Run run run run run run run....

jebuz

Solid week, building the milage and recovering very well. I did throw in a 20 min tempo on Thursday as I felt I was ready but it was evident it was too soon, I really felt it in the legs on Friday morning. Plan for the remainder of the year is just getting the milage back up, building a base with plenty of easy (and hilly) miles and gradually working the faster sessions back in. I think a steady state once a week and perhaps a fartlek and a long run should do the job. Come January I'll hopefully have a good base to start focussing on Rotterdam. I'm actually really enjoying the runs right now, no pressure and rarely worried about pace, just feels great to be out.

I'm back in the gym now getting 3 lunchtime sessions in a week on Mon/Wed/Fri. A typical session is 45 mins with 10-15 mins core and 30 mins of weights and then typically I run straight after work. Over the last 2 weeks this has worked well for me and I feel this is now a good time to build up some strength before the next cycle.

Mon 10/11 - 8.1 miles @ 7:04 min/mile
Tue 11/11 - 10.9 miles @ 7:16 min/mile
Wed 12/11 - 5.1 miles @ 7:46 min/mile
Thur 13/11 - 9.1 miles @ 7:16 (incl 20 mins @ ~6min/mile)
Fri 14/11 - 4.5 miles @ 8:39 min/mile
Sat 15/11 - 8.3 miles @ 7:11 min/mile
Sun 16/11 - 12.1 miles @ 7:31 min/mile

Weekly milage: 58.2

jebuz

Monday 17/11 - 10 miles

10.3 mile in 1:20:22 @ 7:49 min/mile

Met up with a clubmate after work for this one, nice relaxed jog down into the city and back. Time flew by as we chatted...about running funny enough.

Tuesday 18/11 - 10 miles

10.1 miles in 1:16:18 @ 7:31 min/mile

Oh dear. Winter has arrived for sure, a dry evening but I faced into an extremely chilly breeze down into the city. Still a quite enjoyable run and slowly building back up the miles getting stronger.

Wednesday 19/11 - 5 miles AM + 5 miles PM

AM: 4.9 miles in 38:52 @ 7:48 min/mile

8am. Wet, cold, tired. I zoned out and just got it done.

PM: 5.6 miles in 45:25 @ 8:08 min/mile

Met up with a couple of club mates after work and off we jogged into the city and back, textbook.

jebuz

I've been dangerously reading a lot this week about Lydiards training methods. I say dangerous because I have a history of being compulsive..."oh look a shiny new thing, I want it". The consequence of this is that my planned 4 week base building plan has now been extended to 12 weeks. I've read enough to at least convince me it's worth trying and I'm curious to see how a solid volume based cycle will benefit me over 12 weeks. By no means will this be all easy jogging, the paces will be varied from typically 7 min/miles to just below my marathon pace and gradually including more early morning recovery jogs. I plan to keep in the Thursday track tempo as I don't want to distance myself from the club too much and that fits well as my weekly "hard" effort. Obviously I need to build up the volume and let my body either adapt to or completely reject my methods so I'm not diving straight into any crazy milage. I'm currently still working up a plan but I hope to peak around 90-100 miles per week and then into an 8 week marathon conditioning plan with the club in early February. I'm looking forward to trying something new, it's a good chance to experiment over the winter months and I'm perfectly happy running in my own company so it suits me well, let's see how it goes.

Thursday 20/11 - 10 miles w/20mins tempo @ 5:50 m/m

10.3 miles in 1:14:37 @ 7:13 min/mile.

No sessions since last weeks premature return was the right call as I felt a lot more comfortable and in control this week, plus I didn't feel like hell on Friday morning. Happy with this one.

Friday 21/11 - 5 miles Recovery

As above, no nasty after affects from the tempo yesterday evening. Lucky to get this one in before work because once I got home, the sky opened up it came down hard and it did not stop.

Saturday 22/11 - 1:40 Long

14.5 miles in 1:40:40 @ 6:57 min/mile

The next couple of months have essentially given me a blank canvas to experiment with so I've decided to mix up things and move my long run to Saturday, purely for reasons of just mixing things up and I always wondered what it would be like not to have to wake up to a long run on a Sunday. The pace was pretty handy for this though HR was a little higher than it should have been, bits of DCM still lingering around but on the whole a pretty positive run that didn't take too much out of me. Hope to build this up to 2 hours soon and hold it above that for the duration of the base.

Sunday 23/11 - 60 mins

8.8 miles in 59:14 @ 6:46 min/mile

I was trying out something new here with pace and effort. Interestingly this was probably one of my most comfortable runs of recent despite the long run yesterday, HR was really settled and felt very comfortable apart from the climb back up home. This is a pace I don't generally run at for general aerobic runs but with the lack of high intensity speed sessions over the next few weeks it gives me a chance to run at various aerobic paces while (hopefully) recovering quickly and to be honest I'm really looking forward to it and seeing how my body reacts to the training.

