Are those my feet?
Comments
-
Good to see you back logging, A. I might join you on the road to DCM 2023.
1 -
Thanks E. Great to see you popping up on Strava a bit lately, hope all goes well with your comeback.
I sense some early momentum behind a "Class of 2018" 5-year reunion in McGrattan's 😊
2 -
Clonmel Half Marathon Report
I took it handy for most of the week leading up to this, with some 3-5 mile runs on Tues, Weds, Thurs. But, the first night of 5-a-side on Friday blew any taper out of the water... I wouldn't ordinarily add some new activity the week of a race, but with it being the first night, and Clonmel not being any kind of target race, I decided to go along. Really enjoyed it as it turned out, and ended up covering 4 miles there. What I wasn't prepared for was the sore legs the next day.... I could barely walk as hamstrings, calves and quads all roared at me. A half marathon the next day seemed pretty impossible as I contemplated giving the race a miss, or running it as a LSR. By Sunday morning the hamstrings and quads were fine, but the calves were still giving out. Decided to chance racing anyway, and see what happened.
For anyone who has run Clonmel before, this was a new course, necessitated by ongoing construction of a new track in the usual LIT finishing area. Entry numbers were limited to 500 (377 runners on the day) as it was a tight course with an inital foray onto the narrow Blueway, a brief skirmish up the Quay before taking the backroad to Kilsheelan with some tasty hills in miles 5,6,7 before we came back onto the Blueway for the final 5 miles. I wasn't a fan of the course in advance, and although it was better than I feared, I still hope they revert to the normal course next year. Some of the road surfaces in the middle miles were very poor.
In keeping with the shoddy preparation, I ended up arriving in Clonmel later than I'd ideally like. Snuck in a mile warm up to check out the calves, which were reasonably ok, if not exactly loving live. I'd planned on following the 1:45 pacers but I couldn't see any balloons at the start line, so I just filed in where looked appropriate. The plan was 1:45 pace (8min/mile) for maybe 10 miles and then if the legs allowed try and pick up the pace in the closing miles to find the 90 or so seconds that would be needed to go under 1:43:37 for a PB.
The opening miles came in just about on target despite some congestion in the early going - plenty of runners grouped 3 abreast on the Blueway which left no room for passing. Things opened out after a mile and then after 2 miles I spotted a balloon a bit ahead so made some gradual inroads and caught up to the 1:45 pacers after about 3 miles. I tucked in for a few miles and when we got to the hills I used the old imaginary elastic band to let the pacers nudge away on the uphill, with the plan to gradually reel them back in on the flatter sections. At each of the first 6 mile markers I was pretty much bang on the 1:45 target, but it seems I was too conservative in the 7th mile, featuring the last and biggest climb, as I was a minute down on target by the time I reached the 7 mile marker. I could still see the pacers ahead but then it clicked that although the gap was visually close, we were on a hill so timewise it had stretched.
Any hope of using a nice gentle downhill to reel them back in disappeared in one fell swoop as instead our reward for the climbing was a quick steep, twisty, quad-killing drop that led back onto the Blueway. I'd managed to eke back some time over that 8th mile and was now about 30 seconds outside where I needed to be. The final 5 miles were upriver on the Blueway toward Clonmel. I felt good for the first couple of miles here without really clawing the pace group back at all. The watch wasn't much use with a lot of tree cover. Up to this point my watch had been consistently 0.1 off on every mile marker, but at the 9 mile marker my watch showed 9.5 miles. This was extremely confusing, disheartening and distracting as my addled brain tried to come to terms with the fact there was extra to run, maybe... could the watch be that much out? Probably not, but the mental doubt was a killer from there on in.
The calves had been an issue all race, and I knew there wasn't going to be much of a kick toward the finish. The rear 1:45 pacer (who was travelling alone by this stage) remained frustratingly just out of reach, and the small field meant that there wasn't too many nearer targets to work off. I had massive doubts throughout those closing miles and numerous times I contemplated either walking off the course or walking to the finish. If I stopped at all I was not going to be able to move again. I managed to drag myself past a West Limerick runner but couldn't put any distance between us as his footsteps remained ominously in the background through miles 12 and 13. Save for the hilly 7th mile, 12 and 13 were my slowest of the race - the legs just had no more to give as those miles came in at 8:14 and 8:15. Always funny how that pace feels glacial in a race, when it would be somewhere in Tinman Tempo range for me and feel damn fast in a session. With an inevitable surge that I couldn't even contemplate matching, West Limerick moved past in the closing metres and I eventually crossed the line in 1:46:07, which is 2:30 off being a PB.
