If I didn’t log it, it didn’t happen
Comments
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Laineyfrecks wrote: »P, do what works for you right now! There's no point running to a plan if you aren't enjoying it! The break after the marathon did me the world of good - take the break now & if you choose to come back to a plan you will feel much beter for it
Best of luck in whatever you decide
Thanks E. I’ll definitely get back to more seriously following a plan in the new year. I’ll be aiming to race more regularly over shorter distances and hopefully mixing in some cross country and mountain running. Last few months have been hectic work wise and putting pressure on myself to try get into a running plan was just adding stress rather then relieving it. Plan for next year will be all about enjoying it, racing shorter distances and hopefully getting faster and fitter in the process!0 -
passinginterest wrote: »Thanks E. I’ll definitely get back to more seriously following a plan in the new year. I’ll be aiming to race more regularly over shorter distances and hopefully mixing in some cross country and mountain running. Last few months have been hectic work wise and putting pressure on myself to try get into a running plan was just adding stress rather then relieving it. Plan for next year will be all about enjoying it, racing shorter distances and hopefully getting faster and fitter in the process!
Can't wait to see the progress with the shorter races! Could never imagine myself doing cross country or mountain running but something new can always help with motivation:D0 -
Time to wrap up 2019 (Novel incoming, some ultra-endurance demonstrated if you manage to complete it!). Motivation didn’t quite return in December, if anything I got a bit worse. I had the full two weeks off over Christmas and thought it might be a good chance to get back running more regularly but it didn’t quite work out. A nice new Garmin 245 at least got me out the door for a few test runs and I like the way it links with Garmin Connect and creates plans and workouts for you. I’ve made a so far half baked attempt at starting a McMillan 10k plan, with a view to peaking for the Great Ireland Run in April. I like the workouts, my big failing at the moment is not getting out at the weekends, I’ve enjoyed far too many sleep in days for my own good. I’ve just about been doing enough to not completely fall off a cliff and I’ve signed up for BHAA and entered the 6km Cross Country in Tymon this Saturday, I’ll be running it in trail runners so probably not ideal, but I’ll give it a bit of a lash and get an idea of where the fitness is it. It’ll provide some motivation at the very least.
December brought a total of only 32.2 miles. The only hard effort being the Goal Mile in Tallaght on Christmas day. Going by watch time, as obviously not chip timed, but last year came home in 7.00 exactly, so main priority was to be quicker than that, crossed the line in 6.41. So, a 19 second improvement over the year. With little done since the marathon, and no speed work, I was pretty happy, I ran it hard, mostly solo and don’t think I’d a lot more in the tank.
The year ended up with 1239 miles. By far my highest ever. Since starting recording runs in 2013, I’ve gone;
2012 – 49
2013 – 125
2014 – 689 (Including Dublin marathon)
2015 – 53
2016 – 83
2017 – 11
2018 – 189
2019 – 1239
2019 was a breakthrough year for me in terms of returning to regular sporting activity. I was playing soccer until December 2013. I quit, largely because I wanted to run the Dublin marathon in 2014. While 2014 was a success in many ways, the main legacy was pain in my right foot which effectively left me unable to participate in sport on a regular basis. I didn’t really bother trying to get a proper diagnosis, I ran the odd bit, played some Astro league soccer, but generally lost fitness and got lazy. Eventually when the pain became unbearable, I really pursued diagnosis and treatment and discover I have psoriatic arthritis, which has been largely under control since late 2018.
The controlled arthritis meant I was able to set myself a goal again, and of course I jumped straight into the deep end and signed up for Dublin marathon 2019. I came into January 2019 off the back of 50 miles in November and December 2018. I’d set myself, what was in hindsight, a very ambitious target of running a 23.30 parkrun in early January (a 24.14 on the 8th of December giving some hope). I made a mess of the attempt, running too hard early on in poor conditions and it was an abject failure (24.50), but some early lessons were learned on how hard it was going to be to get my fitness close to 2014 levels (20.18 5k in Grant Thornton).
The next goal was the Wicklow Half marathon on the 24th of March, and I started into a dedicated plan the week after my 5k disappointment. I ended January with 107 miles completed, a significant step up, and probably a bit too much, as it culminated in taking most of the first week of February off and only completing 6 miles. I had signed up for a Superhero 10k on the 17th of February in Kill, but I was sick that morning (something that happened a few times over the year). I felt better later in the day so headed out and did a 10k time trial in a 10-mile run. The time trial can in at 52.30, which was in line with expectations, so I was happy enough with my progress. February ended with just over 86 miles completed and my long run up to 12 miles.
I hit 30 miles in a week for the first time in 2019 in that last week in Feb/first few days of March. Missed a few days with a cold and a sore back the following week but was better in time for the long run at the weekend, which I extended to just over the half marathon distance as a bit of a psychological boost. I had set a target of 1.58 for the Wicklow Half, reading up on the course it was going to be hilly, so I wasn’t overly confident. I made myself a pace band and factored in the hills for the race and put my faith in it. Conditions were practically ideal on the day and I executed the pace strategy well (a good omen for things to come). I was delighted to dip under 1.55 in the end and it gave me confidence that a sub 4 Dublin marathon wasn’t a completely mad goal. There was a lovely medal for this, which I hung on a railing while changing into warm clothes after the race and promptly left there! It was one medal I’d like to have because it was a big milestone for me.
March was completed with 86 miles, I effectively took the last week off, recording just 2.85 miles, and started into April with focus on the shorter stuff. What was effectively a 6 week plan to take me up to the Terenure 5 Mile and a sub 40 minute goal. April was a really consistent month, running 6 days a week for the most part and only missing two runs. This was where I really made some significant progress and started to feel fit again. I ran a 23.40 parkrun, in extremely windy conditions, and recorded a new monthly high of a fraction under 122 miles.
The Terenure 5 Mile rolled around on the 12th of May. It’s a really well-run race and I was looking forward to it hugely. It was a warm day, and I didn’t pay enough attention to the race information, so I ended up in a bit of a panicky warmup as I went to the wrong place for the race HQ and bag drop. I was sweaty and my HR was elevated so I was a bit worried before the start. I went out a bit quicker than planned, which could have been a disaster, but I managed to hold it together and came home in 38.21, faster than I had managed in 2014, which was a huge surprise and a really welcome boost to my confidence. The plan following Terenure was to get into half marathon specific training again with Clontarf the goal but that was going to include the Tallaght 5k the week after Terenure and also included a Staff Relay 5k a few days later in the Phoenix Park.