Overall feeling very positive at the moment, the 70 miles didn't take too much out of me this week so I'll continue building sensibly on that. I was feeling a little lost when I came back from DCM but now there's a new plan forming in my head, I'm back in the gym and motivation's high. On we go!

Weekly milage: 69.5 miles

cgooner

Gluck with the new training plan, always good to try something new in between marathon cycles! Grt thread and looking forward to seeing your progress

ECOLII

If your interest is peaked in Lydiard I would definitely recommend the book "Healthy Intelligent Training" by Ken Livingstone

Best of luck with the approach will be following with interest (and getting the finger out to not be left in your wake )

jebuz

ECOLII wrote: »

If your interest is peaked in Lydiard I would definitely recommend the book "Healthy Intelligent Training" by Ken Livingstone

Best of luck with the approach will be following with interest (and getting the finger out to not be left in your wake )

Cheers lads. Funny enough I was searching the archives and it was a thread you started here about 2 years ago on Lydiard that really got me sitting up and taking notice TBF seemed to have ran a very decent marathon off it and just looking at Lydiards achievements with the likes of Snell, Magee, etc, it's definitely got a lot of merit. The part that struck a chord with me and made the most sense is that your aerobic capacity determines how well you can train and perform during the anaerobic/racing cycle, so maximising that capacity is the priority for me right now.

Netwerk Errer

There's huge merit in Lydiard's training and it's held the test of time. Can't wait to see your experience's with it. Been thinking of using his method but I haven't quite wrapped my head around it yet.

Best of luck! I'm sure you'll get some great results.:)

jebuz

Well, first week of putting the new plan into practice and definitely some adjustments required but not bad overall with my brothers wedding thrown into the mix.

Monday 24/11 - 10 miles hilly @ 6:39

For some reason I thought 3 loops of the neighbourhood would be a good idea. I wanted to up the pace a little so I thought this route would be less hillier than usual. It wasn't at all less hillier but in the end a good run. Was working between comfortable and hard with all the bumps but pretty manageable overall. A nice young man referred to my light-up armbands as "sh!tbags", hurtful.

Tuesday 25/11 - 16 miles @ 7:26 (garmin froze with 3 miles to go)

Got down to the club early and did 4 miles on my own. I knew a few would be going long for 10 miles or so but I considered just heading off on my own. The advantage being I could dictate my own pace but I also like how going long with a group makes time fly. I went with the group in the end but slightly frustrating as I had already warmed up and then the pace suddenly dropped when I started with them. It was a nice run and good to chat but I'm thinking I'll just do these on my own from now on. It doesn't make sense me doing 4/5 miles on my own, getting into a rhythm, stopping at the club and then jumping in with the group who are only warming up.

Wednesday 26/11 - 8 miles @ 6:42 + 4 miles @ 7:50

Beautiful crisp morning and the brilliant blue sky was calling me so I laced up at lunchtime. Off I headed into the city and back for a nice 8 mile lunchtime run. Effort was like Monday, comfortably hard and felt ok but hammered it a bit too much on the climb back up, got to keep the effort consistent on the hills.

Met up with a clubmate after work then for a few easy miles, front-loading a bit this week with my brothers wedding coming up at the weekend.

Thursday 27/11 - 10 miles @ 7:12 (with 25 mins track tempo @ ~6:15)

I actually look forward to this weekly club session to let the legs run free for a bit. I was late leaving work but jogged down to the track anyway. The rest were about 10 mins into their sessions so I jumped in behind my usual group who were tipping along at around 5:50. Within half a lap I knew I had to back off, the achilles suddenly started niggling me and the legs just felt heavy. I considered just knocking the session on the head but first I said I'd just try backing off the pace to a more reasonable 6:10-15 pace. That gradually felt ok so I kept that going for the remainder though a little tough running around the track on my own. I headed the 3 miles back up the hill for home and the achilles was still giving me a little grief and overall I was feeling pretty fatigued, nothing major but I decided there and then to take tomorrow off.

I accept I'd probably overdone it a little this week with the Monday/Wednesday runs being a bit too quick too soon and trying to load too much milage in before the wedding. I need to change my mindset that weekly milage is a measure of how I'm training. If a wedding gets in the way of a few days training, so be it, there shouldn't be a need to front-load milage as it's a lot of risk for not much gain. Somebody slap me!

Friday 28/11 - Rest

Saturday 29/11 - Best man duties

Sunday 30/11 - 5 miles @ 8:32 + 10 miles @ 7:10

The less said about the morning run the better. A good time was had the night before and I paid the price during this pathetic jog. I can blame my sister for dragging me out and to be fair it was a perfect morning in Wexford town by the harbour, the sun was beaming and it looked so inviting. I was a mess, head thumping, dragging my heels and almost puked up near the end, glad to get back to my bed where I curled up and watched Friends on the TV.

