Berlin Q or Bust: Road to sub 2:45

yaboya1

Never in doubt
Well done!

Kennyg71

Great going well done.

healy1835

DCM 2016

Pre Race:
3 power outages during the night resulted in 2 scared little men in the Healy house and their Daddy awake since 3 am. But I'd gotten about 6 hours decent sleep before that so I was happy enough. Big bowl of porridge and off I set. Got dropped around Baggot St about 7:30. I wanted a bit more time to get ready this year as I got there a lot later last and was a little frantic. No such worries this year. Positioned myself near enough the 3:20 pacers and tried to keep calm, when in reality I was bouncing off the walls with nerves and excitement after doing most of my training on my own I was actually running with a mate who turned up about 30 seconds from the off....he's run lots of marathons including 10 in 10 days last year so he was a great partner to have

Km 1-10 (46:56)
Nothing too crazy apart from that motorbike!! The dude was trying to wheel it back by the time we got to him. How the hell did that happen?? Pacers threw in a 4:31 3rd km which was a little worrying but that was it for the race and they really were fantastic. The British guy who was interviewed in the Irish Runner last issue was very vocal and really encouraging. Pace felt really easy, took some water on at the first stop, figuring it was gonna be a day to get fluids in early. Up into the park and down Chesterfield Ave. Mate on the course had gel and high5 drink ready and 10k and the pace still felt easy at this stage.

Km 11-20 (46:31)
Castleknock was brilliant and I found myself feeding off the crowd, cheesy I know but I was really feeling it at this stage . I had an early concern that I might need to take a toilet break but that had subsided at this stage and I felt no niggles at all. Feeling strong still and even though the pace group was definitely starting to thin out as we approached halfway, it was still big enough to make me feel like I was almost drafting at stages.

Km 21-30 (47:07)
Went through halfway in 1:39:26, I'm feeling really strong at this stage. My mate who I was running with went through a bit of a dodgy patch here and he was able to tuck in behind me and get out of it. Whilst I was feeling great I was still paranoid about not finishing strong so any thoughts of banging ahead were quickly put out of my head. The plan was coming together and there was no point in jeopardising it at this stage. A lot of people were dropping off the pace from about 30k on, it seemed worse than last year but then again, I was one of those people last year so maybe I just noticed it more this time around.

Km 31-40 (47:12)
Still right with the pacers at 20 mile mark. My wife and eldest fella were at Milltown so it was a great buzz to see them and still be in good shape. My two slowest km's were drag up into Milltown and Roebuck Rd, but they were 4:52 each, which I'd be happy with. Chipped in my fastest km no.40 a 4:29 when in the km before I'd had my first little doubts set in, calves were becoming a little tired and legs a little heavy. At this stage my mate really come up trumps for me and kicked us on, said the right things at the right times. I don't know where I got that 4:29 km from, the pacers had maybe put about 30m on me up Roebuck and down the bypass, but they were coming back to me now. I knew we'd banked nearly 45 seconds and I just needed to keep the wheels on to get under 3:20.

Km 41-42.2 (4;40, 4:37 & 2:00 @ 4:30/km)
Last couple of km and I'm seriously buzzing. Body is hurting now but there's no way I'm not finishing this strong. Noise during the last couple of km was just amazing. Figured that a really fast last 400m might get me in under 3:19 but strange and uncomforatble things were starting to occur inside my calves, so I backed off slightly and finished a happy happy man.

Result: 3:19:07

So A goal achieved and more importantly I finished a marathon strong. I needed that. I was cruising for about 37km. The last 5km asked me some serious questions about myself but I was able to answer them thank god! I knew going in I had the training done. I'm very lucky to have a friend who devised my training. When you're safe in the knowledge that what you're doing in training is tailored for you by a brilliant runner it's a huge confidence booster. I've come a long way since I starated training last June (2015). I'm not gonna let this fitness slip a little like I did last year either. Raheny 5m, Dungravan 10m, and definitely sub 20 5k ( I've never raced one before) and sub 40 10k are the immediate goal. I'm in the Berlin ballot, and if it get that I'll obviously be giving Dublin a miss next year, but that decision can wait for a little while yet. Reading logs on here has been brilliant too, from the people who are quite close to my own level, to the slower and faster logs, it's great to compare and contrast and gain more knowledge. So....onwards and upwards from here. Will indulge a little this week and then I'll start again......thanks to everyone for the well wishes and encouragement.
J....

