Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose

JohnDozer

I did wonder about that, why they don't do it in reverse, much nicer I would think? They could do it every second year... Might have something to do with the 10k. Keep up the good work anyway!

diego_b

Thanks, it is a vastly easier run going backwards for sure but I wasn't at race so hard to properly judge. Probably true as not really a clear 10k route but you could work something. The finish is better going the right way!

diego_b

Very slow recovery run completed on Ballyheigue beach yesterday, 3.1 miles @ 13min/mi

beertons

Were you tempted at all to do the Brandon beach half?

diego_b

I was indeed but doing half in Killarney this weekend so don't want to be racing too much as part of my marathon training. A few of my club mates did it and did very well so will find out the verdict on the race tomorrow night at a club session.

beertons

It was a killer on the way out, I dunno how the lads got those good times. Good luck in Killarney.

diego_b

4 mile trail run with the club tonight, it was tough going. Average pace was 10:58.
We did one almost 2 mile loop to warm up and then 2 miles that had a constant climb for one mile and second mile had a bit of downhill through the woods.
Splits were
10:50
9:35
13:11
10:15
Tougher than I had planned to be honest, errr

diego_b

Did a 3 mile easy run in 30:54 at an avg of 10:14min/mi, the splits were 10:45, 9:51, 10:05 which I was pretty happy with.
Felt quite warm today running down here and a bit tired after the trail run last night so no running till tomorrow evening now when I'll do the proper Wednesday run for this week off the boards plan.

diego_b

Following the 2015 boards plan I did the 1m w/u 4m pace 1m c/d this evening, felt alright starting off but worse as the run progressed. Fairly well jacked after it so gonna go to bed fair early tonight
Splits
10:05
9:04
9:09
8:55(small bit of a wind behind me)
9:22(decent cross wind and was just wishing the 4th pace mile over)
10:39
It's like I've lost the ability to run fast with all the slow running.

yaboya1

diego_b wrote: »

It's like I've lost the ability to run fast with all the slow running.

I meant to post this here, so have quoted from the mentored thread:

yaboya1 wrote: »

Don't worry. This is not the case.
I have never done anything but marathon training and my 5k is arguably my strongest pb. Just keep doing the runs at the prescribed paces and when the day comes that you need to go faster, you'll surprise yourself and be well able to.

diego_b

Thanks, I appreciate it!
I think the trail running I did on Tuesday night really didn't help much to be honest!
Have a half marathon race on Saturday morning, that should be fun!

diego_b

Race report from today's Run Killarney Half Marathon.

Preparation
Thursday evening...
Struggled with my final run before the race, this was the 1m w/u 4m pace 1m c/d but got some nice words on here so said just do the best you can with it. The training has been going well so far.
Researched what I could online about the race to find out what info I could on the route and previous race threads online here. Seem to be a lot advising to not go completely flat out going down the hills as when it levels out you will really struggle. Started to think of what my pace was possibly going to be or moreso attempted pace.

Friday
daytime...
Looked at my previous half marathon race where I managed an average pace of 8:43min/mi so decided that I should be able to beat that through a combination of a good months worth of training in the mean time and the downhills at the start. Decided to go for a pace of 8:40min/mi which according to a calculator would give me a time of 1:53:40....two mins off my previous PB. Printed out a pace band off runnersworld that I could refer to during the race if I wanted too to be sure I wasn't going too fast.

evening...
Got all my gear together, tried on my club singlet (second time using it, first time in a race) and affixed my race number using my number magnets.
Left on my gear ready to go for first thing as it was going to an early start at 5:20am.
Not knowing what way conditions were going to be I packed both a hat (was gonna use if very heavy rain), sun cream and sunglasses (if by chance it was sunny).
As I was driving over to the race event I actually packed spare shorts, socks, club top and even runners. Given I had the car with me I might as well let that obsessiveness behavior have full reign in preparation in case I wasn't happen with something. Got to bed around 10pm and went to sleep pretty soon afterwards.