In my mind beforehand a Half Marathon was not too much longer than a 10 mile race... turns out it's a hell of a lot longer! All things considered I'm happy with my time and reckon I've a decent shot at a PB in Charleville next month with proper race week preparation. In hindsight I was never really committed to the idea of this race - the route put me off big time, and I only really entered as it was local, and FOMO. This lukewarm attitude to the race led to the poor decision to pick two nights beforehand as the time to have my first game of soccer in probably 15 years. It's no fun being 10 miles into a half marathon that you're neither fully committed to nor prepared for! I'll give the soccer a couple more weeks and hopefully the legs will adapt as we go... if not I'll have to bin it as it will interfere too much with the running.
Another Spurs win brightened the mood yesterday afternoon as the legs got some rest. Calves still a bit sore today, but better after a walk.
11 -
Charleville Half Marathon Report
The 4 weeks since Clonmel fairly raced by. My body needed a handy 7-10 days post Clonmel to allow a sore knee and pec to heal up. A couple of solid weeks followed before a taper in the week leading up to Charleville. Felt great in the few days before the race, and unlike Clonmel, I was preparing well and fully focussed on the race. I'd need to knock 2.5 mins off my Clonmel time for a PB, but felt this was achievable given the flatter course, bigger field and better preparation - so I was pretty hopeful that I'd be there or thereabouts for the PB.
Left home at 8 and arrived in Charleville just before 9. It occurred to me on the journey down that many of my previous PB's had been easily earned on the day, and I hadn't actually done many races where a PB was the main goal - often the target would have been much lower than the previous PB and a big PB was almost a guarantee. In this case it was going to be tight for a PB and so I mentally acknowledged the need to dig in and fight when the time came.
I parked up in an industrial estate very near the start line and race HQ. Short walk down and took advantage of the plentiful portaloos. Back to the car and I put on my Novablasts (I probably need to up my race shoe game at some stage!). Another trip to the portaloos followed, before I returned to the car and put on my race number. Decided I needed a third trip to the portaloos, but after queuing it turned out to be a false alarm. By this stage I hadn't left much time for a warm up, but managed to squeeze in almost a mile before heading toward the start line. Spotted Mick Clohisey out for his warm up too. Conditions were perfect - no sun, no rain, no wind.
The starting gantry was moved into position which turned out to be bang in the middle of where everyone was lined up, so the whole field had to shuffle back under the gantry. My plan going in was to line up back from the 1:45 pacers and reel them in over the first 3 (gentle downhill) miles. I figured they'd be going at about 8:00/mile, so if I caught them I'd be ahead of my target and could settle into that group for a while. Took off and looked at my watch after maybe 300m and it was saying 6:xx pace - I knew this was wrong so just ignored and kept up an honest pace. First mile beeped at 7:14 which I knew was way too hot, but when we passed the actual 1 mile marker the watch read 7:50 which was bang on what I wanted. Every mile after that the marker came 0.1 after the watch, and looking at the strava trace after confirms that the GPS was off at the start.
The 1:45 pacers were up the road ahead as I kept up the 7:50 ish pace without making any real inroads into the gap. It seemed to me that they were going a touch too fast. I was a bit perturbed that I hadn't caught them and was cursing not asking them at the start what pace they were going to run. I decided not to force a big effort just yet to bridge the gap as there was plenty of road left to cover and I was happy with my pace. The roads were closed for this race which was really excellent - of course one lad in a Focus managed to not spot any signs and wound up weaving through the field. As we approached Kilmallock a steward had thankfully managed to get him off the course. I kept ticking off the 7:5x miles in these early miles.
I took a gel as we approached the 6.5 mile water stop in Kilmallock. Not sure there was any need, but think it mentally reassured me as much as anything. After Kilmallock we were onto country back roads for a bit and a nice downhill section allowed me to close in on the pace group. As the road flattened out again I counted approx a 20s gap to the group, so went about closing it down. By now we were getting a decent headwind at times, so figured it was worth expending the energy at this stage to ensconce myself in the group and by around mile 9 I was firmly on the back of the group. I took a caffeine gel in advance of the 10 mile water stop - had done similar in Clonmel, except earlier, but felt it had helped for a mile or two. Again, possibly just a placebo effect. As we returned to the main road the headwind was definitely a factor at times - not outrageous but enough to have you seeking shelter in the group. By now I was delighted that the pacers were going at 7:45 ish pace as this was right where I wanted to be - in fact I knew a PB was in the bag if I could just maintain 8:00 min miles from here, but 1:42 was now on the cards if I could maintain 7:45's. I hadn't even considered that a 1:42 might be within range.
