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

OOnegative

Well done Alan, great racing that. The Teeny Bopper has you going well.

hot buttered scones

AuldManKing wrote: »

Sunday:
But I was hurting. Fcuk that I thought, if I'm already hurting, hurting a bit more wont matter a dam. And I upped the pace.

Thats the BIG take away from this. I could up the pace. Substantially. and I upped it again at each corner. there were 2 guys ahead in red running together - I was getting nearer and nearer. Into the home straight now - I was sprinting and feeling great - where was this about 2 mins ago!!

That's the stuff! That's a great mentality to have, and will give you something to draw on in the future I'd say.

Well done on a great performance.

Annie get your Run

hot buttered scones wrote: »

That's the stuff! That's a great mentality to have, and will give you something to draw on in the future I'd say.

Well done on a great performance.

That was my favourite part too . What a fantastic performance A. The great thing about the logs is that it will probably give others something to draw on in the future too.

Swashbuckler

Annie get your Run wrote:

That was my favourite part too . What a fantastic performance A. The great thing about the logs is that it will probably give others something to draw on in the future too.

Big time.. I've read a few of the Raheny reports and taken a few things from all of them.

Murph_D

Nice going boss. Far too relaxed in first half mile alright if you were picking me out in the crowd for a reverse shout out. Thanks all the same! Good start to the year.

AuldManKing

Tuesday: Following Mondays 13 miles, I was tired on Tuesday but done a lovely recovery run on the PP trails - some mucky, some were quite ok!

7.25m@8.50/mile

Tuesday night was our FINAL final going away bash - we've had a few..............but I was reasonably well behaved, more so from wanting to catchup with people I haven't seen in years who turned up and also wanting to remember it.

Wednesday Thankfully coach moved my session to accomadate my drinking session - so just a 6m around the area - nothing special - listening to people saying how much Man Utd would beat Spurs on Wed night.

6m@8:12/mile

Thursday: Mini Session - 5k alternating each K at 10m race pace (6:10) and MP (6:45) with 4x30s

Done a 2.5m warm-up to Whites Gate and dumped the additional layer - So I start the 1st bit of the tempo - a 6:45 pace bit - and as I'm getting into my groove Catherina McKiernan comes running by - "hows Alan" she says and moves on along my route.......

Well Jaysus, I was 'jogging' at 5:15 pace for about 400 meters after that!!

Out of the 5km about 2k were into the breeze - which was blowing hard today.

Reps worked out ok - a bit fast, but in the right area.

6:30/6:01/6:40/6:10/6:36

5mins easy jog and onto the 4x30s - all about 5min/mile pace - I wasn't aiming for a pace - just running controlled and fast.

7.6m for the day

Walked the dog later listening to people saying how they knew Spurs would beat Man Utd.

COYS

PS - I'st day as a full time athlete - Pay is crap but the time off is great.

OOnegative

PB the goal for Trim?

AuldManKing

OOnegative wrote: »

PB the goal for Trim?

yeah - I haven't raced a 10m in a while - I think Dungarvan from a few years back. I think my PB is 62:3x - so hoping to take a minute off this.

All going well, 61:3X should be realistic, but last weeks race might still be in the legs - we'll see.

Swashbuckler

AuldManKing wrote:

PS - I'st day as a full time athlete - Pay is crap but the time off is great.

I'm expecting to start seeing some AM / PM runs on your Strava. Best of luck in Trim. Looking forward to seeing how you get on.

OOnegative

AuldManKing wrote: »

yeah - I haven't raced a 10m in a while - I think Dungarvan from a few years back. I think my PB is 62:3x - so hoping to take a minute off this.

All going well, 61:3X should be realistic, but last weeks race might still be in the legs - we'll see.

Between 4-5.5 miles is a gradual climb nothing serious but if pace is to hot may come back to bite you, same between miles 7-8. As last mile begins another short sharp climb but you make that up the other side though. Apart from that it’s fairly flat and a good flat last 800m to put the gas down. You’ll go well.

AuldManKing

Swashbuckler wrote: »

I'm expecting to start seeing some AM / PM runs on your Strava. Best of luck in Trim. Looking forward to seeing how you get on.

I spoke to the coach about that very thing recently!

