Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Take Your Lumps Like a Man, Private Twinkle Toes!!!
Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
Saturday 9th: WAC Half Marathon 1:34:03
There are times when adverse conditions on race day can almost be a blessing. A ready made excuse in case things don't go your way. If anyone was hoping for that on Saturday, they would have been very disappointed. These were ideal racing conditions. I felt pretty good. My weight has gone up enough over Christmas that I do notice it when I run, but I've still been doing my sessions so all in all I had no excuses. Thankfully, I didn't need them.
After the usual warm up jog, strides and swingy legy thingys I made my way up to the start. I tried to gauge where I should start and plonked myself there. By the time I noticed the pacers had assembled and I was behind 1:40 there was very little I could do about it. I knew I make my way to a better spot eventually so I wasn't going to panic. The start was slow and congested but once we got to the downhill section it opened up and I was able to stretch out the legs. After a few hundred metres I realised I hadn't started my watch. My plan of using time and mile markers to pace myself was now out the window so I started and used the average pace as a guide to help me on my merry way. I was aiming for 7:15 but decided to go for 7:12 to make up for missing the slow bit at the start and general Garmin inaccuracies. My shins felt tight for the first three miles, a symptom of knotted calves I fear, but once they eased out maintaining the pace started to feel easy. I pushed on every now and then to try and take advantage of feeling good, without burning out too early. There were a few changes to the course but it was mostly familiar territory so I had a good idea where to push and where to fall back.
I hear the first sound of a Stook cow-bell in the industrial estate when made me grin a little. I really must do that race this year.I was starting to steadily pass people at this stage in the race and by the time we headed into Ballybeg I was starting to feel as if I was pushing too far. I mile time of 6:59 confirmed this so I eased back just a little. The next mile was on the Lacken Road, one of the dodgy surfaced sections. Between this and the slight incline a few people strode past me. I wasn't willing to go too hard in this section for two reasons. I felt the need to recover slightly after the last mile and also I knew there was a nice downhill coming up. If I felt fresh enough I wanted to take advantage of that to make up a few places. I often find I lean back on downhill sections which can really hurt the legs. So I was leaning forward, I was gonna go for it, I was gonna run fast!!! And I did. Well fast for me at least. And it was a lot of fun
After spending a very short amount of time on the Tramore Road, we were back on busted up country road for a while. I kept the pace nice and steady here I overtook a few as I went. I knew one of the toughest parts of the course was coming up. This hill wasn't on the route last year, but I have run on it a lot. On fast, it is part of the route I ran when I did my first ever 10 mile run, so I know it well. We turned the corner, there it was. I decided to put the head down and just go for it. Not too fast but enough to feel like it wasn't going to last for ever. But I really did feel like it was going to last for ever. Once we got to the top I felt absolutely shattered. This was where the hard work was going to have to kick in.
More often in not in races I have to have a chat with myself at some stage about going as hard as possible until the end. A time always seems to come when it really feels like you have to stop. Oddly enough that didn't happen yesterday. If it was going to happen it would have been just then but for some reason I knew that whatever happened I could at least maintain a decent pace once we hit the flat/downhill to the finish. Ironically enough this almost caused me to have a different chat with myself about why I wasn't having a chat with myself. Luckily I was too bloody tired to think about any of this at the time so I just ran as fast as my tiring legs would take me. The last bit of country road running past the Holy Cross pub nearly killed me but once we got back to the main road I knew I had done well. As the time on my watch as wrong I couldn't tell what I was actually on for so I had to wait until the finish line clock was in sight. I passed my OH just as we hit the 13 mile marker and that gave me the little boost I needed to get up that cruel little hill at the finish. I saw the clock turn to 1:34 a little before I crossed the line so I knew I had made my target comfortably. A big smile followed by 5 minutes of wheezing and coughing like an emphysemic 90 year old and I was ready to collect my goodies, grab a blaa and head back out to see a few others cross the line.
