The Running Master

pa4

Stazza wrote: »

Great to hear that things are going well and that you're coping with the world of work:)

If only I were U.23 again; for the next 9 months or so, I'll have to settle for being U.50:). Winning the U.23 Munster 5000m was good going. I'm sure you'll be good for it again this year.

I'm trying to sort out my races and get my head around the system. Do you have to win the County Champ's to qualify for the Munster Champ's and then win the Munster Champ's to qualify for the nationals, or can you just rock up on your Zimmer frame? Also, although I doubt you'll know the answer to this, can a pensioner run in the senior Champ's or do they/we have to stay in with the oldies?

There's a good chance we'll be racing each other over the summer - I'll sharpen my spikes elbows.:D

The aim is to win that anyway and do well at the All Ireland U.23 Just rock up on your zimmer frame! You don't need to qualify and you can run in both seniors and master.

I'll be looking forward to it!

Stazza

8x400m off 90 secs :pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:

pa4

Stazza wrote: »

8x400m off 90 secs :pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:

Wahey!! How did ya find it? Tough session but an enjoyable one nonetheless!:D

Stazza

Friday 21st March
a.m. 6 miles ez.

AIS before and after.

(6)

Saturday 22nd March
a.m. 6 miles ez.
p.m. 6 miles ez

AIS before and after both runs

(12)

Sunday 23rd March

a.m. 3 miles warm up incl drills and 6x100m strides, 8x400m off 90 secs, 2 miles warm down.

Well then, since I started running two and half years ago I haven’t really done a full on proper workout. The workouts have always been controlled. Today was different - I finally gave it some welly.

I looked at last week's 20x300m times and thought that if I could manage 68 sec average for the 400's, I’d have a good shout at running something decent by the end of the summer. To put some perspective on this, a couple of weeks back, Jake did the exact same session. He averaged 66 sec and kept them well under control. Here’s how I went:

1. 66
2. 66
3. 64
4. 66
5. 66
6. 67
7. 66
8. 67 Overall Average 66 secs.

Last week I felt like I could have done a good few more reps, this week I was on my hands and knees after the final rep and my form was faltering on the last couple of reps. In fact, I thought the last rep was going to be 63 – that’s how much effort I put in to hold a 67.

I’m genuinely delighted with this but I’m not reading too much into it. Based on this session, I should be able to do 5x800 @ 3k pace in 2:20’s off 2 mins rec and 4x1 mile in 4:56’s off 90 secs. I know that there’s no way I can do the 800’s or the mile reps in those times at the moment. But soon enough, things will balance out.

More importantly, when I first started back running and realised that I could still run a bit, I wanted to run a marathon. Sure, I can cope with 100 miles a week no bother, but I’m really starting to think that even the 5k is the wrong option and that I should in fact be looking at trying to break 4 mins for 1500m – I’ll give it some thought. It's great being old

p.m. 5 miles shakeout.

pa4

That's some session Stazza! I did the very same session before Christmas and only averaged 67 seconds. I reckon off that you could run a good 1500-3000m easily!

thewolf_ie

Well done on the session.

And thanks for introducing me to Jay Dicharry.... no running again today just some of his tests and exercises. I thought I was doing stability exercises before.....

Stazza

Monday 24th March

a.m. 6 miles recovery run – very slow. Legs were tired.

p.m. 6 miles ez. The wind was mental: on the way out, I must’ve been doing 20 min miles and then on the way back, 2 min miles.

AIS before and after both runs.

(12)

Stazza

Tuesday 25th March

a.m. 6 miles ez
p.m. 6 miles ez

AIS before and after both runs.

(12)

Still haven't fully recovered from Sunday's session. Old age isn't so great after all.

Stazza

Wednesday 26th March

a.m. 8 miles ez with Paddy the Kenyan.
p.m. 6 miles incl drills and 5x8 sec hill blasts.

AIS before and after both runs.

(14)

Still a bit tired on the morning run. Looks like it’s going to take a good 3-4 days to recover from hard workouts. So, I’ll need to plan things out carefully and not rush to get fit. Steady progression.

PtK’s in better spirits and seems to be looking forward to getting stuck into some 10k training and dropping out some races.

overpronator

Quick question Stazza and apologies if you've said before but when was the last time you really went after a goal time/race like you're doing now? Is it a couple of times a year with two peaks in say a 12 month period or do you take a less regimented approach? Cheers!

Stazza

overpronator wrote: »

Quick question Stazza and apologies if you've said before but when was the last time you really went after a goal time/race like you're doing now? Is it a couple of times a year with two peaks in say a 12 month period or do you take a less regimented approach? Cheers!