yaboya1

Excellently paced, raced and reviewed.
Very well done again.

jake1970

Well done J and congrats on the PB and hitting your A goal. Best of luck with your future goals you are making great progress with your running keep it up now.

healy1835

So a bit of an update post DCM....
Week 1: Two 5k recovery runs
Week 2: Four 10k easy runs (no watch)
Week 3: plan was for 2 sessions & 3 easy runs Inc. a 10miler....didn't quite work out, 3 easy runs 10k each and a 10miler 1:20:01
So this week the plan is to get the two sessions in (one 10x300m Hill session and one 3x2k session) and maybe up to 20k LR.... body feeling in decent nick after the DCM and eager to get going again. Raheny & Dungarvan in the new year but will fit in something before the Chrimbo....

healy1835

So got a decent enough week in. Missed one session but got in....
10k easy: 52:43 @ 5:10/km
10k steady: 48:01 @ 4:48/km
10k (quite) steady: 45:39 @ 4:34/km
10x200m Hill Sprints, continuous, jogged downhills. 2k w/u & 2k c/d. 200m uphills @3:50/km ish....
16k Long Run: 1:18:39 @ 4:55/km

First decent week's training since DCM. Definitely went a bit quick on one or two of these but I just had to burn some energy..... Ive been feeling the good sensations on all of these runs....

healy1835

Mon: 10k Easy: 51:50 @5:11/km
Tue: 10k Easy: 50:57 @5:06/km
Wed: 12k Easy: 59:19 @4:57/km
Thu: Session 8x600m @ quicker than 5k pace (I chose 20min, although when I do eventually run a 5k I'd hope to go faster), with 200m jogging recovery between each rep. 2k w/u & c/d.
Session went well, still buzzing after yesterday's good news regarding the Berlin lottery. 600 splits were all around 3:57/km territory with the last couple under 3:40/km. It was my first track session since DCM so I didn't go mad, but felt like there was a good bit of life in the legs

All roads lead to Berlin now. I'm looking forward to, touch wood, 10 months of good training and seeing what I can do off it.

healy1835

Sat: 14k (Inc a trip up and down Braveheart hill) 1:09:31 @4:58/km
Sun: 20k 1:38:39 @4:56/km The dreaded man flu has struck and was coughing and spluttering all night long. Wasnt going for a run at 6:40am but by 7am I had convinced myself otherwise and was pounding the pavement. Felt better after run, not necessarily now, but I'm just gonna try and train through it over the next few days and see how that works.....
76km for the week.

healy1835

Well that 20k probably wasn't the best idea I've ever had....was out of work Mon & Tue with a bad enough dose, but I figure I was gonna get it anyway so the 20k was actually the way to go
Wed:14k: 1:11:52@5:08/km big loop of the Curragh Plains. Marshy enough but enjoyable.
Thursday 12k: 59:47 @ 4:59/km

Not feeling too much ill effects from the dose, hoping to fit in 6x1k session tomorrow, and 20k on Sunday. Santa Train in town on Saturday morning so will try and get a few k in very early. December going well so far, gonna try and keep it on the rails, have maybe 3 nights on the beer but I'll be making sure they don't derail the whole show.....damage limitation is the phrase I think. Gonna try a Parkrun next Saturday morning and see where I am as regards a 5k PB.....tomorrow's session will dictate any targets....

healy1835

Fri: 6x1k Session @3:45/km was the plan, but track wasn't available so went out with a mate to do it on a very marshy, tough and hilly 1k loop on the Curragh. 1k w/u and c/d. Splits were 3:42, 3:57, 3:44, 3:53, 3:49, 3:51. Alternated the direction, one was a good bit harder then the other. I figure those times were worth a good 10/15 secs with flats on the track. I really put the effort in for this one and emptied the tank by the end. Not sure what time to have a rattle at next weekend in the 5k......