As we passed the 12 mile marker I moved onto the shoulders of the pacers and eventually passed by - the last mile has a gradual uphill into Charleville and we were still into a decent wind so it was hard work. Gave it my all anyway and kept motoring - there was no real significant kick, more of a sustained effort to maintain and slightly quicken the current pace. Took the final left turn toward Race HQ and saw 1:42 on the gantry. Quietly clenched my fists as I crossed the line. I'll run quicker (hopefully) but this was just immensely satisfying. Chip 1:42:32 for a PB of 1:05.
There was a time when I took PB's for granted - back in 2019 I PB'd almost every time I raced. But my last PB was Dungarvan 2020, over 2-and-a-half years ago. So it's immensely satisfying to knock one off again. Still buzzing today.
Charleville was a great race - a flat course on closed roads, with handy parking in close proximity to Race HQ and start/finish. Also, the spread afterwards was top notch.
What's next? Well Dublin 2023 is still the main goal, and so I want to continue working on my endurance for now. Maybe Waterford AC Half in December, or the Border Half the same weekend. Leaning towards WAC for the bigger field, but have a few other things to pin down before deciding for definite. Charleville was ran off a base plan, so be interesting to see how a HM specific plan helps, although WAC and the Border (I think) are both pretty hilly courses. I don't mind that as there are plenty of local hills I've been avoiding over the last while as I kept things flattish with an eye on Charleville.
12 -
Well done again A, I was so thrilled to see this on Strava. It's thoroughly deserved after your patience & hard work with your training. I hope you are still enjoying the buzz😊
1 -
Advertisement
-
Very well run A. I’m delighted for you that you got your PB.
1 -
Thanks E. I'm very content today and pleasingly I'm not hobbled. Couple of minor niggles but no showstoppers. Hopefully I can kick on from here.....
Thanks K. Looking back the race worked out well for me - I attached to the pacers at just the right time as if I was on my own around miles 9-11 I might have been tempted to back off a bit when the wind hit, but finding myself in the group I knuckled down to stay there.
1 -
Excellent A.
I missed this on Strava but it is extremely satisfying to read your report and see this result after all the setbacks and off a base plan too, it really goes to show what potential you have. There are one or two others, like you, who've just quietly working away this year and not really saying a lot or doing anything fancy but getting it done all the same and it's extremely satisfying to see the rewards coming now. Congratulations.
2 -
Thanks E. Yeah this year is all about laying a solid base for next year really, so I'll not be doing anything too fancy for a while yet. If I can see out the year with a solid three months from here then I'll be delighted.
I've felt myself getting stronger and stronger as this year has progressed, but it's cool to now have a score on the board (so to speak) that verifies those notions of progress, and it's also reassuring and pleasing to have a positive bookmark against my former self.
Thanks for the comment on my potential... I like to think I have big scope for improvements if consistency can be maintained and built upon. Just have to go and do it now.
4 -
That was a really well executed race, A and it was a delight to see you reap the rewards of your patience. Onwards!
1 -
Advertisement
-
Thanks E! Onwards indeed.....
As hinted at before I have followed through and signed up for the WAC Half at the start of December. The broad strokes plan for the next year looks something like this:
- 8 weeks of a FRR plan to take me up to the WAC Half (1 week already done). Might sneak in a 5k (Newmarket) the week after Waterford.
- A few recovery weeks followed by a base phase in December/January.
- Another HM plan leading to the Limerick HM on May bank holiday.
- A few 5k-10k races in May/early June.
- Marathon training officially kicking off at the end of June (assuming Dublin is the marathon).
All of the above is likely to change/evolve as time passes, but just wanted to lay out the rough plan anyway. Whatever the path, the main focus is getting to the start of marathon training in good shape.
Back to the the short-term, and I am currently (very roughly) following the last 8 weeks of a 12-week FRR HM plan to get me to Waterford. The plan itself peaks at 47 miles but I'll just build towards a peak of 40 miles - could probably push it further but I'm happy enough to keep logging consistent weeks in the 30's for now.
Last week was the first proper week of the plan, following a couple of recovery weeks after Charleville. Tuesday saw an LT session, and with the Waterford hills in mind I replaced the specified LT session with LT hills - 3 x 6 minute uphills at LT effort. Figured I'd cover 0.8 or so of a mile in the 6 minutes, and it's actually tough enough to find a suitable hill - just wanted something gradual and not too steep. Identified a good spot on the bypass anyway and the session went really well. I wore the Endorphin Speeds for the first time in anger, so maybe that was the reason - but I was pleasantly surprised by the paces (7:28, 7:16, 7:18 for the 3 reps). Recoveries were a generous jog back to the start of the hill - so almost 8 minutes really. Covered 8 miles for the morning.