Race day
Saturday morning, I woke at 5:09am....the internal clock was working well this morning and it was up and at the day.
Showered, put on my running gear and a pair of tracksuits bottoms and running jacket (said I might as well keep as warm as long as I could). It was hard to call the weather so put on sun cream just in case (my shoulders got nicely toasted on a lsr I worn the singlet on a few weeks back).
Had a small breakfast and a berocca before hitting the road at 6:15. Sipped a bit of High 5 drink on the drive over.
Made it to the Gleneagle Hotel for 7am, strolled into the hotel and used the facilities (number 1 and number 2, good sign for the day!). Back out to the car park then and onto the bus for the 40-45min drive to the startline. Brought a small bag with a banana, my sunglasses and hat in it and to dump my running jacket and tracksuit bottoms in.
Admired the scenery on the drive up the hills, took not at how many turns there was on the route and the amount of ups and downs. Figured I'd try get myself a decent running line with the turns if I could. I had a chat with the guy beside me on the bus as well, nice fella was telling me about his experience of running the race in previous years so tapped him to find out what my strategy on holding back on the hills a good one knowing what was to come. He pointed out that there is a lot of ups and downs once it levels out at 6 miles and people struggle with that. I wanted to have my legs good to go at that point so why burn up on the hills even going down hill.

At the starting area I took advantage of the half an hour to get another trip to the toilet in and start doing some warm ups. I actually did two warm ups, one with my jacket and tracksuits pants on and another one about 15mins before the race once I exposed my bare arms and legs to the morning air.
Bumped into a friend from the running group in Tralee who was running also today. I had hoped to bump into Chris, I was gonna check his profile pic on Strava when I got there but good oul O2/3 had no coverage. Sorry Chris if I walked passed you or anything. I was the cold looking fella in the blue St. Brendan's AC vest if you saw me.
Also I ate a small banana about 20mins before we started and drank some water.

At 8:35 we were called to assemble in the starting area, things didn't take too long and as conditions appeared to be taking a turn for the worse (no hat or sunglasses needed) we got underway at 8:42 (3 mins early).

Mile 1...8:16
Quick start, I keep an eye on my HRM to see I wasn't going too hard but I think the downhill was the main driver of the quicker than planned pace.
A lot of people around me seemed to be absolutely flying it at the start but I said I will go as I feel here now and hold back a bit to not overdo it.

Mile 2....8:37
Little bit of kick upwards in this mile and could see the first lot of people start to wilt. Passed a good few on the short hill here before we were back to the down hill running. The scenary was ridiculously good to be honest. Really nice place to run.

Mile 3....8:45 (25:38 for the 3 miles, 26:01 was the target)
Settled into pace at this point and was enjoying it.....watching my pace and effort but was feeling good. Time was a bit slower this split but I think we'd a few more kicks up and down in this mile. Also there was a water stop so took a few sips on.

Mile 4....8:01 and Mile 5....8:05
Grouping these two together as they kinda ran into other in regards being the fastest part of the course. All downhill with a 90 degree turn at ladies view as well. Felt I was feeling really good at this point and was confident of breaking my personal best but not sure by how much.

Mile 6...8:24 (50:08 for the 6 miles, 52:03 was the target)
Finally the end of the main downhill section and now the real race was on. At this point I knew my PB was in the bag barring a blow up or injury and was wondering could I actually break my target time as well. The race started to feel a lot harder now as it was generally flat or else up/down hill pretty often.
At 6.5 miles I took the one gel I had decided to bring with me for the race, happy with that decision at all points of the day.
We also got water at this point, there was fruit offered as well but declined.

Mile 7....8:34
The miles start to run into each other now, also I had lost sight of the 1:50 pacers who I had seen at the start but was not trying to keep up with them.
Just kept plugging along then with all the ups and downs.