My target for Tallaght was sub 23, which I thought was still fairly ambitious, especially the week after a 5-mile race. It was another good day for running and a fairly fast course. I managed to get into a head to head race which really helped to keep me going and I surprised myself by getting faster each mile and coming home a full minute quicker than goal in 21.58. Three days later, I was racing again, this time a leg of the Staff Relay in the Phoenix Park, I had planned to take it fairly handy, as I was doing 7 miles altogether as part of my plan, but as soon as I had a baton in my hand I got carried away. It was a tough course, with most of the last mile uphill and on grass, but I surprised myself by clocking 22.36 for my leg. Confidence was now really growing again.
The last week in May was another consistent one but I was starting to feel fatigued. Not really surprising considering I’d completed over 126 miles in the month and 3 races in the space of 10 days. That fatigue culminated in taking a rest for the first two weeks of June, only running two days each week and recording less than 16 miles. I got back into things the week after but decided to forget the plan to race the Clontarf half and to start following the Boards Novices marathon plan, using Clontarf as just a long run. The last week in June was the first of the 18-week marathon plan and I ended the month with 95 miles.
Into July and the Clontarf half on the 6th. Luck with the weather again, it was fairly dull and cool, no major wind, so about as good as could be hoped for in July for running. Plan was to run it was a quicker than average long run, aiming to go with the two hour pacers. Felt comfortable all the way and pulled gradually ahead of the pacers in the second half, before picking up the pace for the last two miles. Finished in 1.56.34 and felt really good after.
Two weeks later, 21st of July and it was time for the South Dublin 10k. I was excited for this, it was just up the road in Grange Castle and looked to be a fairly quick course. I went in with a fairly ambitious target of 46.30 but things had been going pretty well and the 5m mile and 5k times from April had me feeling optimistic. Unfortunately, it was another day where I woke up feeling really dodgy, I probably should have opted out at that stage, but I decided to give it a go. Warmup went ok, although my heart rate was up, but I didn’t have the sense to reset my goal for the day. Started trying to hit the 7.30/mile goal pace, but it was clear pretty early that was never on. By the end of mile 3 I was outside 8 minute mile pace and half a mile later I was stopped at the water station, if I’d been closer to the finish I’d have dropped out, but given I needed to get back to the car anyway I got going again. It was fairly miserable, but I did come around again towards the end and managed the last 500 meters or so at around the original goal pace. Final time of 51.22, which as it turned out was as fast as I managed for a 10k all year anyway. Disappointing day and a knock to the confidence.
An aborted 15 mile long run a week later, with stomach issues and blisters didn’t help the confidence and things were starting to look a bit bleak. July came to an end with just under 126 miles and August started with a successful 16 mile long run, the last of those being the fastest, which brought back some of the damaged confidence. A couple of solid 30+ mile weeks led into the Frank Duffy 10 Mile on the 24th, a shot at redemption after the really poor 10k.
It turned out to be a day well documented on Boards, and mostly not for positive reasons. According to my Garmin, it was a shade under 18 degrees, and just about everyone suffered with the humidity. I probably started a bit too quick and didn’t get my fuelling right. Slowed pretty dramatically towards the end, almost choking on one of the cups of water didn’t help either and led to deciding to walk a bit at the last water station. I had set out with a sub 1.21 goal but it was never on from the early stages. I started to struggle pretty badly after the water incident around mile 6. I consciously backed off pushing and that probably got me to the end in one piece, the last climb was a complete grind and I crossed the line in 1.26.07. I had ambitions of targeting 3.50 at one stage for the marathon but I was starting to have some doubts if 4 was even a realistic possibility after this.
Successfully completing the 19 mile LSR a week later made me feel a bit better and then month of August ended with 149 miles in the tank. Into September and peak load time, two 20 milers and the Dublin Half Marathon on the plan, confidence up and down, and feeling some of the cumulative fatigue but getting better at fuelling and hydrating. First two weeks in September a fraction under 40 miles, the first including a 20 mile LSR and the second the longest PMP run of the plan (9 miles). The PMP run was tough, with a silly choice of route out to Poolbeg lighthouse not helping but I got the sessions done and that was the main thing.
That led into the Dublin Half and a race that was going to make or break my marathon goals. The warm up was a good sign, looking back at the other races, it was the first time I didn’t really spike my heart rate too much. The plan was to run sub 1.50 and to hopefully be relatively comfortable doing so. I was disciplined from the start and stuck to my planned conservative start, everything seemed to click on the day and I finished really strong, making the last uphill mile my fastest of the day and finishing in 1.49.02. Executing the plan and finishing so strong solidified the sub 4 attempt and put me back in a really positive mindset for the last few weeks of the plan.
Almost 44 miles the next week, my highest ever, including another 20 miler, and September came to a close with 157 miles completed. And then it was October and the marathon shadow was looming ever larger. The month started with my third or fourth dose of the year and I missed four days, including an 18 mile LSR, not the ideal start. Feeling a bit better by the Tuesday I threw in a 14 miler to compensate and finished the week with another one, probably not completely advisable but the taper madness was setting in early. An ill advised trip to Jump Zone to bounce around on trampolines and mess on a ninja warrior obstacle course was added to the following week (the madness I tell you!) but I escaped unscathed, if a bit unnecessarily fatigued!
Eight miles the Sunday before the big day, two on Tuesday and five with 3 at PMP on the Wednesday brought the training to an end, all that was left was to execute. Trip to the expo on Friday, where I picked up a snazzy luminous yellow headband/sun visor and some trendy arm warmers and all was set to go. Pace plans were hummed, hawed and revised may times during that week, before settling on a plan to get home just under the 4 hour mark, with a negative split, no real margin for error, everything needed to be executed pretty much perfectly or the sub 4 dream would be gone.
The day finally dawned, perfect conditions, no wind a chill in the air but nice and bright. No drama, arrived in good time, made arrangements to see the wife on the course and headed into the bad drop and wave start. No panic, started at the back of the wave, strolled up to the start and set off at the planned easy pace. From there, it all went according to plan. No drama, through half way in around 2.01, picked up the pace at the appropriate points, took on fuel as planned and with 3 miles to go I was confident of making it. The only regret is casting away that headband/visor. The closing miles were tough, but I was very conscious of exactly the pace I needed to maintain and I didn’t risk trying to push on. Huge relief and delight to cross the line in an official time of 3.59.08 and redemption for my 4.00.39 in 2014. The most satisfying thing being the fact I was so much slower over the shorter distances and almost a stone heavier than 2014, but the knowledge and disciplined I’d gained from Boards and in particular the Novices thread and the mentors (can’t thank them and fellow novices enough) meant that I was much better prepared for those last five miles and I knew I could sustain the effort as long as it was sensible.