healy1835

Sat: Easy 6k....no watch, had a 30min window so faster than 30mins anyway

Sun: Long Run 21k: 1:41:14 @4:48/km

Plan was for a progression run with 5k's @ 5:00, 4:55, 4:50 & something faster....final 5k ended as the final 6k@4:35 which brought up the 21k felt great on this run, no niggles, easy enough effort, beautiful morning again. All is good.

61k for the week which considering I missed Mon & Tue I'm happy enough with.

healy1835

Mon: 14k Easy: 1:10:56 @5:04/km
Tue: Session: Fartlek 15x60 second efforts @ faster than 5k pace. 2k w/u and 2k c/d. Covered over 7k over the 30 mins of the session, tired at the end but felt I got a lot out of it.
Thursday: 14k Easy: 1:11:37@5:07/km bought a new pair of trail shoes for my runs on the plains as Santa is bringing me some new Ghost 9's so don't want to ruin them €30 Salomon jobs reduced from 90quid on sports direct.....legs were heavy enough by the end.....
Friday: 10k Easy: 50:05 @5:00/km
Saturday: 5k Parkrun Naas. 3.5k w/u and 3k c/d. 18:58 5th place So picked sub 19 as my target and although the timing thingmajicks weren't working I'm fairly certain I hit it. Felt easy enough if I'm honest, definitely another 20/30 seconds in me if I ran another 5k next week.....

60.5k for the week. Off out undoing some of my fitness today so no long run tomorrow

healy1835

Monday: Easy 14k: 1:08:49 @4:55/km Ran this a bit harder than first envisaged, a kilometer for every Pint i had on Saturday I think.....felt the better for it afterwards though.

Tuesday: Easy 16k: 1:23:21 @5:05/km Winter is here. A horrible, mucky, wet, marshy & bitter cold trek across the Curragh plains....these felt like bonus kilometers, thoughts of Berlin next year kept me from turning back and just doing 10k

Wednesday: Session 8k Tempo @4:25/km, 2k w/u & 2k/ c/d. Plan was to increase warm up and cool down to 3k each, but time window narrowed a bit. Session was fairly comfortable.

Thursday: Easy 10k: 49:51 @4:49/km. Up early for this one, heading out with staff after work today, so just got a few miles into the legs. Hopefully will get 20k+ in on Christmas Eve....

healy1835

Christmas Eve: 16k Easy: 1:18:38 @4:55/km
Even popped into Tesco for a jar of mustard on the way home
Christmas Day: 8k Easy: 38:53 @4:52/km
Santa brought a new pair of Ghost 9's so it would be rude not to go really.
Stephens Day: 20k Long Run: 1:35:54@4:48/km
A more beautiful morning for a run you couldn't find.
96k for the week.

healy1835

Wed: 15k Easy: 1:11:59 @4:48/km

Thur: 14k Easy: 1:07:10 @ 4:48/km
Felt pretty tired both towards the end and after this run. Gave blood the night before so I'm thinking it was down to that.

Fri: 12k Stupid Improvised Run: 54:30 @4:33/km
Was meant to do a 16x400m session this morning but Parcel Motel were meant to have my new Garmin this morning and i wanted to use it today......but this never happened and before I knew it I was on the couch spredeagled watching the darts. It was 4pm at this point and the 400s weren't happening. So I said I'd just head out and do 10k easy, better than nothing. After about 5k I decided i'd do 12k, and at 7k I decided I'd do a 5k tempo to finish the run. Tempo was too fast and I didn't even warm down afterwards as I was now strapped for time. Not my finest idea ever....split for 5k tempo was 20:50 for what it's worth. This is what happens when I deviate from a plan....

healy1835

Sat: 10k VEasy: 51:27 @5:06/km A non event of a run, was in no humour to do it....but got in something I suppose.