Mile 8....8:42
More of the same

Mile 9....8:52 (1:16:16 for 9 miles, 1:18:05 was the target)
We had a short sharp downhill here just before taking a sharp left into Muckross Park. I had been running alongside/behind my colleague from Tralee during this mile but I pushed on a bit more as I was feeling like I could.

Mile 10....9:00 (1:25:16 for 10miles and new PB for 10 miles, 1:26:46 the target)
Running what appeared to be a trail run for quarter of a mile with some zig zagging under trees....GPS was useless but kept my effort the same based on a quick glance at my HRM. At this point in the race there was 3 miles to go so decided to push on my best to give it what I had.

Mile 11....8:15
Really flying it now, wondered could I do a few more of these at this pace. Was enjoying running in the park and was passing a lot of people at this late stage.

Mile 12....8:38
Starting to feel the pace now and starting to tire. One final hill in the park kinda did for me a bit and just said I would just keep my pace where it was at for now as there was no more pushing left to be done really and I had my time.

Mile 13....8:58
Yup I was done diddly done at this stage, wanting the race to be done...the callusus I've had under my right foot for a few years now was starting to ache a little bit so was a bit concerned was their a blister forming (there was not....thankfully).

Finish....1:52:28 (target was 1:53:40, previous PB was 1:55:40)
Delighted going the line, really was but proper tired to be honest. Felt I had given it my best and those last 7miles had been hard going but I was delighted with the result. Breaking the PB was a nice one but exceeding my not unreasonable target was a real bonus.
Nice t-shirt to add to the training rotation and a good chunky medal. Ate a hotdog, changed out of my gear, posted a note on boards, meet some clubmates who were doing the 10K and saw Gary O'Hanlon take the marathon title. All in all an enjoyable day.

Good luck to everyone running tomorrow.

diego_b

3 mile recovery run done this morning, avg 10:52 a mile. Nice and slow, quads are fairly tender today but still usable.
Will give them a good foam rolling now as well.

diego_b

4 miles on woodland trails done tonight, avg pace was 10:55. Felt a bit faster than that but gps is useless under the trees really!

diego_b

Wednesday...
I took part in 5K race with my club at a track meet, I did a mile warm up before hand and half a mile afterwards as a cool down plus stretching. My 5K time was 23:40 (nearly a minute over my PB) and I came last in the race having been lapped 3 times by the leaders. It was tough to stay going but I was happy I did as a few dropped out. Very different running on the track and I only did it as an opportunity to run on a track to be honest.

Thursday...
Ran 4 miles at lunch time following the near nude rules and it went well. avg pace was 10:58 and I was at this pace the first time I checked my watch and held the same.
This evening I had a 3 mile jog with some club mates after a photoshoot to promote our club race next weekend, 11:14 was the average pace and was plenty of conversation going on so the effort was low.

Friday...
Rest

Saturday...
Got out for my lsr a bit later this morning than I would have liked so started around 10:45am but figured my finish time all going well with be kinda the time I finish DCM all going well.
It was pretty warm to be honest but got through it well enough, was doing 15miles so kinda broke it up into 3x 5mile sections in my head....worked at that as I left Tralee it was 5 miles approx to the next village and then another 5 miles approx to the next and another 5 miles approx home.
The road I was running on was a pretty busy route with all types of traffic including cyclists but in fairness almost everyone was taking due care for each other....only was annoyed with one van who I thought was a bit close to me for my liking going by....maybe he's a super driver!
For this run I took two standard high 5 gels with me, some power bar gel shots and two chopped up fig rolls. 200ml of water and 200ml of lucozade sport.
Took the gels around the 5 mile mark with some water and took two of the gel shots as well along route (think around 7 and 11 miles). Worked my way through the water at every 3 mile interval having a sip....took some of the lucozade sport. Never had this running before so given that it will be available on the day I wanted to try it out....it is muck. The amount of colour left over in my bottle afterwards is shocking.
I was grand running till about mile 10 when my guts started to rumble a bit and I decided I needed to find a laneway to sort that out. Thankfully one short visit was all that was required and then I was back on my way.
Tired a good lot in the last mile but otherwise than that I was happy with the run, it was longest ever run in both distance and time.