108 miles completed in October. The 18 week Novices plan had 563 miles (including the marathon) and I completed 569. That consistency was vital as far as I’m concerned. November and December were a bit of a damp squib by comparison. Looking back I’d have been much better off just taking a full three weeks off after the marathon. But I did a couple of miles the week after, just over 5k the next week and the week after that I did the Run in the Dark 10k with some work colleagues. I ran that much harder than I should have (52.34) and followed it up with 8 miles that weekend. I think that actually set me back and I felt like I was really forcing myself out in subsequent weeks. Just under 44 miles in November and 32 in December summed it up.
Onwards now, I feel like I’m back to enjoying the runs I am getting out for, I just need to get the consistency back. BHAA cross country in Tymon on Saturday will be interesting, I’ll ease into it and see how hard I can push. Aim will be not to finish last really!
2020 targets don’t include a marathon and for the most part are very similar to my 2019 targets that weren’t achieved from 10k to the half. There’s a pretty solid base there to build on, and I’m ever the optimist! Thanks for reading, the logs on here are a great inspiration, I might not interact too often but I really do enjoy reading many of them. I hope the more experienced loggers and contributors to Boards don’t get sick of it, you’re all a wealth of information and motivation. If you’ve got this far without giving up you deserve a medal.0 -
Great year for you!! Very best of luck on Sat 0
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What a fab 2019 you had. The very best of luck with your plans for 2020 and with the run on Saturday. I'm looking forward to the report already!0
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Great write up, well done in 2019.0
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A slightly better week, and although I didn’t run on Sunday, it was a pretty busy day and I at least walked a decent amount. Only just over 15 miles for the week, but it’s an improvement and I’ll be looking to hit over 20 this week. Highlight of the week was definitely the BHAA cross country in Tymon.
7th Jan
Plan: Progression Run
Actual: Rest
Should have run at lunch, put it off, ended up not doing it at all. Bad habits have been developed and I really need to work on breaking out of the cycle.
8th Jan
Plan: Easy Run
Actual: 4.71mi 45min (9.33/mi AvgHR 158)
The ‘easy’ pace that McMillan prescribes is a fair bit quicker that what I’d be doing following a boards plan. These easy runs include 5 minutes warm up and cool down. I’m happy enough with the quicker paces (if I was marathon training again it’d be different), I’ll stick with it and see how it goes. Fairly uneventful run that I don’t remember a lot about. The HR in the higher 150s shows how the fitness has slipped, would have expected it to be low 140s doing the same type of pace in October.
9th Jan
Plan: Stride Repeats
Actual: 4.06mi 40.54 (10.05/mi AvgHR 151)
Another McMillan workout with 15 mins warm up and cool down 10x20 second strides with 45 seconds recovery in between. Did these along the quiet side of Stephen’s Green. Legs were a bit heavy from the day before (another example of the fitness lost). Enjoyed the bit of pace for the strides and jogged all the recoveries so happy overall.
11th Jan
Plan: Long Easy Run (80 mins)
Actual: BHAA Bank of Ireland 6k Cross Country Race - 3.63mi 29.53 (8.14/mi AvgHR 182) 164/214 overall 50/51, Male Senior (pipped on the line for 49th!)
Warm-up – 2.68mi 27.24 (10.14/mi AvgHR 164)
This was on in Tymon, my regular stomping ground so would have been a shame not to give it a lash. Fitness is obviously miles off, very low mileage and no consistency since the Dublin marathon. Decided to jog over to Faughs for the number pick up as my warm up. Felt ok even carrying the awkward bag (couldn’t find my running bag so I was using the marathon bag drop one). Had woken up with a headache and take a couple of Beylin 4Flu, I knew they’d have my HR up so didn’t look at it until later. Surprised it was quite so high though, especially for the warm-up (I am using a new Garmin too, so I wonder if the higher HR recordings might be partly related to that too).
Number pick up was very handy and I had time to strip off a few layers and throw on the trail runners before heading out to complete most of a lap of the course. I was a bit wary of the trail shoes, I had been told spikes would be advisable but thankfully they were grand. Tested the steep drop on the warm-up and was confident I had enough grip.
Very soon it was time to line up at the start. The wind was howling and the course was very open, if I’ve learned one think from Boards it’s when it’s windy try and find shelter in a group, so I started right at the back, didn’t get carried away in the sprint off the line and tucked myself in behind tall lads whenever I could.
First lap I was all about taking it steady, things settled after a couple of hundred meters and there wasn’t whole lot of place changing going on. I was hanging off the back of a group of five or six turning to the steep drop the first time and I was curious how people would handle it. I’ve done a few IMRA races in the past, so I know I’m either a good descender or just a reckless one who’s been lucky not to come a cropper yet, I’d always gain places and rarely lose any. The group fanned out a bit to try find good ground and a bit of space in case of incidents, I bombed straight ahead, dug the heels in, spotted a fella taking a tumble to my right at the bottom of the drop, but undeterred, let gravity do it’s thing and came off the drop taking at least five places. Nice little confidence booster.
At the end of the first lap I didn’t have a clue where I was in the field really, but I felt ok. I was a bit isolated starting the second lap, but there was a fairly tall guy a few meters ahead, so decide to try catch him before the turn into the teeth of the gale. I made up the ground an sheltered as much as possible here before taking the place. Made up a couple more places along the straight, tucking in for a bit each time before moving on. Again, found myself passing a few more on the short, sharp drop. Definitely feeling the effort when we turned back into the wind and hill, again trying to find a bit of shelter but there wasn’t much. End of the lap heard the call of leader coming through, was on the shoulder of a female runner here and we had a bit of a laugh at how demoralising that was. Picked off that place as I admired the gazelles striding past and looked for another body to try shelter the next bit into the gale.
Kept things steady again on lap three, looking at the laps after I eased off a little on this lap (average paces were; 8.19, 8.14, 8.17, 8.07) I was doing manual laps, so they were all slightly different distances but close (0.92, 0.91, 0.90, 0.89). I was definitely still gaining places though, but the field was well spread out now, so not as much opportunities to shelter either. I tired to just keep picking targets ahead to catch and pass. I think I took two places again on the hill bit at least one of them came back shortly after. Next thing I remember is just starting to overtake a tiny female runner, when we got hit side on by a huge gust of wind, it blew her straight into me, and almost off her feet only I was there to lean against, a reminder, as if it was needed of just how strong the breeze was.
