it back a bit, could feel a slight niggle on the left shin / inside calf area. Massage & icing when I got home.

Wednesday: Rest - wanted to mind the niggle.

Thursday: 6.3m inc 8x200 @ 5k with 200R

With Rathfarnham on Sunday I wanted to see how the calf/shin responded to some light speedwork.
Done a warm up and it felt ok and done the reps - by the last rep I could feel it again.
Home and done some foam rolling, massage & ice.
My PT isn't available til Monday 'cos she went and got married - not very considerate of her .

I'll reconsider the 5k on Sunday - its not a goal race by any stretch - just wanted to set a marker.

Murph_D

Thanks for the medal!

tang1

Best of luck in Rathfarnham in the morning Alan.

Firedance

tang1 wrote: »

Best of luck in Rathfarnham in the morning Alan.

+1, see you there