15m in 2:37:01 @ 10:28min/mi
Splits
Mile 1 - 10:52
Mile 2 - 10:44
Mile 3 - 10:17
Mile 4 - 10:14
Mile 5 - 10:17
Mile 6 - 10:07
Mile 7 - 10:13
Mile 8 - 10:12
Mile 9 - 10:31
Mile 10 - 11:02
Mile 11 - 10:31
Mile 12 - 10:29
Mile 13 - 10:09
Mile 14 - 10:21
Mile 15 - 11:00

diego_b

Just did my 3 mile recovery at 10:12min/mi average, slightly faster than intended but with the driving wind and rain I just wanted to get it over with. Feel grand after the 15 miles yesterday, legs a small bit tired but nothing bad and no aches.

diego_b

5 miles tonight in 52:43, avg pace 10:31. Easy pace

diego_b

Did my 7mile aka 1m w/u 5 mile pace 1m c/d.
Found it tough enough going, seemed to take a few mins for my heart rate to settle down in the warmup but think there was some mis reads going on.
Certainly noticing that I am getting more comfortable running earlier in the day. Not sure if I can work a pace run in before work and it's too long for lunchtime. Just have to go with it as it is I guess.
Splits
10:13
9:15
9:07
9:02
8:59
9:09
10:27

My quads...right down towards my knees were screaming at me over the last half a mile on the pace section and just got even worse then on the warm down mile. Strange one but will keep an eye on it.

diego_b

204K this month for me, highest ever (last month was previous highest at 137K), running more in a week than I was in some months last year!
3.1m recovery run done around Dublin tonight (up for work for one night) and legs in fine fettle again. Avg pace was 10:52min/mi so very handy but felt o could have ran for hours.

diego_b

So today I took part in my clubs annual 5K/10K event in Banna, Ardert, County Kerry...here follows my race report

Prep
Yesterday did a 3 mile easy run having had a rest day on Friday...possibly should have ran that on Friday instead and took a rest day yesterday.
That run felt fine at the time, pace was 10:02 avg.

Got all my gear ready last night and packed a bag to bring with me in the car as I was planning to do a two mile warm up jog before the race I was wary that if the changeable conditions down here did for me and soaked me. No need to worry as it turned out but even still worth having in the car when I could.
Didn't look like it was going to be sunny so no need to sunglasses or sun cream. Decided to go with the t-shirt version of my club top over the singlet, no particular reason! Also decided to race in the shorts I'm planning on using for DCM, Nike Distance shorts I think they are called and have been training with them a good bit. Quite like shorts with side pockets and a zip pocket too. Decided I would not use the arm band for my phone and stash it in the back pocket for the race as this is what I'm thinking to do for DCM. The arm band thinks are normally fine but thinking it could start to annoy me late on in DCM and whilst I will carry my phone with me it could be stashed better than my arm I'm thinking.
Packed a full change of clothes as well for after the race in case of getting a soaking!

This morning
Up a bit earlier than planned at 7am thanks my lovely little daughter having an overnight/early morning accident. That damn late cup of Ribena!!
Anyways that was sorted, showering, in my gear by 7:45.
Experimenting with some foot anti-perspirant at the moment as I think keeping my feet as dry as I can helps prevent further callusing which can cause me problems on race days. Also used body glide on top on it too, might be wasting my time but wanted to try it in a race scenario. Experiments with continue on my LSR.
Had a small breakfast plus a berocca boost and heading over to the race venue in my car. Arrived about 8:45 and then started off on my two mile warm up run, that went grand but I did note the serious head wind that we would be racing into so that concerned me to be honest with the goals I was thinking of. On the return mile back to the starting area I did some dynamic stretches and a few little sprints. Avg pace over for those two miles was 10:57.
When I got back to my car I changed into the t-shirt I was gonna race in with my number already attached...said I might as well be a dry as I can be starting off with the extra t-shirt. Reapplied some body glide to my right foot just in case, it was about 9:10 at this point and I met some club mates...photos etc ensued. Quick pitstop at the jacks and starting walking back to the starting area (it's about 500m from where the cars park).
The conditions seemed to be much the same as earlier from my warm up but least no rain.