The last time I went for a goal race would've been 28/29:o years ago

But I would go down the 1 peak a year route, with races to see how things were progressing.

So, for this year I'll be looking to peak in August/September and I'll start doing some races in May and June to see how things are going. Then in July, I'll spend a month doing some very specific work before hoping to run some decent races in August/September. Short break of 2 weeks and then plan a 12 month cycle.

Stazza

:mad::o

This week I’ve been trying to work out what to do with my training. But something has been bothering me: the 8x400m in 66’s just doesn’t stack up. There’s no way that I could run those times for my first session of 400’s, especially given my age. There’s no doubting the track – An Riocht AC, Castleisland. That leaves my Garmin110…

The more I thought about it, I became more troubled about the start of each rep. I pressed the start button and it sounded, then a few seconds later another sound went off. Also the splits for 200m didn’t marry with the final times – it was as though the watch was catching up.

So, I decided to check the watch. Started it, and sure enough there was a delay but it seemed to account for the delay and sort itself out:). Then I got another watch, cheap Timex, and started them at the same time and let them run for 66 secs. The Garmin was about 4-5 secs out! This means that the 400’s were more likely, 71’s and 72’s, which would make more sense.:mad:

72’s = 1500m pace (4:30)= 76 pace for 3k = 80 pace for 5k (16:30sih). These are the sort of times I predicted I’d be running at the start of July – so, I should be happy enough.

Truth is, I’m really annoyed. I thought that the old Stazza had somehow discovered some magic way to defy the odds – not so. There’s no fool like an old fool. Ho hum.:o

RayCun

pain in the arse, you'd think it would at least work properly as a stopwatch

BeepBeep67

So that could mean there's also no short courses, just a delay in recording the data :pac:

W.B. Yeats

I always start the Garmin a few metres shy of the start line as I know it takes a few sec to catch up, Its one of the most annoying things I can think of- missing a PB or a significant time target because the Garmin was out by a few seconds and you didn't know it

Krusty_Clown

Try turning off GPS (it's little use to you on the track anyway). I suspect (but haven't proved) that it doesn't beep until it calculates the next track-point (which on a 110 may be 1+ seconds later). The watch should still record all of your splits etc., with GPS turned off, but may record splits more immediately (based on time only).

Stazza

Thursday 27th March

a.m. 6 miles ez. Legs were tired enough.

p.m. 6 depressing miles – Reality Bites.

AIS before and after both runs.

(12)

I’m now armed with a cheepo Lorus Stopwatch – no fancy mile beeps and all that palaver, just straightforward time.

Hitting the track tomorrow: I strongly suspect there'll be tantrums and tears…

jakek

Yep that's a problem w/ the 110... the lag.

I upgraded to the 220 in January and it's instantaneous... I turn off the GPS and use it on the track too. But when I had the 110, I used my cheaper Timex (in fact, I still do for any important track running - I trust it more!)

dna_leri

I also have that problem where I look at my stop watch and can't believe the time but usually it's slower not faster than I think.

Don't beat yourself up too much until you have had a chance to do a session with a stop watch - might still be better than you think.

Your plan to do mile/3K's on track this summer might still be the right one - just stay away from the 800.

Stazza

dna_leri wrote: »

I also have that problem where I look at my stop watch and can't believe the time but usually it's slower not faster than I think.

Don't beat yourself up too much until you have had a chance to do a session with a stop watch - might still be better than you think.

Your plan to do mile/3K's on track this summer might still be the right one - just stay away from the 800.

Haha - no fear of me doing the 800: I'm slightly touched, not full blown psycho:D Couldn't cope with the pain.

Just done a session of 5x800's @3k pace, using a stopwatch:mad:, and I now know for sure that the "lag" on the Garmin's about 4-5 secs. That said, I was pleased enough with how it went - mainly because I know I've still got 7lbs to shed and it's very early in the season.

I think you might be right about the 1500m/3k. I'll see how things develop over the next 6-8 weeks before I channel the training into a more specific route. I suspect the 800m pace session I've got lined up might indicate if there's any hope for me over 1500m...

pa4

How did the 800's go? I always use a normal stopwatch for sessions, I only use the garmin for normal runs so I know how much I've ran.

Stazza

pa4 wrote: »

How did the 800's go? I always use a normal stopwatch for sessions, I only use the garmin for normal runs so I know how much I've ran.

Friday 28th March

a.m. 3 miles warm up incl drills and 6x100m strides – 6x800m off 2 mins - 2 miles cool down.