8 hours later I was back in Cork, rehydrated, fed and feeling less pukey. I needed to redeem myself for my poor showing this morning and this went a lot better than expected, a lot better. I headed down into the city, lovely crisp evening and everything just clicked together, I couldn't believe only this morning I was thinking of quitting running forever. 10 lovely miles to finish the week and those 2 days off seemed to have recharged the batteries in my legs nicely, despite the massive party.

Weekly milage: 63

cianc

jebuz wrote: »

A nice young man referred to my light-up armbands as "sh!tbags", hurtful.

That's young person speak for "very nice". Use it the next time you're talking to youth on the street.

jebuz

Monday 01/12 - 10 miles @ 7:00 min/mile

Oh hello December, didn't see you come in. I can't believe it's December, I really can't. Really enjoyed this one, pace felt very comfortable, into the wind a little on the way out and picked it up on the way back without the effort increasing. I already feel stronger after the last 3 weeks and this felt like a good reflection of where I'm at right now.

Tuesday 02/12 - 13 miles @ 7:20 min/mile

Was planning on 15 miles but decided to run it to a little shorter for 2 reasons. The first being one eye on the Waterford half on Saturday and the second (and primary reason) being that I had just put a shoulder of pork and some root veg into the oven and I didn't want them to burn. This was fairly uneventful, a hilly route and felt a little more tired than yesterday but effort was pretty easy overall. The pork was a little overdone but the veg were in the goldilocks zone, golden crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Success! See this training log is not just all running, sometimes I like to talk about vegetables and pork, and other things.

jebuz

Wednesday 03/12 - 10 miles @ 7:14 min/mile

Headed out after work with a clubmate who also works here, nice having company on some of these cold nights. Down into the city as usual and back up the hill, effort was pretty comfortable as we chatted away and time flew by. Last week was perhaps a little too much too soon but I'm starting to find the right balance this week and energy levels have been pretty good.

Thursday 04/12 - 10 miles w/strides @ 7:47 min/mile

I thought I was heading down to the club for a nice 15-20 min tempo sharpener before the half marathon on Saturday but the coach pulled me up just before I started and said not to bother with the tempo, to go into the race fresh. I took the advice, jogged around the track, got a few strides done and headed up the hill for home.

I'm really not sure what to expect on Saturday, I've been feeling good in training and almost back to normal after the marathon (that 'almost' covers my ass for all eventualities). Will the lack of quality work affect me? Will I have a blaa? We'll find out soon!

viperlogic

Good luck tomorrow C

yaboya1

Good luck tomorrow.
Finish the year on a high

cianc

Best of luck, can't wait to hear how it goes.

jebuz

Saturday 06/12 - Waterford Half Marathon - 1:16:46 @ 5:51 min/mile

I saw this race and impulsively entered a few months ago. At 25 euro a pop, a great reputation and a free hat, how could I resist. Jenny also signed up, it being her first half marathon so we decided to make a weekend of it staying the the nearby Viking hotel.

I figured I’d be well recovered from the marathon by this stage (5 weeks) and to be honest I feel I pretty much am recovered with just slight tiredness lingering. I’ve done just a total of 3 tempo sessions since the marathon with the rest being milage, milage and more milage. The plan for me is to focus on building a strong aerobic base until February before tackling marathon training again. I came into this race not really knowing what to expect but prepared for all eventualities. I’m already pleased with my performance this year and target have been exceeded so there was no huge pressure on me for this one, mainly out to enjoy it but if I was feeling good I was prepared to work hard and try nab a PB.

I got a 2 mile warmup done on what was a pretty decent morning for a race, there was a drop of rain just before the start but stayed dry throughout. We got to the start line at WIT sports campus just minutes before the start so no hanging around in the cold. I took my place a couple of rows behind the start with some Leevale club mates. After some formalities and a speech by the mayor, none of which registered with me, the gun went and off we shot. It was a quick start down hill and my plan to start conservatively was immediately out the window though I did settle into a more sensible pace once we levelled out. The trio of club mates had packed and I considered going with them but opted not to and just run my own race.

Miles 1-3

I was running well within myself for the first mile and it felt very comfortable with a 5:50 popping up but a little misleading with the quick downhill start. Then the 2nd mile came, horrible uphill drag and suddenly I was working harder so I backed off the pace a little, the aim being to worry less about the pace today and keep effort consistent. I gradually worked in with a group and once over the hill we upped the pace and hit mile 3 feeling very comfortable.

Mile 1: 5:50
Mile 2: 6:09
Mile 3: 5:39

Miles 4-6

We headed into an industrial estate, spectacular scenery, there were factories of all sizes. There was another drag here and combined with the headwind, pace again dropped but kept effort consistent. I started breaking away from the group here, not a conscious decision as it really didn’t bother me if I was in a group or not today. Once out of the industrial estate it was into the countryside and this was a nice patch as I relaxed and just let my legs dictate a comfortable pace. I definitely felt I wasn’t working as hard as I could have been, compared to say Charleville a couple of month. To be honest there was no drive to really push hard, probably because at this stage I knew a PB wasn’t on the cards, I was still working and wanted a decent time but was just trying to enjoy it more than anything.