Obviously someone's opinions of a race are influenced by how the race went for them but I have to say I really enjoyed this one. There was lots of stewards on the course and plenty of support en route. It's true that it isn't an attractive course but to me that has it's own appeal as well. It is a good course for a race I think and I'll definitely run this race any year I'm able. And let's not forget the most important thing. It's on a Saturday. I do love races on Saturdays. An evening of pints in Tully and a tasty bag of Hillbilly's chicken rounded the day off nicely. A suitable celebration for a 2 minute 24 second PB 0 -
Thanks all
Sunday 10th: 6.1mi @ 9:50
Monday 11th: 6mi @ 9:25
Tuesday 12th: 7mi @ 9:09
I've decided to postpone what should have been this week of my plan until next week. I figured trying to jump into sessions too soon after Saturday was a potential recipe for disaster so it's a week of easy runs for me. Nothing overly interesting about any of these. There were some icy bits and windy bits but no wet bits. The legs were pretty tender on Sunday but since then they have been loosening up. I've purposefully been walking lots during the day as well. That always seems to help me after a hard race.0 -
-
Monday 18th: 6mi @ 9:05
Tuesday 19th: 2E + 5 sets of (200R + 200 jg + 200R + 400jg + 400R + 200 jg) + 2E - I'm now into the second last week of phase 2 and the amount of R running in these sessions has increased slightly to get me ready for the longer intervals that I will be doing in phase 3. Because of this session I had to measure out another 200m stretch and make a slight adjustment to the 400 I was running as it was a little long (I hope). the weather was perfect for this one so I had no excuses other than myself. The first two sets were good but the 400s were a little too fast. I figured to myself that was grand but struggled a little in the last three sets. Nothing too disastrous but the balance could have been a little better. I paused the watch after the second set to attend to a brief call of nature and forgot to start it again before I hit the lap button the start the third set. I realised a few seconds in that the watch never vibrated when I started but I just kept on going and figured I was hitting the pace perfectly the targets were 45 for the 200 and 92 for the 400. Actual times:
Set 1: 45s, 44s, 88s.
Set 2: 44s, 44s, 89s.
Set 3: ??s, 44s, 94s. (ouch!)
Set 4: 45s, 45s, 94s.
Set 5: 45s, 45s, 93s.
Overall I'm very happy with this one.
Wednesday 20th: 5.9mi @ 9:19
Thursday 21st: 2E + 4 x 1m T w/1min rest + 4 x 200R w/200jg + 2E - This should have been friday's session but with a race on Sunday I figured I'd move it forward a day and give myself an extra day to freshen the legs. Again this is another session that has upped that amount of quality running. I knew the area I was using for this session would mean the first and third threshold miles would be a little harder than the second and forth. When I stuck my head out the door and realised how wet and windy it was I really wanted to duck back in but I persevered. The T (hreshold) pace I have been using for these sessions is 7:10. I ran the WAC half around 7:11 so I definitely need to move up one notch on the vdot scale. Wohoo!!! 48 here I come!!! Because of the wind I figured the paces would be a little all over the place so head down and get it done. Considering the weather it was pretty enjoyable once I got going. On morning like this I just remember a line I read in Myles Splitz log: 'winter miles mean summer smiles'. Actual times:
Mile 1: 7:14 - just getting warmed up
Mile 2: 6:52 - down hill with wind at my back for most of it.
Mile 3: 7:03 - Considering this was the same as mile 1 I was very happy to see this.
Mile 4: 6:52 - Same as mile 2, consistency in a world gone mad
200s: 42s (stopped the watch too early, closer to 44 I'd reckon), 46s, 45s, 44s.