Last lap was more of the same really, I think I might have lapped a couple of back markers here, but there wasn’t a whole lot of movement otherwise. Tried to push as hard as I could and gained a few more places, but I was really blowing after the last drop and must have nearly came to a standstill turning back into the gale. There was a woman up ahead that I thought I might catch but the gap stayed pretty much the same until the finish. I didn’t look behind much at all the whole race and I didn’t coming into the finish, I had a feeling there was someone finishing fast behind, I heard a few shouts and I picked up a bit of a sprint, but it wasn’t quite enough to hold the place and I got pipped on the line, finishing 164/214 and that place on the line meant 50/51 male senior, with 51 not too far behind either.
I’ve assimilated well into city life, living in Dublin for over 15 years now (most people assume I’m a Dub), but this reminded me I’m still a proper Wexford muck savage at heart! Slopping around the mucky GAA fields brought back plenty of happy memories. I’m a long way off where I’d like to be fitness wise, but I was happy with how I paced things and how hard I managed to push. It gives me something to build on, and I’ll probably do the Cherryfield 5 mile this week too (not finishing last might be a bit more difficult though).
Made the most of the tea and cake after and decided to stroll home. Rain had held off mostly up to then. I got absolutely destroying the half hour it took to get home. Literally soaked to the skin, looked like I'd been through a washing machine fully clothed. Not the ideal end to the day, but worth it!
Week Total: 15.1 miles
Month to Date: 18.5 miles
Year to Date: 18.5 miles0 -
Progress
Monday 13 Jan
Plan: Rest or 20min Recovery
Actual: 5 a side with jog to and from
3.58mi 1.08.51 (19.14/mi AvgHR 137)
Not sure if this should count or not but counting it for now. The jogging to and from is about 1.3mi in total, might just include this in future. Wasn’t as much of a shock to the system as the last time I played. Weather was horrific in the height of the storm.
Tuesday 14 Jan
Plan: Goal Pace Repeats 4x5min @ goal pace with 3 min Recovery
Actual: 4.76mi 47.45 (10.02/mi AvgHR 148)
Headed down to Merrion Square for the first time in a while. The goal pace is based on a 48 minute 10k, which should be manageable, although I’m still lacking a bit of fitness. Headed out a bit too hard on the first rep, jogged nearly all of the recovery when I should have taken a bit more time and walked it, struggled then for the next one and cut it short. Ended up doing;
5mins@7.46, 3mins@7.51, 5mins@7.56, 3mins@8.00 and walking the majority of the recovery. I know I need to be a little bit patient before pushing too hard with these to I didn’t mind cutting the session back a bit. Included a 15 minute warm up and a bit of a cool down too.
Wed 15 Jan
Plan: Easy Run (45 min)
Actual: 3.64mi 36.01 (9.54/mi AvgHR 147)
The way the McMillan plan seems to work is most easy runs have a 5 minute warm up and cool down and the main run is broken into a mandatory part and an optional part. Legs were heavy for this, after the race Saturday then football Monday and session Tuesday. Opted out of most of the optional part of the run as a result. I need consistency more than I need volume at this stage I think. Mostly around Merrion again.
Thur 16 Jan
Plan: Easy Run (45 min)
Actual: Off
One of those days. Had a meeting at 2 so needed to get out as close to 12.30 as possible. Dilly dallied and missed my window. Thought I’d head out in the evening but late enough home and had enough excuses not to. Maybe no harm to take the rest day but annoying when trying to get back some consistency.
Sat 17 Jan
Plan: Progression Run (50 mins) or BHAA 5 Mile XC Race
Actual: Race: 4.85mi 40.21 (8.19/mi AvgHR 176) (129/151) (42/42 MS)
Warmup: 1.55mi 14.26 (9.20 162bpm) Cooldown: 0.34mi 3.42 (10.45 152bpm)
Cherryfield is another very handy one for me and I really enjoyed the race in Tymon so opted to push myself again and go for the race. Drove down rather than jogging over and parked in the little car park just after the Spawell roundabout. Strolled over to the Ballyboden clubhouse and picked up the number before putting on the trail shoes and heading out for a warm up lap with the ladies race having got under way a bit before. Was feeling quite good, and decided on a strategy or trying to run a similar pace to the shorter event in Tymon and seeing if I could hold on.
Ground was still quite firm and icy on the warmup lap and trail shoes seemed perfect. Was trotting around when one of the other runners struck up a conversation as he went past. That resulted in me picking up my pace, I was blowing a bit by the end of the lap and looking back now I picked up to near enough race pace, which wasn’t a great idea. Anyway, there was enough time for a full recovery before heading down to the start. It was much warmer than expected so stripped off a long sleeve layer before the off and lined up towards the back of the field.
At 11.30 on the button we were off, and I was caught up in the rush a little bit. Not really like me to get carried away, but I latched onto a little group and decided I might as well try and be a bit racy seeing as I was feeling quite good. Glanced at the watch and could see I was under 8 min a mile pace and knew there was a good chance I’d end up paying the price, but decided to try and stick with the group anyway. Things had settled quite quickly and there was plenty of room, no issues with the single track where there was a steep little rise and the pace had to ease off. I was making up a few more places after this as we headed back towards the start around the swampy area. Probably pushed on a few times here when I should have settled behind. Pace stayed consistently around 8 or just under until the long straight back to the finish where it started to drift off as the hard start and the realisation there was another two full laps to go sunk in. A guy in an orange vest who I had passed around half way through the lap took me back somewhere here and I certainly didn’t see him again.
That was the start of things to come really as most of the second lap was spent drifting back through the field and trying not to slow down too much or listen to the little voice in my head suggesting that I wasn’t fit enough and it was silly to be pushing this hard and I could just step off at the end of this lap and nobody would even notice. The photographer caught a nice shot of three lads just coming up on my should before the turns back onto the starting football pitch. Shortly after they were all passed me, and I didn’t really try to respond. By now, the ground had thawed too, and the top layer of mud was getting really slippery in the trail shoes, I was trying to find grassier areas to get some traction. To add to the humbling, the leader came through and lapped me before I’d even made the turn back onto the long finishing straight, and by the time the lap was complete I heard the bell and was able to ‘enjoy’ the sight of the first 6 or 7 in the finish chute.