Mile 4: 6:00
Mile 5: 5:47
Mile 6: 5:41

Miles 7-9

My splits were already quite erratic but that reflects the mildly undulating course. This being my first time doing the race, I had no idea what to expect around every corner which in a way was good as I working on effort levels rather than pace. Mile 7 wasn’t very enjoyable, another drag and my legs were tiring a little so I backed off but then for mile 8 and 9 I felt an injection of pace and picked it right up again. The slow mile 7 had allowed the previous group reattach before we broke up into a smaller group again and I worked in step with a couple of Waterford AC runners. The back roads were pretty tough on the calf muscles and I found myself weaving around the country roads avoiding the potholes and trying to find decent terrain. Coming up to 9 miles I was still feeling ok and felt confident enough to see it home at the current effort.

Mile 7: 6:07
Mile 8: 5:45
Mile 9: 5:50

Miles 10-13.1

Mile 10 was pretty comfy and I was thinking great I’ll just ease it home for the next 3. Then for mile 11 we turned into a headwind and a drag and I was knocked back a little. A group caught me again which is strange as I’m not used to moving between groups so much, usually if I leave a group I’m determined to stay abreast of them but today I was ok with it, knowing I'd be able to pick it up again. I did pick it up again on mile 12 and I pulled away keeping a good steady effort all the way to the end and really enjoying the last downhill mile clocking a 5:36. The Waterford AC lads had gone well ahead of me but I didn’t put on a chase. I crossed the line 22nd in 1:16:46 feeing pretty satisfied with the effort knowing I could have offered a little more.

Mile 10: 5:50
Mile 11: 6:01
Mile 12: 5:52
Mile 13: 5:36

There's somehow still an air of disappointment in that I held out a little hope of a PB but given the year I've had I can’t complain too much. I'm finishing the year with a 75:40 PB for the half, a time I would have grabbed with both hands last January. I think it's been my best distance this year and having raced 5 of them in 2014 it's quickly becoming one of my favourite, can’t wait to see what I can do with it next year.

Oh and Jenny finished her first half in a very respectable 1:42, apparently loving every step of the way even the drags. Sandbagger.

So that's likely it in terms of racing for the year and until February as I continue to build a solid foundation for Rotterdam in April (this is going to turn into one boring training log). A great race overall, enjoyable (for the most part, drags made me a little sad) and extremely well organised, super spread and met some friendly faces, love the hat too.

Sunday 07/12 - 40 min Recovery

Calves were in bits today so kept this one fairly short. Ran a bit of the race route as the initial plan of running around the WIT pitches was foiled when the gates were locked. My HR was incredibly low today, even dipping below 100 at times at recovery pace. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing but coupled with a few chest pains I'm not sure it was good. I felt fine overall though and energy levels were ok so we'll see how I am on Mondays run. Headed into the Winterval festival in Waterford city afterwards for some delicious Christmas delights, I recommend the grilled lamb on flatbread, yes I had bread ok! leave me alone.

cianc

Enjoyable report as usual, what's the race plan for February? Anything else on the cards before Rotterdam?

jebuz

Thanks Ciano, flying yourself lately. For February I've got the John Treacy 10 miler on the 1st, Enniscorthy 10k on the 8th and then I'm looking at the Mallow 10 miler on 22nd March. Doesn't seem to be much in the form of a half marathon down these parts round then so that'll probably do me for Rotterdam.

cianc

jebuz wrote: »

Thanks Ciano, flying yourself lately. For February I've got the John Treacy 10 miler on the 1st, Enniscorthy 10k on the 8th and then I'm looking at the Mallow 10 miler on 22nd March. Doesn't seem to be much in the form of a half marathon down these parts round then so that'll probably do me for Rotterdam.

Should see you at the John Treacy so. If I can stay injury free it'll be my third year paying for it, first year running it

jebuz

Fingers crossed! You should probably get your moneys worth and help yourself to 3 times the usual cake and sandwiches afterwards

cianc

jebuz wrote: »

Fingers crossed! You should probably get your moneys worth and help yourself to 3 times the usual cake and sandwiches afterwards

Or run the course three times :eek:

cgooner

Great race and report as always, nice position to be able to run sub 77 while base training for a marathon. Gluck with your training

jebuz

Monday 08/12 - 10 miles @ 7:13 min/mile

Nice easy start to the week, headed out after work with a club mate. Body felt fine after the half on Saturday which was a great sign. HR was interestingly very low but effort felt just fine, if anything I'd expect to see it elevated after a half.