Sun: 21.1k 1:42:07 @4:51/km Fireworks spooked the dog last night, who in turn woke the two boys, which in turn ensured I got no sleep! So was pretty tired heading out on this one and never quite managed to shake it.....probably should have brought a gel or something. Anyway, got it in to start the year.

So Berlin Marathon is the big goal this year. I didn't push on after DCM last year and only got training seriously again in July. That hasn't happened this year and I'm looking forward to building a good base and getting in some races before the training block starts.
This year's PB's have looked like.....

5k:

---

to 18:57 Parkrun Dec
5m:

---

to 37:5x Irish Runner 5m
10k 44:43 to 41:30 Moone Sept
10m 83:xx to 72:xx Frank Duffy
Half 1:37:53 to 1:29:52 DCHM
Marathon 3:39:52 to 3:19:07 DCM

Without nailing down exact targets, I'd be hoping to take a good chunk out of all of these this year. Some are obviously softer than other, but if I stay injury free, touch wood, I'd hope to continue improving

healy1835

Mon: 10k Easy: 49:53 @4:59/km
New watch finally arrived, spent a couple of kilometers trying pretty terrliby to get it to work properly (who needs manuals....). Left glute was a bit tight during the run and had me a little worried. Put it down to the trail runners that I haven't really worn in yet. Had a similar issue when I got a new pair of runners in the past.

Tue: Rest. Pints were had previous night watching the United game and Darts.

Wed: 13k Easy: 1:02:21 @4:48/km

Thursday: Session: 16x400m off 60 secs rest. 2k w/u & c/d. Splits were all between 79 & 84 secs. Found it tough for first half, but started to find my rhythm later on. Felt fairly tired afterwards.

Friday: 10.1k V Easy: 50:17 @ 4:58/km.
Got out late enough, did it in a downpour, didn't look at watch and went as easy as I could. Having a horrendous time of it with my sleep this week. Haven't had a decent nights sleep yet, fairly tired again.

Saturday: My wife got me a place on Gary O'Hanlons 4 week course in the Phoenix Park so that started this morning. Picked up some good stuff and finished with a 7 x 350ish m session on grass. Probably should have backed off a bit on this after Thursdays session but that didn't happen of course. Round about 12k for the day between the session and pre and post session runs.

Sunday: Race: Ferrycarraig 5 Mile
So woke up tired, heavy legged and a little tender in some places that learned some new stretches yesterday!! Got down to Wexford in decent time and warming up I wasnt feeling particularly confident about things. Race started and i was moving decent enough. Had planned to go off with a couple of 4min km's and take it from there. 3:50 and 3:56 were the two splits but felt fairly comfortable. Found myself on my own for a stretch, and once we hit the N11 I tried to push on but there was nothing there in the legs. 3 km's all over 4 mins in a row, saw me struggling a bit. Again, wasn't getting passed by a lot of people but the group ahead were pulling away. Got going a bit towards the end and finished strongly over the last 2k for a time of 32:03. Glad I was able to pull something out of the bag as it was going south quickly on the N11. It gives me a time to work off for Raheny in 3 weeks time. Hopefully I'll be in better nick for that and I'd hope to do a bit of damage to this time. It IS a 5 min + PB which Im happy with considering I wasn't in peak shape on the start line (although Mick Clohisey's exerts in Edinburgh yesterday didnt exactly bother him today. The mind marvels....) Nice course I thought and I'd hope to come back next year for another crack at it.

Time: 32:03 PB 39th out of 373

70k for the week.

healy1835

Mon: 6k Recovery: 31:53 @ 5:17/km tight for time with this one, wasn't in the humour for much more if i'm honest. Felt better for it after of course.

Tue: 14k Recovery: 1:13:21 @ 5:14/km decided that another days easy running was required. Again, felt the better for it......

Wed: Session 6x1 mile: target 6:15-6:05/mile. 3k w/u & c/d.
Was up in Dublin attending a funeral so I figured to get it in early as I probably wouldn't be in the humour for it in the afternoon. Did it on the cycle loop in Corkagh Park, wind was pretty horrendous and it became apparent very quickly I wasn't going to hit anywhere near the target so I just tried to get as much out of the session as possible. Splits were 6:25, 6:35, 6:34, 6:30, 6:31, 6:25.