Right at the start of the last lap another couple of runners were right on my shoulder and this time I decided to try and find a bit of fight. We ran together until the steep single track and we were gaining on another runner ahead. One of them got past me and quickly made up the ground to the next place, I tried to follow and dragged the third guy with me, only to try to settle once I was close behind the grey haired gent who had come back to us I needed to recover a bit but of course the guy behind me found another gear and pulled our grey haired friend along with him, so I was left in no man’s land and really under pressure not to completely fall off the pace. I did slow a fair bit now, I looked behind and things were pretty strung out, but I at least had the reassurance of knowing I was a good distance from last. I plodded along and lost another place as we got onto the final lap of the pitch, I’d have loved to have made a race of it here, as the there was a group of 3 or 4 about 20 seconds ahead. I could only really watch as the last runner who passed me finished strong and the 4 or 5 of them finished really closely together (9 seconds between the 5 of them and another 18 back to me it turned out).
At least half of the last lap was over 8.30 pace and even dipped over 9 at a couple of points. I manged to pick it up a little at the finish but only to around 8.15 pace. Had I not got carried away at the start I’d have probably found myself a lot closer to that group in the end, but it was fun (if a bit painful) to try something different. Average pace ended up at 8.19 compared to 8.14 for the 6k a week earlier so not too disappointed. Could I have pushed the limiter a bit more and tried to fight for places in those closing stages? Maybe, but I’m not fit enough, and I think I’d be risking injury or just setting myself back in general by trying. In the end I was 129/151 and 42/42 male senior. With two weeks before the next race, which falls on my birthday, I’ll be looking to build the fitness and bit more and hopefully move a little further up the field. I was over a minute behind the next person in my category so plenty of work to do there.
Sunday 19 Jan
Plan: Easy Run (50 min)
Actual: 5.12mi 50.00 (9.46/mi AvgHR 153)
Finally, for the first time in ages, managed to get out on both weekend days. While I’ve been getting out a bit more regularly during the week, I’ve completely fallen off the wagon at the weekends. This is crucial to getting the mile in and it was an enjoyable enough run. As with the other runs it’s 5 mins warmup then a mandatory run, and optional bit and a 5 min cool down. Legs were a bit tired from the day before and the McMillan easy pace is quicker than I’d have done for a lot of marathon training, but I’m enjoying it and I feel like I’m getting a bit more stimulus from it (even though it may be a bit of an injury risk). Again, I probably picked it up a little bit too much in the early stages too but settled into a nice comfortable rhythm and completed the full run.
Week Miles: 23.84
Month to Date: 42.31
Year to Date: 42.31
Finally, back over twenty miles for a week and getting out for 4 runs and a game of five a side. Something to build on and the extra bit of stimulus of the cross-country races has given the body a bit of a shock. The last two weeks have reminded me a bit of the shock of the first few weeks of pre-season gaa or soccer training. My fitness always came in in huge leaps from those sessions, so hoping for a similar effect.0 -
10k Training continued
Another week of building.
Tuesday 21 Jan
Plan: 80min Long Easy Run
Actual: 6.01mi 60.00 (9.59/mi AvgHR 153)
Had a bit of company for a good bit of this. One of the lads has got a marathon entry and is trying to start building a bit of a base. 80 mins was never likely to happen on lunch, I’ve been missing long runs since starting the Garmin Coach plan and it’s trying to adjust to fit them in. Happy to have got the hour done and it was enjoyable. Need to start getting the LSRs in though.
Wednesday 22 Jan
Plan: 50min Easy
Actual: 5.15mi 50.00 (9.42/mi AvgHR 151)
On my own for this one. Completely misjudged my route and finished the 50 mins about a mile from the office. Decided to walk back rather than push it. Another reasonable run. Not a lot to note.
Thursday 23 Jan
Plan: Stride Repeats (12x20sec with 45sec rec)
Actual: 4.29mi 43.30 (10.08 148bpm) Including 12x20 sec strides with 45 sec recovery
Company again for this. Slightly shorter warm up than scheduled as I met my marathon planning mate. Strides went well, he’s a natural sprinter and I’m not so I was always lagging a bit behind, really good workout though. After the strides we bumped into another colleague and I stayed with him for an extended cooldown to make up the full session time overall. Happy to have completed three mid-week runs again,
Saturday 25 Jan
Plan: Goal Pace Repeats (69 min) 1x10 & 3x5min goal pace with 3min recs
Actual: 4.19mi 41.28 (9.54/mi AvgHR 151) 10@8.15 5@8.49 called it quits
Really busy Saturday. Had our nieces for Friday night and bringing them ice skating Saturday morning. My parents dropped in on their way home in the afternoon and we were having friends up in the evening so window to get out was very narrow. The ice skating was followed by a big feed and ice cream too.
Over an hour on the ice took a bit of a toll on the glutes, a slight fall trying not to flatten the eight year old who brought me down didn’t help.
When I finally got out it was getting dark. Neve my favourite time, added to that the fatigue and a still full belly and this was never looking like being a good session. Had to cut the warmup and cool down too if I was going to fit the full session in. Didn’t feel great on the warm up and set into trying to hit goal pace for 10 mins on the Airton Road. Goal pace is around 7.45/mi and I was finding it hard to even hit 8. I was working way too hard and there was a possibility I was going to vomit. Even when I turned back towards the village and it was mostly downhill and good lighting, I couldn’t hit the pace. Had to ease off before even completing the 10 minutes. Ended up averaging 8.15 pace for it.
Three minute recovery was ok but I wasn’t at all comfortable. I decided I’d have a go at the first five minute interval as I knew doing that would complete most of another lap of the block. Just went with effort this time and didn’t even really look at the watch, I couldn’t get any pace up, the poor light making it even worse. Ended up with an average pace of 8.49 for the interval so pretty pointless and I was feeling awful. Just skipped to the cool down section and headed back home.
On the plus side I got out and covered over four miles so it was better than taking the day off. On the other hand, it was a terrible attempt at the session. One to forget about and move on.
Sunday 26 Jan
Plan: Easy Run (50 min)
Actual: 6.57mi 64.00 (9.44/mi AvgHR 149)
With the shortened session and the lack of runs over 10k since the marathon, I decided to extend this one a little bit. Comfortable enough run mainly around Tymon. Not a lot to note, but happy to see the HR under 150 at the end. Things are definitely improving on the aerobic side, even if I’m lacking some volume. Happy to have completed five days running for the week and over 25 miles, so getting back towards where I want to be (aim is 1500 miles for the year which is an average of just under 30 miles a week).