Tuesday 09/12 - 10 miles @ 7:25 min/mile

This was a nice run, when the wind wasn't smacking me right in the face. Headed off on my own, I knew the wind would get me on the way back so I just adjusted pace focussing on effort. Getting used to all these 10 milers now, a distance I would have once considered pretty long run is now quickly becoming the bread and butter run.

Wednesday 10/12 - 11.6 miles @ 7:20 min/mile

Can't remember much about this to be honest, must have completely tuned out or else I didn't actually do it. No I did do it, I definitely did it. Very cold evening, HR seemed back to normal since Monday but if anything a little higher than normal today, will it ever settle down. I think the cold weather seems to have an affect on HR in the winter from what I see so far but I'm keeping a keen eye on it these days as I see it as an important feedback tool for the base building exercise. The ultimate aim is to see a training effect of lowered heart rate with pace remaining consistent.

Thursday 11/12 - 10 mile fartlek @ 7:02 min/mile

This is my weekly 'hard' effort for the current schedule. It will either be a club tempo session or my own fartlek type session. Today I opted to head off on my own on this horrible, cold wet evening. I finished work early so said I'd just get it done instead of waiting for the club session. I headed off into the city, 20 mins warmup and then started a sequence of 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 (mins) with 2 mins recovery between each, a total of 25 mins hard running. Stupid traffic lights were a pain but I picked a terrible route for this sort of session, need a good stretch of uninterrupted road. Overall I thought it went well, the speed is still hanging around and the idea with this session is to maintain that speed while not stunting my aerobic conditioning. The splits are all over the shop because there was again a nasty wind at play.

1 min @ 6:13
2 mins @ 6:13
3 mins @ 5:50
4 mins @ 6:02
5 mins @ 5:47
4 mins @ 5:55
3 mins @ 5:49
2 mins @ 6:03
1 mins @ 6:44 (hilly!)

Not exactly spectacular splits but the aim was to keep below my 10 mile pace and mix it up a little so I'd say that's job done.

Friday 12/12 - 60 mins recovery @ 7:53 min/mile

Nice lunch time run into the city, sun shining and it was surprisingly warm. Hilly enough route but kept effort very much in the recovery zone.

Saturday 13/12 - 2 hours Long (16.4 miles) @ 7:22 min/mile

I'm really starting to enjoy these Saturday long runs, it's a great feeling to have the long run done so early. Absolutely freezing December morning but clear blue skies and the sun beating down. I headed off just before 10am and the ground was still frozen in places, had a few hairy moments. It was really spectacular down at the marina, I wish I had a camera. The golden morning sun was bouncing off the perfectly calm waters, really puts a smile on your face and it felt like a privilege to be out there running. Back to the running, effort was very manageable as the goal was to keep it around 7:20's. I turned off the pace on my watch early on and just ran by feel getting it pretty much spot on by the end. Set me up nicely for the Leevale xmas party, mental!

Sunday 14/12 - 30 mins recovery @ 7:49 min/mile

Slept in after a crazy night out, I crawled into the bed at 12:05am!!! Watched the European XC's in bed and then laced up for a nice easy recovery jog around the neighbourhood.

70 miles for the week, good week overall considering I raced last weekend and I seemed to recovery very quickly from that so all looking good. Ready to continue building next week but a few hurdles to tackle as I'm in the Netherlands with work from Mon-Wed and expecting a hectic work schedule, I'll find a way

jebuz

Monday 15/12 - 70 mins @ 6:31 min/mile

This was a very positive run. I was up at 4am to catch a flight to Amsterdam and was working up until 8pm. I had consigned myself to the fact I might not get to run today but I got a window around 8:30pm and I took it, quickly. This is one of my harder weekly efforts aiming to keep effort comfortably hard and finishing slightly stronger. I ticked all boxes here, the incredibly flat terrain made my life easier no doubt but I take great satisfaction in how comfortable the whole run felt and I finished with 10 mins @ MP. I had no clue where I was going but I got some nice long interrupted stretches in thanks to the excellent Dutch bike lanes. Avg HR was 146bpm and lower than I expected for the effort so I was delighted to see that and looks like I'm making good progress. Room service swiftly followed and was devoured within seconds.

Tuesday 16/12 - 65 mins easy @ 7:37 min/mile

Still in Holland but got back to base at a more reasonable hour and headed out for a 65 min easy run. You might notice a pattern of alternating easy/hard days and that's exactly the plan. The legs were a little tired at first but loosened out and overall this was very comfortable. Heart rate was again very low at 119bpm which is great obviously but I have to attribute that to the lack of hilly terrain I've been used to running every day.

jebuz

Wednesday 17/12 - 12.1 miles @ 7:07 min/mile

You can always find time for a run, always. My last day working over in Holland, grabbed the evening train to Schiphol airport and I was happy to see I had plenty of time to spare before my flight (though some people believe this 'spare time' was premeditated...and it was). This was my only real chance to fit in a run as I wouldn't be back in Cork until very late so I popped on the gear in the bathroom, stored my luggage and headed out in the hope of finding a decent stretch of terrain for a run. Once again bicycle lanes to the rescue, I found a nice figure of 8 loop just beside the airport, it was around 1 mile long so I duly pounded out 12 miles while questioning my sanity as I essentially ran loops around an airport before a flight. I was on a big high after this one, my plan came together nicely and then I got even higher when I got on the plane, ba boom shh.