Swashbuckler

AuldManKing wrote:

I spoke to the coach about that very thing recently!

Haha did you get the all clear?

OOnegative

Best of luck in Trim Alan, run well.

Baby75

good luck tomorrow

OOnegative

SERIOUS sandbagging on that race prediction, very well done Alan.

Swashbuckler

OOnegative wrote:

SERIOUS sandbagging on that race prediction, very well done Alan.

61.3x sandbagged? Haha.. he ran 61.42.

OOnegative

Swashbuckler wrote: »

61.3x sandbagged? Haha.. he ran 61.42.

Oops thought he has said 62.30 as the target, either way he ran a decent PB.

MisterDrak

Lets hear from the man himself.

Drum Roll .....

AuldManKing

Friday: There's a loop I do down the canal, into the PP and home - its about 7 miles.
Well today I felt Badass - so I done it in reverse.

7m@8.08 pace

Saturday: 3 miles with the last 3 mins at 6:10 pace. T'was difficult to dial in a pace for 3 mins - but managed an up & down 6:05 - I remember being out of breath thinking -no way will I hold anywhere near that on Sunday.

3.26m @7.53

Sunday: Trim 10m

Up early,had the porridge and off to Trim - got there handy enough,but ended up parking in the multi-story car park.
1st dilema was do I wear the racers or not - only ever worn them for 10k's.........ok, lets do it.
2 miles of a warm up with some strides and stretches - glute activations due to previous issues, a hello to a good number of familiar faces - some from around here, some not.
After a quick word about little Allanah, we were off.

I recall thinking how easy the 1st mile was relative to doing a session at a similar pace. It felt like jogging.
Raycun was off ahead and the plan was to keep him in my sights - he's in top form this weather - but I didn't want to set off at stupid pace either.
Mile 1 beeped at 6:05 and I had a decision to make. Do I go with the group ahead (Rays group) or run my own race.I decide to let them off. I'd a quick chat with Rory Mooney at this stage - a 'former' HP campus colleague - and shared a joke - excellently caught on camera by his mam!

Mile 2 beeped at 6:03 and I'm still feeling strong. I know I'm in for a long old spin and looking into the long straight country roads isn't something I want to do for an hour!!
Mile 3 & 4 are fine, (6:07/6:08) but I start to feel a bit 'meh' at this stage, theres a drag thats not helping, but the effort to hold the pace is creeping up. I'm also running at the front of a chasing pack - in fact, I think for long stages, I felt like I was on my own on this stretch. Its $hit having no one 'nearby' to chase down.

At the water station, I feel an urge to Stop. I dont know if the drag had an effect, its certainly getting warmer, but I cant let the demons win so early, focus on the mental game - its only 5 miles in - another bit and its home time.

At this stage the 4th lady comes by me, so I hold onto here for a bit - we're running about 6:20's or so - I just want to stop the rot I'm feeling and get back running decently. It works. Rory comes up alongside me and goes right in front of me and the 4th lady - I took in, thankful for the ride. (mile 5: 6:18 / Mile 6: 6:08). Theres a turn around here, so I count how far ahead rays group is - about 60 seconds or so. Too far??

Mile's 7&8 are strange miles - I'm running well - the lungs feel great, theres no fatigue in the legs, but I cant muster any power. Rory & 4th Lady head off a bit and I cant chase them, and I dont know why - strange. Maybe thats my level right now.
Mile 7&8 are both 6:17's. $hit. Another water stop somewhere along here - I throw water over myself to wake myself up.

So the aim is not to leak any more time. 62 mins is still a viable target and a credible PB. A group of runners come through and I get a jolt, I speed up to hold onto them.
I even see Rays group coming back to me - they are obviously hurting too.
I keep at the back of the group and am pushing - the 9 mile marker is bang on (6:09) and I urge myself to get going - 6 mins left.

I can definitely see Rays group getting nearer, so I try to push harder, but theres not much there. I see ray turn the corner into the estate and he's flying - he seems to have a kick. I see the line ahead and kick - $hit, thats a truck, not the line - maybe I need glasses - another turn to go - theres the line for definite - I see the clock ticking 61:3x as I approach, push on I'm urging - I cross the line 61:45 (official) - about 30 secs behind Rays group and just 10 secs behind 4th lady. Mile 10 was 6:05.