Week Miles: 26.2
Month to Date: 69
Year to Date: 69
Insanely jealous of all the spectacular runs in Raheny. Definitely putting it on my calendar for next year.
Was thinking of BHAA cross country this week. But plan is calling for a 90 minute long run. I’ve been neglecting the longer stuff a bit so it might serve the 10k plan better to not race and just do the LSR. It also my birthday (37) so all bets could be off, but not planning a mad one. Edging closer to 40. Would love to build over the next few years to the point I could reach close to competitive club standard once I hit the O40 category!0 -
Keep up the consistency P, and enjoy the birthday celebrations:)0
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Out of curiosity, just having a look back at where I was this time last year. Fitness levels actually seem pretty similar based on HR data, pace, distances etc. Garmin VO2 is better at 49/50 versus 47. It’ll be interesting to see the difference in having a much more solid base year behind me and with a focus on 5k - 10k for at least the first half of the year.
I had started my Wicklow half plan at this stage last year and my main focus was slowing the easy stuff right down and building endurance. It was a big step up in mileage and I ended up taking nearly a full week off in Feb after going from 50 miles in December to over 100 in Jan. Similar step up from December to Jan again but should be able to manage it more comfortably this year (32 to 80 something).
Slight concern with shin splints flaring up. I know I should get to a physio and get a sports massage. Playing football in astros seems to be triggering it and it used to be a big issue for me when I was still playing ball. Had to take 6-8 weeks off and get some intense physio on the calves to get it sorted previously (if a physio ever suggests using a golf ball to massage your calves be prepared to bite the table and shed tears!!). It hasn’t been a problem since, must be about 7 or more years ago now. Trying to make myself do some activations before and static stretches after running to keep it at bay, I had gotten very lazy with them.0 -
passinginterest wrote: »
Slight concern with shin splints flaring up. I know I should get to a physio and get a sports massage. Playing football in astros seems to be triggering it and it used to be a big issue for me when I was still playing ball.
Gotta agree and say that playing football on astro is a major strain on your shins, ankles, feet etc. I used to play every week before I started running and it used to cause me all sorts of injuries.
I still really miss it though
:(:( But I know I wouldn't last 10 minutes on the pitch before I got injured 0 -
Gotta agree and say that playing football on astro is a major strain on your shins, ankles, feet etc. I used to play every week before I started running and it used to cause me all sorts of injuries.
I still really miss it though:(:( But I know I wouldn't last 10 minutes on the pitch before I got injured
Yeah, I gave up football completely for the marathon training last year. There’s a casual lunchtime game on Mondays with work and I’ve played 3 times now since December, I missed the craic and different type of fitness, with no marathon plans this year I’d like to keep it up. The flat astro turf runners seem to be part of the problem, even though I have insoles in them. I might switch to just wearing normal runners (which increases the chance of other injuries with slips etc). If it keeps up I’ll probably just knock the ball on the head again.0 -
passinginterest wrote: »Yeah, I gave up football completely for the marathon training last year. There’s a casual lunchtime game on Mondays with work and I’ve played 3 times now since December, I missed the craic and different type of fitness, with no marathon plans this year I’d like to keep it up. The flat astro turf runners seem to be part of the problem, even though I have insoles in them. I might switch to just wearing normal runners (which increases the chance of other injuries with slips etc). If it keeps up I’ll probably just knock the ball on the head again.
I am the exact same as treviso here. I'd love to be still playing but i know i would be injured after first game back. I think you should keep it up playing at something like a 70-80% effort level, but as you say, id be wary wearing normal runners especially if there is a slick surface.0 -
Not much to update on last week. Shin issue wasn’t going away after football on Monday. 5k on Tuesday and 4mi on Wednesday but not feeling right. Didn’t run Thursday or Friday and was going to try a 90 minute long run on Saturday. Felt ok first mile but things were feeling wrong again and abandoned just over 2mi in. Rest ever since. Planning to head out shortly and see how things are now. Have done a reasonable amount of stretching etc and no football this week. If it starts to act up again I’ll bite the bullet and book physio.
Week miles: 10.93
January miles: 79
Year to Date: 790 -
Fingers crossed the run goes well for you.0
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Managed over 4 miles, had company so helped not to focus on it too much. Still a little bit uncomfortable but not painful, so going in the right direction.0
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As the title says...
January wasn’t too bad, shin splints flared in early Feb and most of the month was a write off, even when the shins were feeling ok the motivation had dipped and the bad weather made it easy to not go out.
First week in March got in 3 runs and felt ok, played football the next week and was still good, but didn’t manage to get out. Work was busy, but motivation just seemed to be gone. Later in the month the Covid stuff was kicking off and things were manic trying to figure out if we could manage work from home, made it easy to just forget about trying to get the runs in.
Into April and second week got out for a couple of runs. We got a dog just before the crisis so she’s been getting walked and that takes up time so running in the back seat. Ordered some new runners so got out for another couple of short spins, unfortunately did something to my knee and it’s been stiff sore and started clicking a lot for a few days after.
Thankfully it’s nearly back to normal now, so maybe May might be the month the mojo returns. The extra weight probably didn’t help the knee, was a bit surprised to find I’d hit 13 stone, was 12 doing the marathon and 12 and a half around Christmas so need to get more active to get that under control at least. Still think back to being 11 doing the marathon in 2014 and thinking that, about my ideal weight!
Feb miles: 9.99
March: 13.19
April: 10.17
Year to date: 1100 -
It’s funny reading back. 2019 was such a success in the end but i was struggling to keep things going and putting too much pressure on to keep running, to a point I wasn’t getting much joy from it. Jan/Feb 2020 had some highlight like the BHAA cross country races but then things went off a cliff.
A few things conspired to grind running to a halt. Shin splints faring a bit, getting a dog, then lock down and the stress that came with that. 2020 started with 73 miles in January and ended with 148 for the year. June, July, Sept and December were all donuts. Because of the 2019 base I was “getting away with it” to an extent and the odd bits of running I did it felt like I’d get back to a similar level fairly quickly if I got some consistency, but it never came.
2021 started out on the same path, nothing in Jan, a mile in Feb, 16 in March and 28 in April. I did a 5k a day challenge for seven days in April and most of the mileage was that week. I was sensible for the most part but pushed the pace a bit the last day and I more or less seized up after. That killed any momentum and I didn’t record another mile until September. It was in the period that I felt thinks really go downhill, even my step count was way down and weight really started to creep up. Just another 2 miles in October but the second week in November I decided I needed to start doing something consistent or my health was going to start suffering.