Thu: 12k Easy: 58:24 @4:52/km

Fri: 6k V Easy: 29:44 @4:57/km across the wet and cold plains. Got this in as I'd only got the 6k in on Monday

Sat: Session in PP with GOH. 6x3 mins @5k pace. Session was on a dirt track loop and I was never really comfortable running on it. 2 ACL ruptures have made me very wary....so didn't go too hard and was pretty careful. 13k for the day.

Sun: 26k Long Run: 2:08:56 @4:57/km longest outing since DCM. Had varying doubts about myself and the health of my body throughout the first half of the run, but got into my stride and enjoyed the 2nd half. Good to be back doing some longer stuff.

93k for the week

healy1835

Monday: 12k Recovery: 1:05:28 @ 5:27/km nice run along Clontarf seafront. Didn't feel any ill effects from yesterday's long run.

Tuesday: 12k Runmute: 1:02:14 @ 5:11/km car getting serviced so ran in and out of work. Gonna try and get at least one or two of these in a week, if I can plan it properly I can get 2x10k in....

Wednesday: hospital appointment, no run.

Thursday: 10k tempo: 42:17 @4:13/km (2k w/u & c/d). Best session I've had for a little while. Felt pretty controlled, ran out the dual carriageway towards Naas and back, flattest route I could come up with. Plan was somewhere between 4:20-4:10 depending on how it was going. 4:15's were the order of the day and finished with a couple of quicker ones. 41:30 is my official 10k PB so I really need to do something about that.......

Friday: 10k V Easy. No watch, around 55 mins on the plains, nothing to report.

Saturday: Session with GOH in the PP. Did some Fartlek running to the Furry Glen and then around 9 Hill Sprints. Very enjoyable and a good workout. Got in 6k before hand and another few afterwards. All in all about 18k for the day.

Sunday: 25k Long Run: 2:02:59 @ 4:55/km
Was looking forward to this much more than last week's LR, even though I'd had a session on Thursday & Saturday. Went like clockwork,all the little niggles and doubts from last week's run were gone and this felt very comfortable. Gonna try and get some mileage in early this week with Raheny on the cards for Sunday.....

91k for the week

healy1835

Mon: 14k Recovery: 1:16:14 @5:25/km
Said I'd nip over after i finished in marino and run as much of the Raheny 5mile course as I could. Figured two laps of the outside loop would get me in or around the 16k I was looking to do.....what followed was a pretty awful attempt at navigating the route, wrong turns galore....managed to find my car again after 14k and called it a night, both brain and legs were tired at this stage.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1539435071?share_unique_id=5



Tuesday: 10k VEasy: 51:28 @5:09/km
Only a small window of opportunity opened up for me today so this was all I could manage, didn't really feelike up to much more if I was honest.

Wednesday: 30min Fartlek Session, 60secs on,60secs off. Covered around 7k for the session, 2k w/u and c/d. Was meant to go 16x400m but got held up in work.....also had no Garmin so had to use a, shock horror, normal watch to time the efforts.

Thursday: 16k Easy: 1:22:15 @5:08/km
Up in Citywest for a conference, headed out beforehand and went up through Jobstown, Killiarden out to the Old Mill and back. Some wind out there, I know it's a windy stretch at the best of times but this was ridiculous.....easy couple of days lined up before Raheny on Sunday.

healy1835

Fri: 6.5k Easy: 33:11 @ 5:06/km
Sat: 5k Steady: 23:38 @ 4:43/km

Not a whole lot to report on either of these. Felt my left glute a bit on Friday morning so was a little worried but gave it some attention Fri night and was feeling fine again on Sat.