The race
So I set a goal of hopefully equally my time in last years race of 49:32, it was a PB at the time and I thought all going well I could try get that. Secondary goal was sub 50mins and third goal (please note this third goal may have been set have way through today's race ;-)) was to beat my last 10K race time back in June....that time was 52:19. My PB for the 10K is 47:16 set back in Ballybunnion in April this year so thought I'm not being unreasonable....I did a 23:40 5K race a week and a half ago and despite that feeling terrible I thought I still have sub 5min/Ks in me. Feel I've lost a bit of pace with the marathon training to be honest.

So at 9:30am we started, it was a quick start for me and everyone around me to be honest. A good chunk of this people were going to be turning 2.5K into the course and heading back the way we started. Took me a min or so running to slot my phone into my back pocket (was timing using my phone and my watch as I normally do) so that was a small annoyance....forgot to take the case off the phone before hand and those few mms plus running race pace meant it was tough. All in all the first 5K was done in 4:44.

Second K, was really starting to feel the wind at this point and thought I'd love to be running the 5K today and turning with that wind at my back! Felt I was running the same effort but the time was starting to slow 5:07. Even still I was thinking okay it's the wind, we're be turning after 5K ourselves in Ardfert and should have the wind at our backs on the drag back up towards Banna Cross.

Third, Fourth, Fifth K was much the same (each one slower than the last), plenty of wind and had a good few people passing me as well. We had a few bends to go around and a few small climbs too but nothing to write home about. It was kind of starting to annoy me that I could see a corral of runners a few hundred meters ahead of me and that would have been the group that I would normally have been in but kept going. Starting to try think about what I could pull out of the race at this point. Got water around the 5K point and kept that with for the next few Ks.

Sixth, Seventh, Eight K we had gone through Ardfert now and had turned back towards Ballyheigue. This is quite a busy road but it was safe at all time with some good stewarding and garda work to keep everyone happy. Around the seventh K I had decided that I should be able to beat 52mins if I pick up the pace a small bit and it would give me a goal to go for. I wasn't sure about my previous 10K time but knew it was over 52mins so said look beat that today and it's something. Seventh and Eight K have a nice drag all the way up to the Banna cross. Once we got to the cross we then turned towards the beach and the last two K or so to go.

Ninth K and to Finish
As we turned towards the beach I remembered my previous run there last year when I hit a head wind and I was sub 40 back then at the 8K mark and gave it my lot to get home under 50mins (49:32) but this year that time and goal was gone so I said just run it good and steady and focus on your form. There was a one runner ahead of me at that point by about 50 meters so I focused on him and said I'd see could I reel him in a bit. Picked off a bit of his lead in the 9th K and got it down to 10 meters then held it for a while. When I saw the finish area with 300 meters to go I said right I'm going to go for this for a sprint finish to see what I have left my legs. I pulled out to his right and blasted home, I kinda feel funny doing such thing but he wouldn't have had time to react even if he heard me coming I think. I ran right through the finish line at full speed so that felt pretty nice. Got my medal and chatting with some clubmates who generally all felt it was a tough enough race,

To be honest I was a bit disappointed with myself in that I thought I could have pushed it more earlier but I really didn't feel I could at the time, I got chatting with my club coach and also to a friend of my wife's (this lady is an outstanding runner who won the Tralee marathon in a sub 3 time this year) and both confirmed to me that the marathon training can impact your speed if you're not doing speed work which in truth I'm not. In hindsight I have to be happy enough with how it went, I possibly set unrealistic goals at the start but I was glad I was able to set a third goal and pushed myself to achieve it.