Thursday 18/12 - 10.3 miles @ 6:58 (incl. 25 min track tempo)

Headed down to the club for a track tempo, decent session. 3 mile warmup and then jumped in with my usual group. Effort was comfortably hard, pace around 5:40-5:50 but feeling a lot more comfortable than my previous tempos so positive signs. 3 miles cooldown back home.

Friday 19/12 - 8.3 miles recovery @ 7:58 min/mile

Fairly straight forward recovery run, legs felt fine from the previous session.

Saturday 20/12 - 17.9 miles long run @ 7:17 min/mile

I've been gifted with the last few Saturdays down at the Marina here in Cork. Today was again a spectacular sunny morning, clear blue sky, much milder than last week and HR reflected that as it was a lot lower even with an increase in pace. Great run overall and thoroughly enjoyable. Effort was very comfortable and hardly felt like I was running 7:15 pace. The plan was 2:10 on my feet and time just flew by.

Sunday 21/12 - 4.4 miles easy @ 7:37 min/mile

Post Xmas party and lets just say I was pretty relieved I had my long run done. Just a very easy 30 min run around the city, zoned out and got it done.

Weekly total: 72.3 miles

Great week overall, very positive signs. I'm really starting to see and feel the benefits of this plan and getting stronger every week. The energy levels are good, nothing niggling at me so everything suggests I've found a good balance. Highlight had to be the long run on Saturday, how effortless it felt but more-so how enjoyable it was. Speaking of balance, tune in next time so see how I balance training with Christmas indulgence.

yaboya1

jebuz wrote: »

I was on a big high after this one, my plan came together nicely and then I got even higher when I got on the plane, ba boom shh.

Haha.....love it

dublin runner

jebuz wrote: »

I found a nice figure of 8 loop just beside the airport, it was around 1 mile long so I duly pounded out 12 miles while questioning my sanity as I essentially ran loops around an airport before a flight.

Now that's dedication, ye mad b!stard!

jebuz

Enough messing from me, time for a catchup and a lazy one it shall be. Overall I'm very satisfied with the training recently despite distractions such as Christmas at home in Wexford and a holiday to Gran Canaria (I know, horrible distractions) but I've managed to always squeeze in the training because, well, I'm just like that...obsessive

To Dublin...

Monday 22/12 - 10.68 miles in 1:10 @ 6:33 min/mile
Tuesday 23/12 - 8.6 miles in 1:06 @ 7:45 min/mile

To Wexford...

Wednesday 24/12 - 13 miles in 1:31 @ 7:03 min/mile
Thursday 25/12 - 8.7 miles in 60 mins @ 6:52 min/mile (4 x 6 mins session)
Friday 26/12 - 8.1 miles in 63 mins @ 7:50 min/mile
Saturday 27/12 - 16.8 miles in 2 hours @ 7:11 min/mile (with 10 min pickup)

To Gran Canaria...

Sunday 28/12 - 7:4 miles in 58 mins @ 7:50 min/mile

Weekly milage: 73.4

Monday 29/12 - 10.6 miles in 70 mins @ 6:37 min/mile (holy jesus)
Tuesday 30/12 - 8 miles in 63 mins @ 7:53 min/mile
Wednesday 31/12 - 14.4 miles in 1:43 @ 7:05 min/mile (+ 25 min beach recovery PM)
Thursday 01/01 - 9.1 miles in 63 mins @ 6:55 min/mile (hilly fartlek type session)

Back to Dublin

Friday 02/01 - 9.4 miles in 75 mins @ 8:01 min/mile

That'll do for now, I'll probably summarise 2014 in another post complete with some juicy stats.

Finally, Happy new year to everyone who may or may not read this log. I hope 2015 brings PB's galore to all of us here, and we're all in it together

jebuz

Saturday 04/01 - 16.3 miles in 2 hours @ 7:23 min/mile

Staying in my sisters just outside the Phoenix park so off I sauntered at about 10am. It seemed like a mild day at first but there was a stiff breeze there only evident when I got moving. Not as enjoyable as my last few long runs, effort was tough at times but then there were times when I felt great. Good hilly route though and a decent run overall. To Liffey valley afterwards to buy a ring binder and ended up walking out with about 7 bags full of unnecessary sale purchases.

Sunday 05/01 - 6 miles in 45:53 @ 7:39 min/mile

Still hangin' around the park. Took the route by the memorial gardens which I haven't ran in about 2 years, brought back some nice memories of training for Barcelona 2013. Nice crisp yet freezing cold morning, took a while to loosen up but finished feeling pretty fresh. Back in Cork now where normal service shall resume tomorrow.