Not too much of note for the rest of the week - got absolutely soaked on Sunday's 11 mile long run. This was supposed to be a Progression Run (easy progressing to LT) but in the end I "settled" for an Endurance run (easy progressing to moderate). Just felt the planned run would have been too much too soon and didn't fancy it in the conditions. Got the miles in anyway. There will be another Progression run in a few weeks - they are used sparingly in the FRR plans as they are tough. 32 miles for the week.
10 -
17th October - 23rd October
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 6 x 12s hills, plus 6 x 100m strides. Covered 6.8 miles on this one. Wore the GlideRides for it. I found them very stiff initially but I have about 60 miles in them now and I'm liking them more and more with each run.
Wednesday - 8 miles endurance. These type of medium length midweek runs are a staple of the FRR plan, but in my modified version of the plan I've replaced them with a shorter recovery type run, as that normally suits my Wednesday schedule when in the office. However, took advantage of a few free hours this week to get in the extra miles. Kept the route hilly(ish) too with Waterford in mind.
Thursday - Rest. Well, no running, but got in a short walk at lunchtime and had swimming class in the evening. Something clicked for me in the pool a few weeks back and my breathing has improved immeasurably. I'll finish up the lessons after this block as I've progressed as far as I can really there, but hope to get in a swim every week or so now that I'm going that bit better.
Friday - 5-a-side (well 6-a-side this week) covering 3.7 miles, plus a 2 mile warm-up jog. I've kept the 5-a-side appearances pretty sporadic - this was my third time going. Will probably squeeze in one more before Waterford.
Saturday - 3.5 miles recovery around Ennis. Was at a function in Ennis Saturday night so squeezed in a few miles before the pints. Hadn't researched a route but ended up randomly happening upon a path that allowed me to do a nice little loop around Clare Abbey.
Sunday - 10 miles easy when I got back home. Was tender enough after the pints, so nothing more extravagant than ticking off some easy miles.
34.4 miles for the week which is my best week in over 2.5 years. Step back week this week before hitting the meatiest weeks of the plan. I'll be in Dublin on a supporting role on Sunday so will keep an eye out for any familiar faces on the course. Best of luck to all running it - some fantastic blocks have been put together by many runners here.
9 -
Mon 24th October - Sun 30th October
Monday - Rest. Got in a short walk at lunch time. I try to get in a quick walk (usually 20 mins) on non-running days. Definitely helps a little when you're stiiting all day.
Tuesday - 6 x 100m strides, covering just over 6 miles during lunch.
Wednesday - In the office, so a flat 4.5 miles around UL at lunch. This has been a staple Wednesday run for a while now - fits in nicely during the one office day per week. Often do most of it on grass, but the ground is getting wetter now so went along the river this time.
Thursday - Just shy of 4 miles on a late lunch break, then the last week of swimming lessons in the evening.
Friday - An easy early morning 5.5 miles. Very dark starting out so I'll be glad of the extra hours light in the morning moving forward. Trip to the physio in the afternoon - I've been going every 6-8 weeks this year, just to stay on top of any niggles. Nothing major at the moment - left hamstring a bit tight, and back occassionally a bit stiff, but I'm in good nick overall.
Saturday - My wife was running her first DCM, so we travelled to Dublin in the late morning. Picked up an LED high-vis at the expo, will see how that works in the coming months. Snuck in an easy 10 miles around the Phoenix Park in the afternoon - hadn't really planned a route and my memory was sketchy on some parts of the park, so kind of ended up doing various-sized loops off the central spine that is Chesterfield Avenue. Ended up bang on the 10 miles for the day, and just over 30 miles for the week.
Sunday - DCM supporting. This was a really enjoyable day out (despite a substantial hangover). Herself nailed the target with a very evenly-paced and strong race - a great debut. Enjoyed meeting some new and familiar faces in McGrattan's afterwards.
Bank Holiday Monday - may as well include this here to round out the month. 3 x 6 min LT Hills - Popped over to the Phoenix Park again for this before we hit the road. The 6 min hills were from the bottom of the Kybher up to Chesterfield, so steeper at the bottom and levelling out towards the end. Found this tougher than the same session a few weeks back - the hill was that bit steeper this time and I found it tricky to dial into the correct effort. Went a touch too hard on the first 2 reps, and the third one was a struggle. Paces for the 3 reps came in at 7:32, 7:29, 7:44. 7.5 miles for the morning. And 146 miles for October, making it my best month in a long, long time.
8 -
Waterford AC Half Marathon Report
It's been a busy month since my last update, with a lot going on, but I got in all the planned runs and arrived in Waterford feeling good. In the end, I'd adjusted the FRR HM plan so much that it wound up being more Base-like than HM specific. Still I did get in three good LT sessions over the 10 weeks, plenty of strides and most of the Long Runs were Endurance, so easy progressing to moderate. Perhaps the biggest key was that I made sure to get in plenty of hills in all my runs (bar the recovery runs, which I tried to keep as flat as possible). Given that Charleville is a renowned PB course and as flat as could be, my target here was to get as close as I could to that time (1:42:32), and maybe steal a PB is things went really well. I'd done 2k at the planned HM pace (7:45) as part of a 6 mile run on the Monday before the race and this pretty comfortable compared to the same workout pre-Charleville - I didn't dwell on it too much, although in hindsight it was an indicator that I was in decent shape.