Overall a good week of running so far. After the half two weeks ago I knew I should move my paces up a little. My worry is I only just manage to hit the paces during most of the R sections and miss others completely. But the theory is you train at the paces based on what you've actually achieved in a race. I only have one more week of phase 2 to go though so I'm going to hold off on moving up till phase 3.0 -
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Thank you all very much. Definitely a few lessons learned, but whether I remember these lessons the next time around remains to be seen
Monday 25th: 6mi @ 9:19
Tuesday 26th: 2E + 10 X 400R w/ 400jg + 2E A few months ago I would have looked at this session and gotten worried about it. Last night thinking about it I felt grand. After 5 weeks of JD sessions it didn't seem that daunting. Waking up this morning I could hear the wind and rain and I started listing excuses not to bother. But no, if it didn't happen this morning it was gonna throw my weeks plan off so I sucked it up and headed out.
I had been using this site to calculate my paces and never questioned why the 200 and 400 R paces weren't exactly double/half each other. I've been using 45 and 92, why not 90? A quick check of the book and I discovered that it should have been 90 for the 400M. Oops!!! I had been having trouble hitting the pace, but I had over-measured the distance. Bearing this, and the wind in mind, I decided to head to my usual spot and figure out which direction would be easier to run the intervals and do that. Neither direction was head on into the wind but one was easier than the other without having a strong wind at your back the whole way. There was still sideways wind, and the odd blast in the face but at least it wasn't right in my face the entire time. I was pleasantly surprised with how this one went, maybe there was more of an wind advantage than I thought. Regardless I was happy to get this done and even happier to get home and into a hot shower. Once the 10 reps were over I figured that was the hard part done. The second of my 2 E miles home was straight into the wind and boy oh boy that was tough. Not only the wind but the rain felt like tiny dagger stabbing my face. No way could I have done the session in that. Target 90 seconds.
Actual times: 90s, 91s, 89s, 90s, 91s, 88s, 91s, 89s, 91s, 91s.
I'm calling the race on Sunday my Q3 session for this week (JD's week starts on a Sunday) so I still have last Sunday's Q1 session to run. As I start work a little later on Thursday mornings I'm gonna do it then. It's a 9 mile MP run with some strides at the end and that will bring phase 2 to an end. I noticed in phase three there are 2 sessions scheduled one day after the other. Sounds like a lot of fun 0 -
-
-
Wednesday 27th: 6.2mi @ 9:41
Thursday 28th: 1E + 9MP + 6ST + 1E
Thursday's session was originally meant to be run last Sunday but I swapped it for the 5 mile race. I was unsure of what pace I should be aiming for. The last session like this I went for 7:40 pace, but I have done two races since then, both of which suggest a faster pace for MP training. (I know I am no where near this for an actual marathon yet, but I'm not in training for one at the moment so I figured that should be ok!!) My half marathon time suggests I should be going for 7:29 pace, and my 5 mile time would suggest 7:20. I figured trying to jump from 7:40 to 7:20 would be a little foolhardy so I decided to go for 7:29 pace and see what happened. Well the main thing that happened was the bloody wind. It was lovely and dry but the wind was pretty vicious in places. I decided on loops of the path around the racecourse so at least the wind would be at my back as often as it was in my face. I have to say for the most part it didn't feel that way. How can it be in your face 75% of the time on a looped course???
I had my usual slowish start but once I got going it started to feel good. I noticed the wind had died down a little for the last three miles or so, but I didn't adjust the effort levels just to see what would happen to the miles times. I was very happy with how this one went, especially as I felt I could have done another mile or two if needs be. I did the 6 strides over the remaining part of the last lap of the racecourse and then jogged the mile home. I do find the strides very difficult after a run like that, but I have noticed a I lack any kind of kick in the end of races, so It's something I must work on. Target 7:29 - average pace 7:30 (I'll take that!!)
Actual miles: 7:46 (slow start!), 7:36, 7:36, 7:31, 7:38 (lost a little concentration here), 7:28, 7:23, 7:25, 7:12 (i decided to give it as much as I could in the last lap!!)