One thing I have noted when chatting with my wife (congrats to her on doing a fine 5K) is that she thinks I may have put on a small bit of weight and I think I have too....I am concerned that has cost me a bit of time on the shorter distance races.
I'm not sure if I can drop the extra 3 kgs or so I appear to be carrying between now and DCM but I have to be mindful not to put any more on and possibly start keeping a food diary again. I might read up on some stuff online as to how to address weight gain during training....one thing surely is stop eating as much as you think you can.
It took my a lot of work two years ago to lose 7.5 stone and it's annoying me now that I think I've put about half a stone and a little more on.
I have started to think post DCM now as well that I will try to lose possibly 5kg or so over the winter if I can to get down to lighter than I was when I stopped my diet and work on my 5Ks before starting another marathon plan.

Post the run I did another two miles in 9:43 avg min/mi with a club mate to warm down and keep up my weekly mileage. Back to the normal training plan now for the next month ahead of my next and final race before DCM when I do the Dingle Half Marathon on the 6th of Sept.

Splits from today as follows:

1st K...4:44
2nd K..5:07
3rd K...5:19
4th K...5:21
5th K...5:26
6th K...5:21
7th K...5:07
8th K...5:09
9th K...5:10
10th K (race measured 9.95 for me)...4:40
Total...51:24

diego_b

4.3 miles done tonight, first 1.5 miles on my own and then the rest as part of a club session.
We were doing some speed work which entailed 6x approx laps of a 300m car park area with some sprints of approx 100 meters on one side with recovery running in between.

diego_b

1m w/u 5m pace 1m c/d completed this evening. This was the best of the marathon pace runs for me so far. The 5m section was an out and back run for me on a straight as a needle road with some little drags on it. Tough going at spots but nothing bad,

Splits:
10:14
8:57
8:59
9:07 (180 turn halfway through so lost a few secs)
9:01
9:01
10:24

diego_b

4.3m easy completed this evening, avg pace was 9:43min/mi.
Splits are a bit all over the place as the first mile was severely uphill, second is a mix of flat then a decent drag uphill to turn around and then turn around and do it in reverse. Made sure to keep the effort steady throughout checking my HRM and a general how I'm feeling.

Splits
10:49
9:19
9:37
9:14

diego_b

14mile LSR completed this morning, started at almost 9am on the button. Ran from Tralee to home with a mate from my running club. It was nice to do a LSR with company for a change and we just talked away for the whole run.

Total time running: 2:15:32
Distance: 14.05miles
Avg pace: 9:39min/mi
Avg heart rate: 156bpm
Splits:
10:10
9:50
9:13
9:45
9:42
9:36
9:24
9:24
9:32
9:29
9:35
9:57
9:40
9:47

diego_b

5m done last night...avg was 9:18min/mi (4 of the miles were in my mp pace zone so around 9min/mi and even a few secs under).
It should have been easy pace (10min/mi approx) but was running with a mate and went too fast so rejigging the midweek sessions for this week, the mp pace run scheduled for tonight is moving to tomorrow evening instead.
My average heart rate was 152 which was inside my aerobic zone so wasn't overdoing it on that front at least so should be recovered quickly.

Tonight I'm going to do a proper easy 3miles, possibly with my wife so it could well be 11min+ miles but that will teach me for messing up last night!

diego_b

3 very easy miles this evening with my good wife, avg pace was 11:37.

diego_b

1m w/u 6m pace 1m c/d completed this evening, made a mistake with the route I picked as there was a few too many hills in the 4th and 5th mile. I also had to stop twice for a second due to heavy traffic on the roads. The route was very scenic though along the Wild Atlantic Way with views of the mouth of the Shannon and Loop head but not suitable for the training I had in mind....ideal for LSR though.