I'd done a good bit of research on the route and had a plan on how I was going to attack things, all of which went out the window on Thursday when the route was changed (almost completely). The new route looked approximately as hilly as the original, but seemed easy enough to plan for. Steady climbing for about 2+ miles from mile 1.5 onwards, and what the Facebook comments indicated was a backbreaker of a climb around mile 9.5. The plan was to take it very handy on the early climb and hopefully have enough left after the late climb to kick for home.
The 9:30 started meant we were on the road early, but we got to Waterford in good time. Happily the morning was not as cold as advertised - I'd brought throaway layers, gloves and a hat, but none were required. Barely a breath of wind and the rain was holding off too. Ideal conditions. Got in a mile warm-up, which itself was hillier than I'd like, but there wasn't much flat ground to be found around the parking area. On the walk to the start I met a guy I know from other races (P) and we had a great chat - we were both targetting 1:42 or thereabouts, although he mentioned he'd love to dip under 1:40 someday. I nodded in agreement - in my mind I reckoned cracking 1:40 would be on the cards in Limerick next May. After a 10 minute delay we were off.
The start was pretty narrow, and it was hard to get into a rhythm early on as there was many slower runners who were obviously too far up the pack and had to be negotiated. P took to the grass verge on a few occassions to get through the pack. I didn't weave too much and bided my time - surging through as and when gaps appeared. After half a mile we turned left, the road widened and progress could be made unimpeded. The first 1.5 miles were downhill so I was concious not to lose time, and bank some if possible, ahead of the hills to come. Mile 1 beeped right on the mile marker at 7:26 - 20 seconds banked, and although I was kind of wary, I was fairly sure I hadn't gone off too hard. Things flattened out in Mile 2 which included a nice out and back around a roundabout. Most runners took horrible lines through this section. Saw Aoife Cooke and more of the leaders flying along on the far side as we made our way out, and then some familiar faces from the local running group as we made our way back in. A nice distraction. Mile 2 beeped at 7:30, so another 15 seconds banked. Everything had felt just a bit frantic until now, but it was around here that I finally felt like I settled down, assessed the task at hand and knuckled down.
Mile 3 was pretty much all uphill - I backed off a touch, kept the effort honest but intent on not blowing a gasket too soon, and trying to save something for later. This mile clocked at 8:08, which was faster than I'd planned, but I felt fine. Kept asking myself was I going too hard, but the answer was always no, it feels ok. And judging by some of those around me I was right - most were working way harder than I was at this stage. Mile 4 featured more climbing but some downhill relief too - 7:55 for this mile, and through 4 miles in 31 minutes. Bang on the 7:45 average target pace. Had thought I'd be behind that at this stage, so again questioned if I'd done too much too soon, but the answer again was no - you feel good. Mile 5 was nicely downhill, with one of those downhill bits that often are too steep to fully take advantage of - I pegged it down there anyway, which felt great! 7:20 for this mile.
Things flattened out now... still plenty of undulations, but everything was much more gradual than before. I was happy to hit 7:45 pace here for a mile or two and see how things unfolded. Mile 6 featured a short out-and-back down towards the river. I passed a guy here who must have had the keys for half of Waterford in his pockets. He had his shorts folded up towards his hips, but the pockets hung down the side of his legs with the keys slapping of his legs with every stride, jangling away the whole time. I resisted the urge to make a smart comment, or even a curious query as to what the hell he was doing. Mile 6 was a 7:43 as we hit the Greenway. The watch showed 8:00 pace for a while here - I didn't think tree cover was an issue, ao upped the pace a touch until I read 7:45 again, and mile 7 came in at 7:44 in the end.
Had a brief chat about all things Cahir with some guy along here as I moved alongside him, then the path in front of us was gently downhill and looked so inviting so I eased away. 7:23 for that 8th mile and now I'm pretty confident a PB is almost in the bag, barring an almighty blow up which doesn't seem likely. I'm just feeling so bloody strong. My mental maths through 8 miles tell me I'm 50 seconds inside PB time. I'm concious that the hill at 9.5 miles is still to be negotiated, so I don't go mad just yet but I do increase the effort a touch. I'm trying to work out if I could dip under 1:40 - I figure it's unlikely. Mile 9 passes with a 7:31, as I steel myself for the hill to come. It was steep alright, particularly at the bottom but I tore up it. A 7:41 for this mile and now I was heading for home. P had been maybe 100m ahead of me since mile 1 but I caught him as we crested the hill - a few brief words were exchanged before he encouraged me to give it socks. I obeyed and eased away. Two guys in front of us who overheard our conversation slagged me for stalking P for 3 miles, then commented "effortless" as I moved ahead. That throwaway comment gave me another boost, as I thought "they are right, I feel so strong."