Sun: Race: Raheny 5 Mile
So plan was to park in Sisters place on the Howth road and run the 3kish distance to the race as a warm up. Left Newbridge in plenty of time....only to realise at the Red Cow that I'd forgotten my race number. I'm not gonna lie, I was grumpy and some horrendous language was used at my own expense......bit calmed down a bit, and drove back to get it. Got back up to Clontarf at about 2:30.....slightly frazzled but good to go.

Lined up close to the front, have got better at judging my place in the pecking order at these things, figured I'd be in the top 10% so used that as my gauge.....I'd ran just over 32 mins in Ferrycarraig at the start of the month so that was my target, but figured 31 mins was doable.
Started off and fell into a nice rhythm, no chance of getting isolated with the numbers in the race. 3:45, 3:51, 3:52 first 3 splits.
Definitely felt like I was working hard but I felt controlled too. At about 4k I felt the start of a stitch in my side. I never get stitches so was a little perturbed but tried changing my breathing pattern for a few hundred meters and it subsided. 3:54, 3:52. 5k split 19:14
Knew I'd have to dig in from here to get under 31 mins. Felt good going into St Anne's, although it was a little tough going up the two way stretch as I wasn't sure where the turn around point would be. Once I got turned around I gave it a good rattle....stomach was a little ropey for the last km but I wasn't backing off. Made up a good few places towards the end. 3:53, 3:56 & 3:43 (with 3:40 for the .09k).

Result: 30:55

Happy with that, running these races at these paces are all new territory for me. A PB by over a minute and a bag fI'll of goodies. A good day.
14k for the day & 76k for the week. Not the 90 id planned but I'm still happy with how things are progressing.

jake1970

Great running J, congrats on the PB. So whats next for you?

healy1835

jake1970 wrote: »

Great running J, congrats on the PB. So whats next for you?

Thanks mate. I'm running in Dungarvan on Sunday. Gonna go out with the 65min pacers and try and push on after 6miles or so depending on how things are going. My 10mile PB is 72mins so should do a bit of damage to that I ran a 67:xx split in the Half Marathon last September so I think that something around 64 is achievable if things go to plan.

After that, a 10k and a 10miler at some stage before Berlin training kicks off in May. Training consistently outside of a Marathon block for the first time over the last 3months and I'm feeling pretty positive of whats to come

Singer

Nicely done yesterday! Best of luck at Dungarvan.

jake1970

Best of luck tomorrow J, have a great race.

Murph_D

Nice job last week and good luck tomorrow!

healy1835

Brief update...
Mon 16k Recovery: 1:25:51 @5:22/km
Tue 15k Commute: 1:17:16 @5:09/km

Wed-Sun Nothing....laid up with the flu. Took Wed & Thu off thinking it would clear up, probably should have taken a day or two off work too but that would have been logical. Friday came around and It became apparent I wouldn't be out of the bed for the next 2 days. Bad timing in the sense that I was set up for a good race yesterday....but at least I got Raheny in. Avoided logging in here as it was pretty frustrating....but back on the horse today, will get a solid week in and maybe pick a race or two to target in the next little while....

Singer

Ah, that's a shame, but not much you can do about it other than avoiding all human contact in the weeks before races!

healy1835

So, back in the swing of things now thank goodness. 381km for January.
Mon: 10k legstretch: 48:18 @ 4:50/km

Tue: 8k with Dog: 42:30 5k with no Dog: 24:53
Tool the pooch and came across the mother of all hailstone showers...she was wrecked so I dropped her off and did 5k more afterwards.

Session 6x1mile with 2 mins recoveries. (1.5k w/u & 4k c/d)
Session ended up as 5x1 mile as my left glute was tight at the end and I erred on the side of caution about 100m into the last mile. I was feeling great though....

Splits were 5:43, 5:40, 5:45, 5:50, 5:49.

These splits would be new territory for me. I've always kicked on after races in the past and that run in Raheny gave me the confidence I could run sub 6 min mile intervals which would have been the target here. Didn't expect to go under quite so much.....I know the recoveries were generous but I was down to 90 secs by the last two reps and I'm pretty sure I could do that session with 90 sec recoveries. So yeah, slight glute issues aside, a good workout.