On to phase 3 next week I'm going to use my half marathon time for training paces. As I said my 5 mile time would give me a higher vdot, but I don't think I've hit the paces in training enough to justify that kind of jump. Maybe in phase 4
0 -
Advertisement
-
-
Saturday 6th: 9.3mi @ 9:06
Sunday 7th: 1E + 10 MP + 4 ST + 1E
In phase 2 these MP runs only happened every three weeks, but now it's every two. Because of that I nearly missed this one. I was about to head out for 13 miles easy when I double checked. All in all I'm very happy with how this one went. The plan was for 7:32 miles and my finishing average was 7:33 (I swear it said 7:32 on the watch) so that's not too bad. Some of the miles were a little (lot) off but what I'm most pleased about was the finishing couple of miles. I ran then faster than MP, but I was very ablr for it, and felt I could have done another couple easily enough. Maybe not 16.2 of them but thankfully I won't be trying that for a few months yet
Actual miles: 7:56, 7:30, 7:43, 7:28, 7:31, 7:33, 7:29, 7:29, 7:24, 7:23.
Monday 8th: 6mi @ 9:25 Slightly wet, very windy!
Tuesday 9th: 8.1mi @ 9:05
Tomorrow see the next Vo2 max session. 5 X 1km. Can't wait
0 -
Tis been a few days since an update. I've been too busy trying to decide whether I should be wearing tights under my shorts. Conclusion: who gives a f@#k!!!
Wednesday 10th: 2E + 5 x 1K I w/400 jg + 2E Thankfully it wasn't very windy for this one. There was a slight breeze, but nothing as bad as the few mornings before. The odd numbered reps were going to be slightly easier than the even, but there shouldn't have been too much of a difference. After being so spectacularly off the pace last week I was hoping for something a little better for this session. Target time was 4:03.
Actual times: 4:01, 4:06, 4:01, 4:09, (and a final push!!) 4:00. Very happy with this one.
Thursday 11th: 2E + 3 X 1 T w/1min rest + 4 X 200R w/ 200jg +2E I wasn't too worried about this one overall. After the success of the vO2 max session the day before what could possibly go wrong?? Well, other than run two of the miles a little too fast and not have anything left for the 200s, absolutely nothing. I was surprised to see how fast the second mile was especially. I managed the first of the 200s at around the right pace but after that I really struggled. All in all I'm quite happy with this one and when you consider it was the second session in a row I'll take it. Target times were 7:02 for the mile and 44s for the 200s.
Actual times: Miles - 7:05, 6:44 (:eek:), 6:52; 200s - 42s (stopped the watch a little early), 47s, 47s, 46s.
Saturday 13th: 8.9 mi @ 9:06
Sunday 14th: 12.9 mi @ 8:36
Monday 15th: 6.9 mi @ 8:36
Tuesday 16th: 5.8mi @ 8:42
Since Thursday's session it's been all easy running. I never really pay much attention to the pace of my easy runs, it's easy running so I run what feels easy. Writing these runs out now I can't help but notice the pace of the easy runs has dropped a little. They are still well within the vdot range so definitely nothing to worry about. Maybe it's a sign that I'm getting fitter. Happy days 0 -
-
Monday 22nd: 4 mi @ 9:41
Wednesday 24th: 2E + 4 x 1,200 I w/3 min jg + 2E I was feeling a little banjaxed after the MP session last Sunday so I decided to take Tuesday off. The last time I ran this session I came nowhere near hitting the correct paces. I was hoping today would be a little different. I gave it a good shot but again I didn't quite make it. I was a hell of a lot closer this time though. I ended up being a little generous with the recoveries as well. I had changed the display on my watch to only show lap pace on one of the screens that would also usually have the lap time and I forgot to change it back. So I decided to estimate the 3 minute jog, and wouldn't you know it, I gave myself a little more time. Oops!!! Target time was 4:49.
Actual times: 4:56, 4:51, 4:55, 4:52.