Rounded the 400m splits from Sunday up to 67’s and then added on the “lag” time of 4-5 secs (72’s). So, in theory today’s session should’ve been doable in 2:32’s. But because I’m carrying a good few extra pounds at the moment and I haven’t done any sessions in a good while, I thought 2:36 (5:12 pace) would be a good starting point. Here’s how they went:

1. 2:34
2. 2:33
3. 2:35
4. 2:34
5. 2:33 Av – 2:34 (5:08 pace).

Although not earth-shattering, I’ll take them as a starting point. Hopefully, when I do this session again in a few weeks, the times should drop down to 2:32 average. And based on today’s session, when I get around to doing 4x1 mile off 90 secs I should do those in about 5:24 pace and they should, in turn, drop by 4 secs each time I do the session unless, of course, Zeus decides otherwise.

p.m. 4 miles shakeout.

AIS before both runs. Static stretching after both runs.

(12)

pa4

Good session and you kept them consistent. I find with sessions like that when I haven't done them in ages the first one or two back are usually just used for blowing off the cobwebs and they get much quicker after that.

Stazza

pa4 wrote: »

Good session and you kept them consistent. I find with sessions like that when I haven't done them in ages the first one or two back are usually just used for blowing off the cobwebs and they get much quicker after that.

Thanks. I tried not to hammer them - succeeded. I hope you're right. The thing that I've found about the age thing isn't the speed etc - I think that'll come/is still there - it's the recovery. It took me 4 days to fully recover from the session of 400's. Today I didn't end up bleeding out of the eyes in the hope that I'll recover quicker. Even at my age, it's still about learning.

Just to put some perspective on today's session - and in the interest of balance and fairness after fallaciously comparing my 400's to Jake's 400's - Jakey Boy did this session in 2:17's. So, he's starting to make good ground.

And while I'm on the subject of Jakey Boy, I'll be revisiting and analysing his training next week - he's got the USA 10 mile Champs next weekend...

Stazza

a.m. 6 miles recovery run. Just the one run today, experimenting to see if I can speed up recovery from track sessions - think it might work.

Stazza

Sunday 30th March

a.m. 8 miles ez.
p.m. 6 miles relaxed.

AIS before and after both runs.

(14)

Feel fully recovered from Friday’s track session, which is a result. Think has more to do with some of the soft tissue work I did today rather than yesterday’s single day. But, I think I’ll follow what I’ve done this time - single the day after session and soft tissue work – as it seems to have done the trick. Just to be safe, another ez day tomorrow.

jakek

Stazza wrote: »

Just to put some perspective on today's session - and in the interest of balance and fairness after fallaciously comparing my 400's to Jake's 400's - Jakey Boy did this session in 2:17's. So, he's starting to make good ground.

And while I'm on the subject of Jakey Boy, I'll be revisiting and analysing his training next week - he's got the USA 10 mile Champs next weekend...

If you had run these in 2:17, I would have retired

Stazza

Monday 31st March

a.m. 7 miles ez with Paddy the Kenyan.
p.m. 6 miles, incl drills, and 6x8 sec hill blasts.

AIS before and after both runs.

(13)

Nice run in the morning with PtK. Showed him my secret boreen where I do the hill blasts.

‘Bucolic,’ he said, smiling.
‘Wordsworthian,’ I said. ‘Babbling brook and all that.’
‘Ah yes,’ he said. ‘I see.’

Then I showed him a glimpse of my ballistic power. I think he thought I was going to run off and leave him.

Then for the real deal, this evening, I did 6 blasts. Did all the usual drill stuff and short pick-ups but it still took 3 reps before they felt right.

Stazza

Tuesday 1st April

a.m. 6 miles ez
p.m. 6 miles with a bit of zip thrown in.

AIS before and after both runs.

(12)

Wednesday 2nd April

a.m. 3 miles w/u, incl drills and 6x100m strides – 4x1600m off 90 secs – 2 miles c/d.

1. 5:21
2. 5:21
3. 5:24
4. 5:21 Average 5:22.

Not a bad place to start...

p.m. 4 miles shakeout.

AIS before both runs and static stretching after.

(13)

thewolf_ie

Great session.

Stazza wrote: »

Tuesday 1st April

a.m. 6 miles ez
p.m. 6 miles with a bit of zip thrown in.

AIS before and after both runs.

(12)

Wednesday 2nd April

a.m. 3 miles w/u, incl drills and 6x100m strides – 4x1600m off 90 secs – 2 miles c/d.

1. 5:21
2. 5:21
3. 5:24
4. 5:21 Average 5:22.

Not a bad place to start...

p.m. 4 miles shakeout.

AIS before both runs and static stretching after.

(13)