Weekly milage: 76.8

Happy with the last few weeks and milage is just about where I wanted to be having slowly increased it week by week. I couldn't be happier with the progress recently and the body is feeling pretty good (if a little overfed). A few more weeks of the base building and then it's back into the club sessions which I look forward to now but I will probably regret looking forward to.

jebuz

Monday 06/01 - 11.1 miles in 70 mins @ 6:20 min/mile (13.3 miles with warmup/cooldown)

Back in Cork and my last day off work so I headed down to the marina in the morning for my weekly moderate effort. A mild dry day with a slight breeze so good conditions. Looking at Yaboya's steady efforts recently I noticed a warmup/cooldown mile and I don't know why I had overlooked that, it makes a lot of sense especially with the pace I was planning to run at. It made a big help as I typically need 5-10 mins to settle into this effort but it was a lot easier today after doing the warmup mile. Overall a super run and delighted with how comfortable it felt, heart rate and breathing always under control. I kept a steady 6:20-30 min/mile pace for 9 miles and then picked it up for the last 2 miles to 6:05 min/mile pace which hopefully will be around my marathon pace come April. Finished 11 miles bang on 70 mins and feeling pretty pleased. The MP miles felt really good and with fatigue already in the legs I think that's a very good sign. Nice cooldown mile and then I sat smugly in my car smugly drinking my smug smoothie, which actually was made of bananas and strawberries, not smug.

Tuesday 07/01 - 6.7 miles in 51:18 @ 7:42 min/mile

Back to work and back to my usual hilly route, felt a little tired on this one but have a rest day planned for Wednesday and looks like I'll need it. A 31 day streak of running since the Waterford half with plenty of good quality milage says the body needs a little break, I think it'll do me good. I might bake a cake or something to fill the inevitable void.

jebuz

Well, what a year. To say I exceeded expectations is an understatement. I had put my running on hold for most of 2013 to go travelling but I came back with my hunger intact and without really thinking I jumped right into a marathon plan which set the ball rolling for 2014. Here's my summary...

January saw me just gradually build milage back up and I surprisingly adapted quite quickly. I ran a 5k to see where I was at, 18:44 at the Westport parkrun (and my only win to date). I'd obviously lot some sharpness as expected but it was a starting point. I was working off a custom plan from my Donore coach which was fairly gruelling in hindsight given my lack of fitness. A couple of niggles here and there but I managed the miles quite well and up to 18 miles long run by the end of the month.

February saw no racing but just consistent training with a couple of 20+ milers and clocking about 65 miles a week and getting stronger week by week. Going a little insane living at home with the parents so the job hunt intensifies.

March saw me move to Cork to live and work. It also saw me run my first proper race of the year and I was delighted with a 1:21:40 in the Bohermeen 1/2 which was a 3 minute PB and I felt the training was really working. Ran my highest volume week ever (80 miles) and followed that with probably my favourite race of the year at the Mallow 10. My first 10 miler and not sure what to aim for but completely surprised myself and my coach with a 58:43, a huge improvement on the 1/2 marathon and feeling in great shape for the marathon.

April arrives and it's marathon time. I picked up an achilles injury in late March which mean the taper weeks saw no sessions and only easy running. Still I went into the race confident but it all went wrong on the day and I limped home in 2:59:09, a long way off the sub 2:50 target. I made a few mistakes during the race in terms of strategy and hydration but looking back it was a poor decision to train for a marathon so soon without any sort of aerobic base to work off. I raced a good 10 miler but the endurance was simply not there for a marathon. Positives were still taken, good training bagged, injury free, pride intact and lessons learned. Decided to join local club Leevale having had a chat with the coach and ran my first session with them 2 weeks after the marathon.

In May I trained well with the club for a few weeks before running my first 4 miler in Fota Island coming home 8th in 22:40 and confidence coming back. Milage was low enough but speed was the focus as I targeted a 5k PB over the summer months. I ran a 5k in the last week of May to see where I was at. 16:54 was the result and overwhelmed with the improvement in such a short time. I now knew joining the club was a very important decision.

I continued the good form in June running 1:18:40 in the Cork 1/2 Marathon on the 2nd. I had full confidence in the coach, was flying in sessions and I seemed to thrive on the energy from other runners around the club, there's an incredible breadth of talent and the motivation to improve was high. 2 more 5k's followed, a 17:02 in blistering heat (6th place) followed by a 16:44 good enough for 3rd place. Weekly milage up to 65 but still the focus was mainly on speed and getting that 5k time down.

July would see me start the transition to marathon training as DCM in October crept onto my radar. Still plenty of time for racing and I ran my final and best 5k of the year, an extremely satisfying 16:27 and I was happy to part with that particular distance for the remainder of the year. Next it was off to Killarney where I came 2nd in the 1/2 marathon in 1:16:17, another very enjoyable race and a big confidence booster before jumping into some marathon specific sessions while upping the milage.