From there on it's all a bit of a blur as I just gunned it towards home. 7:03, 7:02, 6:39 (it was a nice downhill) for miles 11, 12 and 13. I passed the 1:40 pacers on the final bend and even had a kick for the final little uphill to the finish. Stopped the watch at 1:37:47. I was genuinely shocked at that time... in my wildest dreams I never expected that, especially on what looked on paper to be a tough course. P also broke the 1:40 barrier and was rightly delighted with himself. I've felt strong in races before, but never anything like this, and I've never smashed my pre-race expectations out of the water like this either - doubt I ever will again either tbh - it was/is a special feeling.
I wore the Saucony Endorphin Speeds for this, and they felt great. In Charleville I'd worn the Novablast - so probably a few minutes explained away there. The morning was ideal for running, with just a hint of breeze in mile 12 the only time the weather made it's presence felt in anyway. Then again Charleville was run in lovely conditions too. Just looking for excuses to explain this performance tbh.. the truth is probably that 6 months of consistent injury-free running have seen me build a nice strong base.
The legs are in ok shape since - bit of tightness in the left quad but nothing major, and I've physio later this week to hopefully sort out that and any other issues. I've an entry for the Newmarket 5K on Sunday so wil hopefully give that a rattle before easing off for a few weeks. I ran a 21:25 5K over the closing miles in Waterford, so another PB (21:08) will be the target if I do race on Sunday.
Post edited by Mr. Guappa on16 -
Boom chica boom boom! Delighted to see this - not least because selfishly it gives me so much hope 🤣
What a result and on what looks like a really honest course, proper order too - none of this fastest course in Ireland malarkey 😂
the truth is probably that 6 months of consistent injury-free running have seen me build a nice strong base.I think all the outstanding performances this weekend show that's all about the base, staying on the right side of the line between getting the miles in and injury, to build that big aerobic engine that allows us to produce the goods when it counts.
I think this one is gonna make you smile for a long time to come, cherish it, you deserve it.
4 -
Great report - and well done on the race . Looking forward to seeing your progression from here .
1 -
Congratulations on the great PB and glad you're back runnung regularly.
1 -
Thanks a mill E - this post has me grinning from ear to ear. This is definitely one race I'll remember fondly for a long time.
It could be argued that I've been too cautious at times lately, both in terms of volume and quality of mileage, but I'm happy to play the long game, stay consistent and build that foundation.
I read a tweet by Steve Magness a few months back that really struck a chord - the jist as I took it was to limit increases in average weekly mileage to 10 miles per year. So basically most of this year I've been in or around 30mpw, and lately slightly more. In the first 6 months of next year I'll hopefully try and nudge it towards a regular 40mpw and establish that as a comfortable baseline.
Thanks very much R. Still buzzing tbh 😊
Cheers G. The running regularly is the most important bit for me. PB's are great, but just being able to get out the door 5-6 days a week is the most pleasing aspect of 2022 for me.
3 -
Big huge congratulations on the PB, well deserved 😊
1 -
A fantastic run. It is great to see the consistency paying off for you. 2023 is looking good.
1 -
Advertisement
-
Well done A, great performance and what a strong finish! Congrats
1 -
Brilliant running A, really well deserved as so many have said. I can only echo what @ariana` said about consistency and building a great base. Now it is about not losing the run of oneself and forgetting the effort and approach that you took to get you here, something I am drilling into myself! Once again, huge congratulations
1 -
Wow A! I’ve slowly been getting through the reports on boards this week and I just love yours. What a perfectly run race. Just amazing. I’m delighted for you and love how strong you felt throughout. Those miles at the end are incredible. Good luck in Newmarket. I wish I could go but too much in this weekend.
1 -
Thanks everyone. All the comments are much appreciated.
Cheers S. Totally agree with the line about not losing the run of myself. It's particularly appropriate right now as I plot a rough plan for the next 10-12 months. I expect (hope) I still have plenty scope for improvement by continuing with my current approach, staying consistent, and sensibly adding volume.
Thanks K. Yeah, that feeling of strength was just amazing. I don't think I was passed in the last 8 miles of the race. Sometimes I race with a negative split in mind, but in this case the plan was for even pacing with maybe a pick up over the closing miles if it was in the legs. Completely surprised myself with just how much was in the legs.