Great to meet so many faces after the race - this racing lark is top notch for that and I've yet to meet an arsehole runner.

Thoughts on the race:

* Great organised race - lovely fair course and a great goody bag afterwards.
* The racers caused me no problems - they'll be fine for a HM too.
* Even though I hit my target (give or take) I was little disappointed at how I felt out there - I shipped about 30 seconds in mile 7&8 and I thought I'd be stronger til longer in the race - however, thinking about this afterwards, I can put it into a different perspective.
Race last Sunday, long run Monday, BIG Night out midweek, mini session Thursday and ending the week on 57 miles - running every day.

So a lot going on this week, finishing work etc - so I'm pretty damn happy with it on reflection.

A ~1 minute PB.
10 miles@6:10 pace
79th/1305 place

12.8m for the day
57.1m for the week
235m for Jan (Ran 30/31 days in Jan)

hot buttered scones

Great stuff! Well done on the PB.

AuldManKing

Monday: 5m easy pace around the area - about 1/2 on grass.
The legs felt fine, I had expected some soreness or stiffness - but NO. So that means I didn't run hard enough on Sunday - which I kinda knew anyway.

Based on last weeks 5m time, my 10m time should have been 61:15 according to Daniels.
So thats the 30 seconds that I lost with those 3x6:17 miles.
Interestingly, my 1st 5m were 30.41 & the 2nd 31:04 - so only 23 seconds of a difference - but it seemed like I shipped a lot more on the day. This is a positive that I'll remember next time I'm feeling 'it' in the 2nd half of a race.

Tuesday: Double delights.
AM: 5km up around the pitches in Porterstown and back. - 8.56 pace.
PM: 7m - Down to the PP - around the Glen and back home. - 7m@8.11

Wednesday: Nice run to PP and back in a different direction - Badass - for the 2nd time in a week.

7m@8:05 - inc 6x20s strides.

Thursday: 14x40s Hills - 90s recovery

I've done a few sets of these this year and the one word that comes to mind when doing them is 'incessant' - you get to the top, catch your breath for 5 secs, jog back down, 5 secs later and your off again - I actually dont mind then at all!
Done these starting at the bottom of the Khyber - by the time I reach the white bench, the watch starts the 5 sec count down. So the aim is to only hear the beeps when I pas the chair, not before - it kept the efforts honest.

The garmin paces are reading between 5:20-5:40 - but they are all over the place tbh. I was starting at 4:50's and slowing to 5:20's by the end of most reps.

7.55m in total.

I've a stag this weekend, so that'll hamper training a bit - but from next week I want to re-introduce some S&C work - trying to keep it simple to ensure I'll keep it up. Press ups / Planks / Squats-lunges / something to strengthen the glutes.(donkey kicks??)

RayCun

Donkey kicks with a resistance band?

Bumped into a few of your clubmates on the way home this evening. An E D in the lead? They were very far south, I thought they must be lost!

Swashbuckler

AuldManKing wrote:

Done these starting at the bottom of the Khyber - by the time I reach the white bench, the watch starts the 5 sec count down. So the aim is to only hear the beeps when I pas the chair, not before - it kept the efforts honest.

I found that advice from L made all the difference. Having a focal point to try and hit before the time elapsed really gives the session a focus. Also makes the splits more consistent.

Duanington

Re the glutes, single leg bridges, pistol squats, lunges, normal squats (weighted) side planks, planks where you lift one leg off the ground at a time....

that kind of thing works for me (had a niggle last year and had to work on strengthening it all up)

pconn062

Or, stop being a big girls blouse and start deadlifting.

Side lying hip abduction is my favourite if you are only going to do one exercise for the glutes. Works both the glute max and the hip stabilisers. Add resistance as needed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-XfZpivhsM

OOnegative

Must have been some stag.........

AuldManKing

^^^^ Thanks for the advice lads!

Friday 9th: Mini lap of the park - 7m @ 7.44pace - legs felt great despite the hills. Off to a Stag for the night.

Saturday 10th: Actually felt fine when I got home, but too much sport on TV with Spurs V Arsenal followed by Ireland v Italy followed by me and my daughter going to Croke park for the Dubs ladies and then the Dubs mens match.
Full day of watching sport - how weekends should be.