I look back over the year and see August and September as my strongest months. I started working up to 35 mins tempo efforts on the track, coupled with 2 long runs and a hard Saturday session. Milage was up to around 80 and the month culminated with a good run at the Frank Duffy 10 miler clocking 56:57.

September was my highest month in terms of volume and probably the performance of the year too with the Charleville half marathon running another PB of 1:15:40, a long way from the 1:21 I ran back in March. I spent the first week warm weather training in Portugal and maybe the best session of the year, a 10/9/8/7/6 min track effort in heat, on my own. Highest milage week of the year too clocking an 89, bloody hell wasn't September just wonderful.

I started October in great spirit but picked up an achilles injury 3 weeks out (only dawned on my now,very same as Rotterdam hmm) so I missed a couple of days and then spent a week running no sessions. This didn't dramatically affect me, I recovered and ran the county intermediates XC race coming 8th and winning the team gold a week before the main event. I went into the Dublin marathon feeling confident and capable of running in the low 2:40's. The race went very well, despite extremely windy and humid weather conditions out of my control, I came home in 2:46:59 and 66th overall and I reckon worth a couple of minutes quicker in better conditions. Very satisfying outcome to a brilliant training block and really at that stage I had achieved everything I wanted for the year.

November was all about recovery. I gradually built back up the miles and restricted myself to 1 tempo session a week but getting good volume in. The focus is now on Rotterdam in April 2015 and building a solid foundation for that over the next 10-12 weeks is the plan.

I ran my last race of the year in early December, my 5th half marathon of the year in Waterford. I was well recovered from Dublin but didn't PB, I ran a 1:16:40 which was ok but mentally I didn't really believe I would PB. I continued the rest of December working up the milage again focussing on a good aerobic base for when I hit the marathon specific sessions in early 2015. Solid month and finished the year feeling strong and hungry, no starving for more improvements in 2015.

Training Summary:

Month|Miles|Avg/Day|Ran|Rest Days|Injury Days|5k's|4m's|10m's|1/2 Mar's|Marathons|XC|Notes/Highlights
Jan|251|8.09|27/31|4|0|2|0|0|0|0|0|Home from Asia, straight back into it :pac:
Feb|282|10.07|26/28|1|1|0|0|0|0|0|0|Getting the miles in
March|281|9.06|28/31|1|2|0|0|1|1|0|0|Looking on track with a 58:46 in mallow
April|169|5.63|22/30|8|0|0|0|0|0|1|0|Not a good day in Rotterdam :mad:
May|237|7.9|29/31|1|1|1|1|0|0|0|0|Joined club, started focus on track & speed
June|250|8.06|28/30|2|0|2|0|0|1|0|0|Good 5k results
July|297|9.58|30/31|1|0|1|0|0|1|0|0|2nd at Killarney 1/2 Marathon
Aug|318|10.25|28/31|3|0|0|0|1|0|0|0|Starting to build milage for DCM
Sept|336|11.2|29/30|1|0|0|0|0|1|0|0|Delighted with a 75:40 @ Charleville 1/2
Oct|206|7.37|24/31|5|2|0|0|0|0|1|1|2:46:59 and 66th in DCM - I'll take it
Nov|226|7.8|25/30|5|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|Recover and build
Dec|316|9.57|30/31|1|0|0|0|0|1|0|0|I'm all about the base
Total|3173|7.74|326/365|33|6|6|1|2|5|2|1|


What went well?
- PB's all over the shop
- Only 6 days out due to injury
- Consistency, and more consistency
- Joined a great club with a great coach
- Enjoying my running more than ever
- Nutrition was overhauled, fuelling smartly after sessions

What can be improved?
- More variety of races, no 5 milers, 10ks or track of any sort
- Core/Strength work wasn't consistent enough though I'm back to 3 times a week for Nov/Dec
- Stop scribbling splits and target times during meetings in work
- Less sitting with the pack in sessions, don't be afraid to take it on
- Be less concerned with stats, run more without the watch and focus on feel
- Stop making milage a distinctive metric of my progress. Recovery weeks and backing off is ok.

Racing Summary:



Goals for 2015

As posted in the 2015 goals thread...

5k: 15:45
10k: 32:30
5m: 26:00
10m: 54:30
1/2: 72:30
Marathon: 2:35:00

They're lofty no doubt about it but goals shouldn't be easy. Looking at last year, I had most of my goals achieved before 6 months so while I want to keep them somewhat realistic, I want them to be well outside my current abilities. This way I will have to work even harder to achieve them and I really have to believe I can.

Ok that's a good short and concise summary, we'll leave it there

Farewell 2014, you've been great. Now 2015, let me have it!!

I'm not a big fan of running motivation images but I feel compelled to put something here (sorry)