So November I set into a very basic “Garmin Coach” 5k plan. Just 3 days a week of light jogging to start. 5 then 6 the 7 mile weeks. I realised that as poor as fitness was I was probably able for a bit more, so I switched to a plan with a very basic time goal, which brought some sessions and a bit more time on the feet as well as a fourth scheduled day. 23 miles recorded in November over 11 days “running” (plodding). December stepped up a bit and brought 10, 11 and 16 mile weeks before a 9 mile week including the Goal mile in Tallaght on Christmas Day.
in 2018 and 2019 I’d also taken part in the Tallaght Goal mile so it was a useful exercise to get an idea of how fitness was looking. A 7.45 mile was about as much as I could manage, might have been another 10 seconds max if I’d paced it better. That compared to 7 flat in 2018 and 6.41 in 2019, so obviously a long way to go. Slipped over 50 miles in December with a 3.5 miler on New Years Ever. Pleased with it although only 2 days running the week after Christmas.
Had planned to run on New Years days too, but slipped into old bad habits and somehow it was 11th Jan before I got out again. 12.65 miles for that week and follows up with 4 days last week and 17.95 miles including a 70 minute long run that brought me over 10k for the first time in very nearly 2 years. I’ll effectively have 12 weeks of the plan done this week (albeit with a 10 day hiatus in the middle). So the plan is to make parkrun on Saturday, set out around 9min mile pace and see how it goes. Anything under 28 will be happy enough.
It was useful to look back over the blog, so I think I’ll try to get back to posting updates again. For myself if nothing else. I’ll be looking to do another 8 or 12 week plan, either just 5k again or maybe 10k. I might even just repeat the Garmin coach one. 3 to 4 days is probably as much as I’ll commit too. Part of the reason I stopped was feeling like I “had to” run 5 days a week and it wasn’t for the love of it, I was actually resenting giving up the time to an extent. So for now it’s run when it suits my life and not organise life around running, which is what marathon training felt like at times.
For my general health I need to be doing something, I’m not a gym bunny and can’t see myself going back to playing football, so running it is. Turning 39 next week gives me some motivation to get fit before I hit 40 too! We’ll see how it goes.
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Been there a couple of times, 12 weeks(three times a week) seems to be the sweet spot for me if I'm starting from scratch to a comfortable 10k.
*Of all the changes and alterations I tried during the periods of returning to running I found that when I was eating well I was able to achieve a quicker level of consistency; improving my overall wellbeing. Focus on your diet and the rest will come good. 2c
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Thanks for the comment. I agree on the diet. I was always on the skinny side but eat like a horse. Something you get away with when you’re young and active but not so much as you get older and a bit more sedentary. I was never more than 11 stone for most of my 20’s. Started to creep up in my 30’s but after DCM in 2014 I was a shade under 11 again. That crept and I was around 13 starting training for DCM 2019 and got down to 12. Recently I probably went over 14 (afraid to stand on a scales!) and since staring back I’m down to around 195 pounds so not much under 14.
I know well that a bit of discipline in the diet and shedding a stone will make a huge difference even without a massive step up in training volume. I do have a bad habit of rewarding myself with food for everything and anything so it’s a hard one to break.
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Week all went to plan. Not very heavy mileage wise.
Monday was 40 minutes easy. 3.59 miles covered at 11.08/mi.
Tuesday was goal pace repeats (6x1min with 1min recovery). Aim was a fairly conservative 9min mile pace and the repeats were 8.11, 8.21, 8.51, 8.57, 9.22, 9.08. They got slower because I was trying to find the pace rather than because I was tired. The GPS delay always makes these a bit tricky too but was happy enough. 3.08 miles at 10.23/mi total.
Rest Wednesday and Thursday was just a half hour easy. 2.78 miles at 10.47/mi.
Rest Friday and “race” Saturday. Tymon parkrun was the venue for the race. Tried to take it fairly seriously, hydrate properly, sleep well, get up at a decent time and arrive in time to warmup etc. All that went well.
Arrived in nice time for a 10 minute jog before the pre run briefing. Felt good although conditions were blustery and showery at that stage. The route direction meant the wind was more a help than a hindrance for the actual parkrun.
Goal was to be somewhere under 9min mile pace. I was confident enough I could manage that, but not sure how much I could push under it. Start was the usual for parkrun, lots of runners sprinting away, the main challenge was not getting caught up with that, knowing plenty of them would be going backwards within a few k’s.
Wind helping at the start too, I was sub 8.40 pace and feeling ok about it, had to consciously hold back which was good. Was happy to ease off a bit more as we got into the wind and the climb to the top of the course, I know Tymon well enough to know it’s a deceptively tough climb and going to hard on lap one will kill lap two. Pace dropped to around 9.15 here for a while but I was happy with how I was feeling. First k clocked at 5.29 and second at 5.30.
The drop from the top of the course back to the start finish is mostly in the 3rd k, I let gravity do it’s job and the shelter meant the head wind was limited too. Tipping along nicely now and passing loads of the fast starters looking back and pace hit 7.50 for a bit. 5.03 for the k.
Cool back down for a bit after the 3k point. Knowing it’s basically climb to the 4k mark then downhill to the finish. Still cathcing people, including a lad who passed me just before the top of the course on the first lap. He was a big target now to keep the pace solid. I was working pretty hard but keeping the breathing ok and not getting too ragged.
Through 4k and nearly at the top of the hill, 5.17k and now it was time to push. Caught and passed the man with the target on his back before we came out of the trees and picked up another few places. Could hear someone getting encouragement behind me to sprint for the line with 300m or so to go and a girl passed me and I couldn’t lift the pace to her level. One of the few to pass me after the first k or so. Because it was a Garmin plan the watch had a 5k workout programmed in for this, so it stopped about 100 meters or more before the actual finish. It clocked 4.56 for the last k, giving me a time of 26.16 for the 5k. Well inside my target. Crossed the line and was handed token number 50. Official time of 26.41 and 50/129 runners.
I was tired but probably not fully maxed out at the end, so there’s a bit more there to take off it. Looking at the HR after, my max would be low 190’s but I never hit 180. Probably not fit enough to really hit it yet, but another sign there’s more there.