Avg pace overall: 9:31min/mi
Avg heart rate: 154

Splits:
10:58 (seriously uphill so took it handy and once it leveled after half a mile I stopped to do some stretching before picking up the pace, had a wonderful encounter with a dog as well just before the end of my warm up mile....little so and so. Had a mexican stand off with him till he eventually held his ground and then I backed off backwards to a safe distance before getting going again)

MP section
8:54
9:11
9:29 (including a nice down and up section, thought it was going to be flatter)
9:26 (same section as above but in reverse)
9:00
8:50 (last half a mile was downhill so was holding back to keep the pace even as I could)

Cooldown
10:17

Felt strong throughout for the most part so happy with how the mp training went as I was a bit concerned starting off as it was quite warm. Brought some water with me...couldn't touch it till mile 3 as won't be getting water on the day till then. Generally don't bring water on shorter runs like this but with the effort I think it might be needed and muscles felt grand throughout.

diego_b

17mile LSR completed this morning, started a few mins just before 9am. Again I started from the same spot as I have done my last two LSRs so running from Tralee to home via Ardfert, adding in the Banna 10K route in reverse to get up my mileage, then towards Ballyheigue and the last 5 miles back to home. Running on my own this time so knew it was going to be tough mentally as much as anything and it was. Found the period between 8 miles and 12 miles or so a real drag and it didn't help that my quads really started to get sore in the 13th mile. Stopped for a min in Ballyheigue to pick up some water I had stashed and lobbed a high 5 tab into it, I did some quads stretches and a squat and that seemed to sort them out thankfully. Back on the road then for the last 4-5 miles which were fine for the most part but plenty of mental coaching going on, some of the stuff like nop's post here in the last few days was coming to mind. Often find myself thinking of my wife (in her wedding dress for some reason) and then of my little daughter at home and looking forward to seeing them again. I sometimes have to be affirmative with myself and go you have decided you want to do this so get on with it, it's going to hurt and no one is forcing you to do it. Finding that my will and desire to do the marathon and be as well prepared as I can outweigh any negative thoughts or pains, long may that last. It helps that I am a stubborn so and so in general with things as well.
Once I got to mile 15 I said right I want to finish this pretty strong if I can. Heart rate went up about 5-10 bpm avg but in these longer and longer runs the last few miles are a real slog. Delighted to have gotten through it, longest ever run in both time and distance!

On the nutrition front, just had a banana for breakfast and a berroca. On the run I carried 200ml water and 200ml of lucozade sport (second attempt running with this stuff and really can't take to it). Had one ISOgel at 5 mile and one standard gel at 12 miles. Half a pack of clif shot bloks throughout the run as well.

On the dog front, just three dogs to contend with over 17 miles, one around 7 miles...he leaped over a wall to come to the road but backed off straightaway. One big f-er around 14 miles who kinda bounded up behind me but stopped as soon as I spotted him, he was trying to be ninja like but an extra benefit of having given up the earphones is that you can hear them coming. Dog three came half a mile later, little Yorkshire terrier who had a little go but gave up quickly enough when I told him to go home.

Total time running: 2:48:20
Distance: 17miles
Avg pace: 9:54min/mi
Avg heart rate: 153bpm
Splits:
10:02
9:43
9:28
9:50
9:53
9:41
9:48
9:56
10:01
9:57
9:56
10:11
10:09
9:50
9:58
10:03
9:49

diego_b

4 easy miles completed this evening, avg pace was 9:58min/mi. Felt a bit tired starting off but was grand after half a mile. Avg heart rate was 144.
Did 4x100 strides after 3 miles when I was well warmed up. No niggles after the weekend's LSR so onward we go with the plan.

diego_b

4 easy miles at lunchtime, avg pace was 9:57min/mi. Didn't wear my heart rate monitor but the effort felt the same as yesterday's run.
One difference was I put a nasty hill in at 3 miles or so for me to climb...so the last mile was half up hill and half flying back downhill.