Sunday: I was feeling a bit apprehensive about this one - it was 4m Steady / 3m Easy / 4m Steady / 3m Easy / 1m MP.

Normally takes me a while to get going so was worried about mile 1 - but after a lof of dynamic stretching at home, I was ready for it.

Too ready for it as my 1st mile was 6:46 (tgt was 7:10's).

Got through the workout - the wind was blustery in places but the 'steady' pace was manageable.

Paces for steady & MP:
6:46 / 6:59 / 6:58; 6:57
7:03 / 7:04 / 7:03 / 7:05
6:43

Easy pace was about 8's.

15.05 miles.

52 miles for the week with a day off.


Monday: 5.2m @ 8:40 pace -nice recovery run.

Tuesday: As I was going to Cork on Wednesday, I pulled in my session to Tuesday - 2x@10k/4x300 / 1m@10k / 3x400 / 2k@10k - 10k is 6 min/miles.

* 1st 2k Rep - done on the Furze road and then down to the Acres. - 2k@5:55 pace.
* After a 4min rec - 4x300's - aim was 60s - 59/58/57/54 - 3 into the wind - the last one with a tail wind. (60s recovery each)
* 1m @ 5:51 - a tad too quick but it was mainly with the wind - 3 min recovery
* 3x400 - Aim 87's - 89 / 87 / 85 - 1st rep into a wind - took some effort.
* 2k @ 5:55 pace.

2m back to the car

10m total session. Legs felt tired during it - bringing it in a day was noticed!

Wednesday: An early 7m before a drive down to Cork. - 8.22 pace

Thursday: 7.38m around UCC and Cork City - lovely town - really enjoyed the 2 nights!

Friday: After a near 3hr drive home - out for a lap of the park - 7.13m@7:57 pace.

Sat Woke up feeling like I've been battered with a hammer - My daughter had a match in Lucan, so I done a few miles before hand - didn't do the 7m as I've a big session on Sunday and the body felt tired.
5.5m @ 8:36

AuldManKing

Sunday: Session - the plan was 7x(2k@6:10)+(1k@7:15) - andI was dreading it a bit.

I like the comfort of a 'break' - or some 'jogging' recovery - but this scares the $hit out of me - little recovery.
I drove to Whites Gate (Farmleigh) and done close to 2m of a warm up before setting off.
The 1st rep I chose to do downhill for the most part as I find the 1st rep the most difficult sometimes.
After that, it was on the furze/OS loop, then the north road where I ran 2k down and 1k up before finishing off going down Wellington Road and onto Chapelizod road for the final 1k Steady portion.

I knew from the off that this would be difficult, I was tired from lack of sleep and had a busy week - but I thought I'd manage it better than I did. After the 4th rep I considered canning the session, as the 'steady portion' was difficult - but I kept going with a 20-30s pause after the 2k section on each rep after that and finished it out.

All in all a very tough session - possibly the toughest I've ever done as it was constant 'going'.
But I think that this is what I need - I'm so used to doing reps with a recovery, or having a jog recovery - but these sessions just keep at it. I certainly need more of these I think as they make me most uncomfortable .

Reps:
2k Pace - Aim 6:10: / 1k Pace Aim 7:15

Actual:
WU: 1.86m @ 8:03

2k: 6:08 / 6:10 / 6:11 / 6:12 / 6:09 / 6:14 / 6:08
1k: 7:07 / 7:14 / 7:23 / 7.39 / 7:24 / 7.21 / 7.20

CD: 2.26m@8:11

17.17m@ 6:56 pace.

After the final 1k steady pace, I checked my 'ave pace' for the session and was surprised to see it as 6:45/mile for 15 miles - inc the warm up
I was disappointed to have taken the stop breaks, short as they were (max was 20 secs), but it was necessary otherwise I'd not have finished the session.

59.5m for the week



Normal structure next week as the girls go back to school and I've no breaks or stags planned - I'm looking forward to getting a structured week (although we've a plumber/tiler in all week). Eating and drinking habits will return to normal levels!!

OOnegative

Your a wanker...... you wanted some criticism!!

AuldManKing

OOnegative wrote: »

Your a wanker...... you wanted some criticism!!

Make it constructive though!!