Week miles: 14.16
Year to date: 44.76
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In terms of what next, for now I’m thinking just restart the same Garmin Coach/McMillan 5k plan, with a target of 24 mins and see how it goes. I missed some key sessions the first time around with the unplanned 10 day break, so I wouldn’t mind following it again. The other option is something like the Boards base building 6 week plan. Will have a think about that today.
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Ah great plans. Amazing how easily they all come unstuck.
Anyway, I have an entry for Dublin marathon again. So motivation to get moving at least. Did very little at all since the last update here so effectively starting from scratch. I’ve gone up to Tallaght AC for a few sessions to try and help get things kick started.
Over 20 miles for the week this week and over 10k for the “long” run. First target is to manage a parkrun at 9 minute mile pace and to work from there. Tallaght 5k on Paddy’s day is the next target. Would love to be sub 25 by then.
No major marathon goal. Using it more as motivation to get moving and we’ll see what happens. Ideally this time around I’ll keep running and not do a solid year and give up completely. I might even let the marathon entry go if I’m being consistent and enjoying the shorter stuff. Longer term primary goal is to get to sub 20 5k shape. 20.18 is my pb from almost 10 years ago so would love to get back under that.
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Very best of luck😊
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Update time I suppose. Hard to believe it’s nearly the end of May already. On the positive side, I’m still running pretty regularly, but there’s been a lot of ups and downs.
January finished with 47 miles for the month, so something to build on. And a parkrun test on 3rdFebruary brought a solid enough 27.05 result. Throughout Feb I was consistent in heading to TAC for the Thursday track sessions. Although I was well off the pace of the group I was with, I was enjoying the challenge. Looking back I can see I was struggling to recover after the sessions and that was impacting on really building the number of days running. Overall thought, I was seeing some good short term results. Another parkrun on the 24th produced a 26.03 and I was on track for a sub 25 Tallaght 5k effort on Paddy’s day. Ended the month with the longest run edging over 8 miles and a total of 74 miles.
I wanted to get the long run up to 10 miles, so the Nass 10 mile on 3rd March looked like a nice way to hit it for the first time since 2019. I had done just over 8 miles at 9.47/mile a few weeks earlier, so plan was take it relatively handy and aim for 9.45 pace. I got caught up in the race atmosphere and found myself feeling surprisingly good. I ended up running 1.32.38 or 9.16/mile with 5k splits of 29.31, 29.11 and 27.58. Considering I had only just got back under 27 minutes for a stand-alone 5k to be finishing a 10 mile with a sub 28 5k was a very happy surprise.
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Not sure if it was a consequence of overdoing it, or just generally being busy but I only really had two days running with eight consecutive days off before the Tallaght 5k. I did 2 miles the day before so that I wasn’t racing on 10 days of no running at all. Again, the race went better than expected. It was a near perfect day, although a head wind up the Greenhills road hill (the clue is in the name) made the last mile hard. I was delighted to get home in 24.47 and back under 25 for a 5k for the first time in a very long time.
On paper, the following week looks ok. Just the 3 days running but over 20 miles for the week. In reality, it was a bad week. I officially joined TAC before the 5k and headed out on the Tuesday for an 8 mile “easy” run. I mentioned I was pushing myself with the track session with a group that was a good bit faster than where I was at, so I hadn’t really been doing any of the group runs other than sessions. I decided I might be able to keep up on this one and it really set me back. I dropped off the back after 2 miles, then hung on as much as I could to the 6 miles and then struggled to the end. Tried a track session on the Thursday and was still wrecked so abandoned it. A planned 10 mile long run became 8 and I was generally wrecked at the end of it.
Started the following week ok, but another bad track session and possibly a virus meant it was a poor week overall. Ended March with just 58 miles and decided I needed to step the pace back and try get out more often and focus on easy miles.
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Maybe the effects of whatever bit of a virus I had but tummy issues were becoming a feature of most runs now. But I was happy to ger out 5 days and hit over 25 miles the first week in April. The second week was very similar, with long runs sticking to around 8 miles both weeks. Just a mini session the second week with a 3 miles pick-up that went well (8.44, 8.45, 8.41).
The following week again started well. I was away for work and got in runs on two of the three days. Then the wheels kind of came off a bit. Flying always messes me up a bit and muscles were very tight, especially achilles, so I abandoned the weekend long run. Attempted a 5x1k session on the Tuesday and managed 3 at sub 5 minute km pace before abandoning. Wasn’t the end of the world as I hadn’t been doing many sessions. But then that was it for 12 days. Terenure 5 mile was looming on 12th May. April ended prematurely with 69 miles on the clock.
The plan for May was to hopefully be in shape to run the Terenure 5 mile at a similar pace to the Tallaght 5k. But with almost no running (the 12 day break was followed by runs of 1, 2 and 3 miles in the week leading into the race) expectations were very much scaled back. Ideally, I’d have been running with the 40 minute pacer and hoping to dip under, instead I was lining up behind the 45 minute pacers on the day.
It was another warm one and I wasn’t sure 45 was even realistic given how much the training had dropped off. I found myself a bit back from the pacers early on as the race spread out, so I gradually caught up to them in the first mile on the downhill. I wasn’t feeling too bad and I knew that if I stuck with them from that point I had a little lee-way on the sub 45. With the heat, it quickly became a battle to just maintain that 9 minute mile pace and if it wasn’t for the pacers I don’t think there’s a hope I’d have managed it.
It was a major mental battle not to step off the course as we went into the second lap as I really didn’t think I had it in me to stay with the pacers. I must have got a bit of a second wind, because somehow I was still there with them, having pushed ahead for a short and very ill advised spell, coming into the last km. Now it was just a case of trying not to tie up too badly to get home sub 45 and I just about managed to keep the legs moving. A final time of 44.50, not where I wanted to be, but a fair reflection of where the weeks off had left me.
Maybe the best thing to come out of the race was bumping into a few faces from another group in TAC. I had been struggling with the faster group, and as much as I was enjoying the sessions at times and the craic with the group, the overall paces, especially on easy group runs is just out of my league at the moment. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there’s a good few in what’s now my new group who were sub 45 in Terenure and are aiming for sub 4 marathons. With paces much closer to my current fitness it’s definitely a better fit for now.
So, I had my first session and long run with the new group the following week. Over 10 miles for the long run and with company for the first time ever on a long run, which was a great experience. Just under 25 miles for the week and followed that up with a Tuesday track session and Thursday tempo with the new group last week. Back to solo for the long run, but over 10 miles again and biggest single running week, getting out 5 days and hitting over 28 miles. Hopefully, that’s a sign of things to come and more consistency leading into marathon plan season.
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