Newmarket is now off the cards unfortunately. Had a bit of a dose over the past few days so will give it a miss. A pity as I was looking forward to a crack at a 5k but plenty time for that next year. So this little recovery/recharge phase will be a week longer than planned - probably no harm tbh.
4 -
Great report. Belated congrats on it and the PB. Sounds like a magical run and you judged it perfectly. Looks like conditions might be a bit dicey for Newmarket so probably that worked out for the best. You seem to be in a good place for next year. I wouldn't have any fear of you losing the head; your patience is exemplary.
1 -
5th - 11th December
Not too much to report this week. I had got out for a few recovery miles the day after Waterford, and it was more of the same during this week, with 3 handy miles on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. I tend not to look at the watch too much, if at all, on these runs and just run by feel. All these runs came in at 10 min/miles or thereabouts, which Tinman says is easy/very easy for me. Conditions were a bit dicey with ice and fog on a couple of the runs later in the week, so was glad they were short.
Wanted something a bit longer on the Sunday, so headed out for a handy 8 miles. I was 4 miles in before I looked at the watch, and was surprised to see 9 min pace. Effort felt fine so took it as a sign that the legs were recovered from Waterford and feeling fresh from the light week. 20 miles for the week. Another handy week planned for this week - 20-25 miles should do the trick.
During the week I picked up an entry for the Dungarvan 10 miler, and I was also one of the lucky ones in the Dublin Marathon lottery a few weeks ago, so the plan for next year is taking a bit of shape. After this week I'll start into the 6-week Grads Base Plan, and I'll run Dungarvan off the back of that. Will likely follow that with another HM block leading to the Limerick HM on May Bank Holiday I think. Main target (race wise) for the year is obviously Dublin.
11 -
12th - 19th December
Another handy week as planned, which was convenient given the weather conditions. Did a couple of 4 mile recovery runs early in the week, and a pair of 3 mile recovery runs at the weekend, with the "long run" of 9 miles moved to Friday to free up the weekend. I'm really liking the GlideRides for vanilla long runs. 23 miles in total.
It's 7 weeks until Dungarvan, so I'll start the 6-week base plan this week, and have race week be a lighter one then. I also want to sprinkle in a couple of 6-day running weeks over the next while and gradually make the 6th day the norm again.
Mooreabbey Milers have a 1-mile race on New Year's Eve which has piqued my interest. I'll probably give it a miss, for many reasons, but it is somewhat tempting.
8 -
19th December - 1st January
I kicked off the 6-week Grads plan. It took a bit of planning and moving runs around, but I managed to get in all the prescribed runs without too much stress over the festive period. 30.7 miles the first week, and 32.5 miles last week. I might need to slow down my Long Runs a bit - Tinman would have me running them at 9:59-9:38 but I've got into the habit of running them a bit faster than that, 9:29 and 9:14 being the avergae LR pace the last two weeks.
Santa delivered a new HR strap so it's nice to have reliable HR data once more - my previous strap bit the dust when I was well-and-truly ambushed by two super-soaker-toting children (my own) after a run during the summer.
2022 Review
2022 was a good year, especially when compared to the previous 2. Aside from a 7-week injury break aound April I was able to build that much sought after consistency. Racked up 1,263 miles in the end, with almost 2/3 of that total coming from July onwards. The racing highlight was undoubtedly the WAC HM in December, which saw me set a big PB and gave me lots of confidence for 2023. I also managed to pocket my first prize money from running - winning a local "6.5km" fun run back in June. I knew I was in with a chance when I was about the only one doing a warm-up 🤣. Races are great and all, but the main satisfaction from 2022 is that I was consistent and am in good shape heading into 2023. Thanks very much for the nominations and votes for Comeback of the Year - very much appreciated!
2023 Preview
I've some races booked and planned for 2023 (John Treacy 10 miler, Limerick HM, DCM) and I'll add in others to suit as I go, but genuinely the main focus for 2023 is just staying consistent and continuing to progess. A 2,000 mile year should be within range if all goes to plan, and if I manage that the PB's will follow. Obviously I've targets in my head for PB's, but those are just the next nice-looking number at a particular distance (sub-20 5k, sub-70 10 miler, sub 3:30 marathon) and not something that I'm actively chasing (if that makes sense). I probably have the same supplementary goals that everyone else has at this time of year (diet, sleep, S&C, etc.) so hopefully a few improvements can be made there.
9 -
2nd - 8th January
Monday - Progression Run Easy to MP. Last day of the Christmas break, so brought this run forward by a day to take advantage of the day off. This was the second such progression run on the plan - the first one had surprised me a touch as it turned out to be more work than I anticipated, but that was on a windy day and a lumpy route, so conditions probably made it tougher than it should have been. This time round was much more manageable - still working a bit, but not under too much pressure. I chose 8 min miles (3:30) for the MP, so worked from easy down towards that. 7.39 miles for the day.