So not perfect, but it's pretty positive if you compare that to the same session three weeks before:
Actual times: 5:11, 5:20, 5:04, 5:23
Thursday25th: 2E + 1T + 2min rest + 2T + 1min rest + 1T + 1min rest + 4 x 200R w/200 jg + 2E I realised just before I set off for this one that I have been doing an extra mile at the end of these sessions without realising it. There is only meant to be one easy mile at the end. I decided to stick to the 2 miles though, as that's roughly how far away the place I run these sessions if from my house. I also turned autolap off as I was running measured distances with one interval being over a mile. I decided to make the first mile the hardest, and therefore it was way off target. The two miles were a little fast but nothing too major, but for some reason I ran the last mile way too fast. well either that or I measured it pretty short. Either way the 400s were a bit of a struggle in the end. Again, happy enough with how this one went. Targets were 7:02 for the miles, 14:04 for the 2 miles and 44s for the 200s.
Actual times: 7:19, 13:56, 6:46 (:eek::eek:), 43s, 47s, 44s, 45s.
There's more easy running to log but that'll have to wait till later. Time to cook dinner 0 -
Friday 26th: 5.1 mi @ 9:34 I was hoping to run this one on grass. The outer lap of the racecourse was pretty boggy but I managed to find a little section that was just about runnable. Then I tried to run on the grass around the track which was ok for the most part. A run that reminded me how much harder cross country must be!
Saturday 27th: 9.3 mi @ 8:32
Sunday 28th: 13.6 mi @ 8:21
Monday 29th: 6 mi @ 8:57
Not much to report about any of these really. My knees have been a little sore lately. Oddly enough, never when I run, or walk on normal surfaces, but when I walk up the stairs they hurt a little. It's not the first time this has happened, and the last time it eased up of it's own accord so here's hoping that'll happen again. If it persists, or gets any worse I'll have it looked at, but I reckon it's just middle age creeping in I haven't turned autolap back on since Thursday's run. At first it was due to forgetfulness, but now I think I'll leave it that way. It makes it much easier to ignore the watch for the easier runs which I'm starting to think is a good thing. 0 -
Hello log, it's been a while. Time for a catch up!
Tuesday 1st: 5.7 mi @ 8:59
Wednesday 2nd: 2E + 5 x 1K I w/400 jg + 2E - If my memory serves this was a horrible morning for a session. Wet and windy all the way. I ran the odd numbers with the wind mostly at my back, and the even numbers into it! I can' remember much about this one. The effort was pretty even I think, so the difference in numbers are mostly down to the wind Target time was 4:03.
Actual times: 4:06, 4:13, 3:57, 4:16, 4:06
Thursday 3rd: 2E + 3T + 1min rest + 4 x 200R w/ 200jg + 2E - The wind had settles a good bit for this run, though there was still a bit of a breeze. I found the three miles tough but manageable. As always, the 200s at the end were very difficult. I added the 1 min rest myself, there was no way I could go straight from one to the other. I forgot to turn autolap back on so I only have the full time for the miles, not the individual miles. I'm sure I paced it evenly though Target times were 21:06 for the three miles and 44s for the 200s.
Actual times: 20:43, 42s, 44s, 43s, 44s.
Saturday 5th: 9.3mi @ 8:51
Sunday 6th: 1E + 10MP + 1E
For some reason I wasn't too sure how this session would go. For the most part my MP sessions have been quite good this training cycle, but this morning everything felt a little stiff and reluctant. So much so that I decided if the first felt like too much of a struggle I'd ease off and do an easy 12 or 13 instead. I didn't hit the pace on the first mile but it didn't kill me either so I kept on going. Not hitting the pace would remain a theme of the morning as it turned out. My average time for the 10 miles was exactly my target time but the paces were all over the place, and I ran the last mile way too fast in order to get the average down. So fast in fact, that I had absolutely no zip in my legs at all to attempt the strides I was meant to do at the end of this. Target was 7:32.
Actual times: 7:44, 7:35, 7:44, 7:36, 7:24, 7:38, 7:28, 7:26, 7:31, 7:12.0 -
-
-
Advertisement
-
Advertisement