Tuesday - OFF. Had planned a short run, but felt crap so pushed it out until later on the week. Banking a few Monday miles gives flexibility later in the week should anything unforeseen pop up.
Wednesday - 3 miles recovery. Feeling a good bit better, so chanced a few miles. Could have taken another day off maybe, but this was fine. Watch died during it, which had me worried as I was certain I'd charged it fully after Monday's run, but no issues since so seems like it will hang on for another while.
Thursday - 3.5 miles recovery. 95% over whatever malaise I had - may have just been a back-to-work funk, or my body adjusting to being deprived of alcohol after the Christmas supping. Anyway, a grand trot around at 10 min miles - most of my recovery runs seem to come in around this pace - it's not something I watch really, just run at what feels like an appropriate effort.
Friday - 50 min mix. An old grad plans favourite - 5 x (9 mins easy, 1 min hard). This was on a lumpy route. Went pretty close to a controlled flat-out for the 1 min reps. First 2 were uphill before levelling off and came in at 6:46 and 6:36 for each minute. The final hard minute reps were flatter, and came in at 5:59, 6:00 and 6:06. HR was generally back to easy levels quickly enough, which was pleasing. 6.39 miles for the day.
Saturday - 3.3 miles recovery. Kept this nice and flat, as the midweek recovery runs had been a tad lumpier.
Sunday - 11.5 miles Vanilla. The plan would have this the day after the 50 min mix, but this was the only real window of the weekend for something substantial so made do. Did this around Clonmel while the young lad was at a birthday party. Some of it was horrible if I'm honest - I'm lucky enough that I never need to run on concrete footpaths for too long, but there was a fair bit of concrete in the early and later stages of this one. The difference between concrete and tarmac is so noticeable to me, even for short stints. The middle portion was nice as I went up and down the Blueway - ceratinly a more pleasant experience than my last foray onto the Blueway last August in the Clonmel Half. I'm not really loving the vanilla long runs too much - they can be a bit of a mental slog compared to the endurance long runs from FRR that I had been doing for a lot of the previous 6 months. Food for thought with a long eye on marathon plans.
35.2 miles for the week for my longest week since Waterford. Also my first six-day week in a while, although three of those were very short recovery runs. Similar mileage planned for this week, although over 5 days. I'll alternate between 5 and 6 days for a bit, before 6 days gradually becomes the norm. Halfway through the grads base plan now and getting back into a proper running routine after a lot of run-juggling over Christmas. Picked up an entry for the Limerick Half so that's firmly in the calendar now.
13 -
Advertisement
-
9th - 15th January (A week of wet and windy running. More weather than running in this update)
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 55 mins moderate. This was the worst weather I'd ran in for a long time. A wind that rarely seemed to be helping and sideways rain that was straight into the eyes at times. Just miserable. Moderate pace would be 8:45-8:30, and the 6.4 miles of work all came in within the range which was pleasing despite the conditions. Effort was a bit uneven due to the conditions, but about right overall and I didn't feel like I was forcing more effort than I should have been to hit the paces. A short 0.6 miles each for warm up and cooldown made it 7.6 miles for the day. Of course the weather improved no end once I was back inside looking out at it.
Wednesday - 4.1 miles recovery (9:52/mile). The weather was still not great for this, but a vast improvement on the previous day.
Thursday - 5.4 miles easy (9:35/mile). Windy as hell. I got blown up a hill at one stage. The novelty of running in shite weather was really beginning to wear off now.
Friday - 45 mins easy, 5 mins threshold, cooldown. Again, conditions were not too hectic, but at least I knew there was a bit of work coming up so that kept me focussed during the easy early miles. 7:16 was the average pace for the 5 mins threshold - it's the faster end of the range as it turns out (I'd forgotten to start the workout on the watch, and couldn't remember the precise range, but was close enough in the end). 6.6 miles for the day.
Saturday - 11.6 miles easy (9:20/mile). Another vanilla long run that I found a bit of a mental slog. Conditions were ok - a bit of wind and a shower towards the end, but nothing terrible. Had a nice bit of climbing in the middle miles but just found it long and boring after that. I usually love my long runs so it's interesting that I've not enjoyed these last couple. Paces look a bit fast in the second half, but effort felt appropriate. Only two more long runs before Dungarvan anyway, so we'll see how those go.
Sunday - Rest
35.4 miles for the week. Happy with that. Looking at 38-40 miles this coming week over 6 days. Thankfully I'm currently looking out at a blue sky and calm conditions so may as well take advantage!
12
